Mr Jones, who has written a number of children’s books and previously hosted a children’s TV show on the ABC, visited Orange for the second time with his What’s the Joke? show.

“What I’m trying to do is just get through the enjoyment of humour and participating, that’s my thing,” Mr Jones said.

He uses a guitar, drums and other props to teach the young audience about punchlines, joke delivery, slapstick and rhyming words, and has them shouting, singing and dancing throughout.

Mr Jones was in town to promote his new children’s book, The Adventures of Scooterboy and Skatergirl. He sold out of his books after the show, and the library’s own copies of the book were all borrowed before he even started performing.

“We put his books out this morning, all the ones we have for hire, and they all went in just like five seconds,” said library technician Tammy Atkinson, who supervised the book signings.

Ms Atkinson said Andy Jones’s books were popular with Orange kids, and that humourous shows like What’s the Joke? played an important role in encouraging young people to get interested in books at an early age, as well as bringing them into the library.

“It’s important for the kids just to promote reading, really,” she said.

“Just to get them in here and know about the free services.”

The last time Mr Jones was in Orange was the first time he had performed the show, and the reaction from the Orange crowd back then helped convince him that he was onto a winning formula.

He was just as pleased with the response yesterday.

“[It was a] phenomenal reaction out here,” Mr Jones said. “I really enjoy the people here and I find them really wholesome and really friendly which you don’t get in the city.”