A children’s book is enjoying skyrocketing sales after a video surfaced of a Scottish grandmother and her four-month-old grandson, Archer reading the book in 2018.
The Wonky Donkey is a children’s book that adults can read or sing to their kids. It was published in 2009 by author Craig Smith. Roughly a million copies were sold since the first publishing date, but that is changing since the video has gone viral.
Janice Clark is the grandmother in the video. Fiona Clark, Archer’s mom, filmed the event. The video shows Janice laughing hysterically as she reads the book to her grandson.
Fiona told ABC News that they didn’t realize that their video would get so much attention when they first posted it. They initially wanted to share the video with friends and family. Fiona also revealed that she bought the book for just 20 cents at a recycling shop in Queensland, Australia.
Since the video went viral, sales have skyrocketed for the book, with more orders coming through from England and the United States. Author Craig Smith told ABC News that the areas that normally sell just a few books are now selling thousands.
Smith revealed he had sold about $110,000 worth of books through his website in one week alone. He reported that his publisher is working hard to fulfill all the new book orders that have been pouring in since the video became a hit all around the world. His New Zealand publisher is currently reprinting 50,000 copies to fill the demand for the children’s book.
Smith decided to write The Wonky Donkey after hearing the joke about a three-legged donkey while he was out. He used a rhyming dictionary to write the song right after coming home.
Smith has eight published books at the moment but has written 25. He says he writes all his material in the form of a song. The Wonky Donkey, his best-seller by far, is written in the style of country music.
A “honky tonky winky wonky donky” is one of the lyrics that made Fiona crack up.
When Fiona heard about the success of the book due to her appreciation of it, she was ecstatic. She said she is overjoyed for the number of sales the book has seen and for the success of both Craig Smith and his illustrator, Katz Cowley. Smith has credited Janice with the sudden increase he has seen in sales. He states that he owes the success of the book to the Scottish grandmother with her “infectious” laughter.
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