Penguin Books is teaming up with McVitie’s for The Book of Penguin Jokes – honouring the best of the worst wrapper jokes
P-p-p-pick up the paperback
People groan more than audibly laugh at them —no not politicians, the jokes on the back of those little, delicious Penguin bars — the jokes in the wrappers been adding a little bit more fun to your midday treat for decades. Now, Penguin Bars (well, McVitie’s) are immortalising their wordsmithery with a very special partnership with Penguin Books.
Penguin Books and McVitie's Penguin Biscuits have teamed up for the first time to launch The Book of Penguin Jokes, a limited-edition book bringing the iconic Penguin wrapper jokes to bookshelves for the very first time.
The creation coincides with the National Year of Reading 2026 and will be the first hardback tri-band publication in Penguin Book’s history. It will have a foreword written by beloved children’s author and former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen, whose books you will have read over and over and over and over to children shouting “again!” with the same enthusiasm as England fans before the World Cup match against Norway.
It’s packed with jokes from start to finish, hoping to help families discover (or rediscover) the joy of reading, and having a laugh together – or at least a communal groan whilst just the dads laugh.
If you haven't picked up a Penguin in a while and just make do with dunking in a bourbon in your cuppa, Penguin has shared a snippet of some of the jokes that have made the cut into the final book.
- Why did the penguin use a fish as a bookmark? She didn't want to lose her plaice.
- Why do penguins get homesick? There's snow place like home.
- What did mummy penguin say as her kids left for school? Have an ice day dears.
- How did the penguin cheat at football? He was always diving.
- What do you call a penguin who can’t stop smiling? A pen-grin.
As well as being able to buy the book, there will be a chance to win one of the limited edition releases if you’re lucky enough to pick up a winning pack of Penguin biscuits. There are 3,000 limited-edition Penguin jokes books up for grabs, and because they're au fait with the digital age, there are also 20,000 Google Play audiobooks available to win too. People can enter the competition from 3rd August with all the info on the biscuit packs and online.
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