It's Not Funny!

by Jan Page, Tony Ross (Illustrator)

"WE'VE ALL HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR CLOWNING ABOUT...IT'S NOT FUNNY!"Every morning, before school, Bill dresses in baggy trousers, a silly blue wig and a red plastic nose, as... the Great Bilbo! But clowns belong in the Big Top, not in the classroom, and everyone is getting really fed up with Bill's clowning! Then Mum takes Bill to a real circus, and the Great Bilbo discovers that being funny is a serious business...All the fun of the circus in this hilarious story from the author of DOG ON A BROOMSTICK and DOGNAPPED!

64 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

JAN PAGE is a novelist, screenwriter, and television producer, whose experience ranges right across the age spectrum. Over the years, she has written hundreds of episodes of television and thirteen of her plays have been professionally staged. Jan lives in London and is co-founder of Adastra, an independent production company specializing in the children’s sector.

Reviews

[Shini · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about a little boy, Bill, who wants to be a real life clown. He tells jokes, throws custard pies and messes around in the classroom until he gets told off by the head teacher. His mum thinks it’s a good idea to take him to a real circus to see what the clowns are actually like. During the clowns performance Bill goes up on stage and does his clown act before slipping over and hurting himself. He then has to sit backstage whilst the clowns perform. After the show he meets a clown who is dressed in normal attire. The clown tells Bill that being a clown is only the job, so you can be normal the rest of the time. This is what Bill does when he goes back to school.


This story is funny and has a good storyline. It would suit children in year 2/3 and could be used in creative arts e.g. textiles making a clown costume/ painting pictures. It could also be used in P.E to encourage a different type of game or activity.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've just had a flashback to a time a few years ago when the NBT came into my school and read this and acted it out. I enjoyed the story but I don't remember finding it funny.