10 English jokes for kids (with the wordplay explained)

How a knock-knock joke works

• Teller: "Knock, knock." Listener: "Who's there?"
• Teller says a word, for example "Boo." Listener repeats it and adds "who?": "Boo who?"
• Teller says the punchline.
• For ages 4 to 6, start with the "Cow says" joke: all your child needs to know is that cows say "moo".

The jokes

• Knock, knock. — Who's there? — Cow says. — Cow says who? — No, silly! A cow says "moo"!The cow should say "moo", not "who". The best first joke for ages 4 to 6.
• Knock, knock. — Who's there? — Boo. — Boo who? — Don't cry, it's only a joke!"Boo who" sounds like "boo-hoo", the sound of crying.
• Knock, knock. — Who's there? — Lettuce. — Lettuce who? — Lettuce in, it's cold out here!Lettuce sounds like "let us".
• What do you call a sleeping dinosaur? — A dino-snore!Dinosaur plus snore.
• Why are fish so smart? — Because they live in schools!A group of fish is called a school.
• What do you call a bear with no teeth? — A gummy bear!No teeth, only gums. And gummy bears are sweets.
• Why do bananas wear sun cream? — So they don't peel!Peel: banana skin, and skin after too much sun.
• Why did the cookie go to the doctor? — Because it felt crummy!Cookies make crumbs, and "crummy" means unwell.
• What did the zero say to the eight? — Nice belt!An 8 looks like a 0 with a belt. Draw it.
• What do you call a dog that can do magic? — A Labracadabrador!Labrador plus abracadabra.

More fun English

• "What am I?" riddles and tongue twisters.
• Animal names and sounds: Animals.

These are well-known English folk jokes with no characters from films, books or brands.

Try it

Free practice that goes with this page:

• Bonus Games: 13 free English games
• Simon Says: Listen to Simon, do the action and tap its picture: 18 actions, Easy and Tricky modes.