Staff member, comedian pens joke book for local children

Longtime Tulane employee and author of the Amazon best-selling series Young Comic’s Guide to Telling Jokes, Mike Strecker has turned his comedic eye to his hometown with Jokes for Crescent City Kids, a collection of original New Orleans-based children’s jokes just released by Pelican Publishing Company.

“I am so excited about this book,” said Strecker, who has also performed stand-up comedy for grownups throughout the country, including at the Improv in Los Angeles, the HA! Comedy Club in New York and the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans.

“This book is filled with jokes for local kids and anyone who knows and loves New Orleans and Louisiana. It’s like an inside joke we can all share with our kids,” said Strecker, executive director of public relations at Tulane.

Jokes for Crescent City Kids features original puns and one-liners by Strecker about po’ boys and ferries, crawfish and oil — everything under the New Orleans sun. Local artist Vernon Smith provided comedic illustrations for the book, which also includes a “What Dat?” glossary of local terms.  

“This is such a fun book and we’re really glad to produce it,” said Nina Kooij, Editor-in-Chief of Pelican Publishing Company. “We like the mix of jokes for young kids together with more complex ones that take a moment to figure out and will have readers of all ages laughing ’til the remoulade comes out of their nose.”

Copies of the book are available at Tulane’s Barnes and Nobles and other bookstores throughout the state. Strecker will sign copies of Jokes for Crescent City Kids beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8, at the Baton Rouge Barnes and Noble, 2590 CitiPlace Court.