The book, which stemmed in part from the comedian’s first time onstage as a small child, is a ‘love letter’ to class clowns everywhere
Credit: Abrams Books for Young Readers
NEED TO KNOW
- Amy Schumer’s first children’s book, inspired by her childhood, teaches kids about hard work and embracing comedy
- Schumer’s 7-year-old son Gene influenced the book’s creative process and provided feedback on early drafts
- Reading together is a cherished nightly ritual for Schumer and Gene, which she hopes will continue as he grows
Amy Schumer doesn’t expect her first kids book to be a masterpiece — after all, that’s what it’s all about.
“I love doing things that scare me. If it scares me, I’m doing it. And this scared me,” the author and comedian tells PEOPLE. “If something makes me nervous, it’s like an opportunity: let’s try it and then get better at it… This is my first attempt at a children’s book, and I hope to get better.”
A Joke of Her Own, illustrated by Beth Mills, is all about a little girl who wants to write her very own book and take ownership over when people laugh at her. And that’s inspired by Schumer’s own childhood, as well as a message she tries to impart to her son Gene, 7.
“When my son was younger, we would be laughing because he did something so cute and he would feel laughed at,” she recalls. “I remember I did my first play when I was five and whenever I would come on stage, the audience would just start laughing, and it’s because I was like, this little girl with her pigtails. They would laugh, and I would get really down after performances. Finally the director said to me, what’s going on and I just said it hurts my feelings when they laugh at me and she said no, it’s a good thing when you make people laugh. It means you made them happy and they love you. So I tried to teach my son that same lesson.”
The message in A Joke of Her Own is twofold, Schumer explains. It’s about the importance of hard work when you want to get better at something and the value of comedy, especially for kids. She points out that there’s a “misconception with comedy, that someone’s just gonna be funny,” but that’s not how it works. Like any skill, it takes dedication — even for those with natural talent.
Credit: Abrams Books for Young Readers
“I think kids also get frustrated a lot when they aren’t just great at something right away, and you have to teach them over and over again that it’s all about practicing and working really hard,” she says. And in addition to that message, “it’s really a love letter to my son, of course, and to all the little class clowns out there,” she adds. “You know, because I remember getting in trouble a lot for making people laugh and I hope to encourage more teachers, more parents to have laughter be a part of raising their children and looked at as a positive thing when a kid shows an affinity for comedy.”
Reading together has always been an important part of their family routine and Schumer says she treasures that time with Gene, especially as he gets older.
“My favorite part of the day is right before he goes to sleep and we read books,” she says. “We’ve done it since he was born, just this nightly really cozy thing, and I keep worrying that it’s gonna go away, but he loves it, and depends on it just as much as I do.”
Gene even helped his mom with the book, as the resident expert in what kids are looking for in the pages.
Credit: Abrams Books for Young Readers
“There’s a moment in the book where she goes and sits under her favorite mailbox. I feel like in every book, it would be her favorite tree, but then it’s, like, this funny mailbox. And Gene, my son, always gets a kick out of that, and he really helps me with the process,” she explains. “The first couple drafts, he’s like, ‘Mom, worst ending ever.’ ‘And I’m like, ‘What? How can I make it better?’ And he’s like, ‘I don’t know, I think you should sleep on it.’ And I was like ‘Yeah, you’re right.’”
Schumer found the process of creating A Joke of Her Own “thrilling,” especially collaborating with her illustrator and editor to bring it to life.
“It was so fun to see it come to life, more rewarding and satisfying, because I’ve never created anything animated. I’ve done voiceovers for animation, but picturing how I saw these people in my mind, then seeing it on the page is just — and she added her own humor to it — it was a really nice collaboration.”
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A Joke of Her Own hits shelves March 9, 2027 and is available now for preorder, wherever books are sold.
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