The Wonky Donkey: viral video of grandmother makes picture book a bestseller

A Scottish grandmother’s reading of the 2009 children’s book to her grandson has seen demand for it skyrocket around the world

A home video of a Scottish grandmother’s uncontrollable giggles while reading The Wonky Donkey picture book to her baby grandson have sent book lovers around the world rushing to get their hands on a copy, with publishers left scrambling to meet demand.

New Zealander Craig Smith’s children’s book, based on Smith’s song of the same name, tells of a three-legged – or wonky – donkey, adding a new adjective every few pages until it ends with a “spunky, hanky-panky cranky stinky dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey”. In a recent video made by her daughter, Scottish granny Janice Clark reads the story to her four-month-old grandson Archer, and laughs progressively harder as the donkey becomes increasingly bizarre. “Oh dear, how can anybody read this seriously,” says Clark. “This is going to kill me.” The video has been viewed more than 3m times in the last week.

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