Earlier this summer Walter Robinson thought of an activity for his 10-year old son, Merwan, to help lighten the mood.

“We started making puns and collecting them,” Mr. Robinson said. “So we collected about 113. And then I said, well, as a summer arts project I have an idea. Let’s create a book, we’ll collect the best 50.”

The book is called Martha’s Vineyard Puns to Bring a Smile and it is available at various outlets this summer.

Merwan created pictures to go with the puns, his father said, using techniques he learned while attending Pam Benjamin’s Sense of Wonder Day Camp. Each of these elements of the book encapsulates a Vineyard summer.

“The purpose was to make people happy,” Merwan said. “Because of Covid-19 people weren’t be able to go outside... or have fun, they were just stuck inside and couldn’t go out to their friends, and the book helps people to bring smiles, without having to go outside.”

Or as he says in the book: “Let’s start a Pun-demic.”

Martha’s Vineyard Puns to Bring a Smile is available for purchase at the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore, Edgartown Bookstore, the Martha’s Vineyard Museum and the Whydah Pirate Ship Museum in West Yarmouth. It is also available at Island libraries.