VANCOUVER -- Five-year-old Tristan Kennedy is the author of a new book full of the jokes he shared with his neighbours during the pandemic.

For Tristan, an outgoing kid, life inside the home got lonely in the spring when lockdown hit.

“With everything closed, preschool closed, playground closed, there wasn’t much outlet for us,” said his mother, Naya Kohout.

“Tristan would see people walking by out the windows and he would wave and bang on the glass.”

Tristan had the idea to start posting jokes outside near the front of his house. He would write the joke on a piece of paper, slip it into a plastic sleeve, and attach it to a post. The joke on one side of the driveway, the punchline on the other. 

“We thought if we can give someone 30 feet where they can think about something positive, maybe have a smile or a laugh then that’s something to strive for,” Kohout said. “The more we were doing it, the more we could hear people laughing out loud.”

Tristan put a new joke up everyday and soon people started changing their walk or run route just so they could pass by the house and see the day’s offering.

Among the jokes he shared with CTV News Vancouver was one that began, "What vegetable do drummers like most?"

The CTV News reporter didn't know.

"Beets," he said, with a smile.

Once Tristan and his mom had 155 jokes, they decided to turn it into a book.

“We posted the sign at the end of the driveway to say that we were selling books and then our Canada Post person put it on their Facebook," Kohout said.

It took off from there. People started sharing news of the book and soon they had sold nearly 300 copies from their local area “to Ontario, to New Brunswick, to the Yukon, to the Island, all over.”

The book sells for $20, plus $5 for postage. They’ve so far raised more than $2,300 with all proceeds going to the Friends in Need Foodbank and the Ridge Meadows Seniors Society.

Tristan and his mom plan to keep raising money, as long as the book keeps selling.

You can buy copies of the book direct from the family: tristansjokebook@shaw.ca