Review: Billionaire Boy, by David Walliams

Billionaire Boy is the third novel from David Walliams, illustrated by Tony Ross. Joe Spud is the richest twelve year old in the world, after his father invents toilet paper that's wet on one side and dry on the other. Joe has his own cinema, race track, butler (he used to have an orangutan butler, but that worked out rather messily.) He's got eight billion in trust for when he gets older, but to keep him going until then his father gives him a million every now and then. The only thing he doesn't have is a friend.

Joe switches from his posh school (tights and Elizabethan ruffs, and lessons like 'Learning to step over the homeless person as you leave the opera' and 'History of wearing corduroy') to the local comp, where no one will know who he is. He quickly makes a friend, but thanks to his father's well meaning interference his secret soon comes out. Can Joe ever be happy?


Aimed at eight or nine year olds, this book pokes gentle fun at the 'Oh, if I won the lotto everything would be perfect!' school of thought. Joe has more money than he can possibly spend, but it doesn't make him happy – just friendless and vaguely overweight. Walliams has a deft touch and the comedy and drama never overwhelm each other.

And the moment where Joe picks his favourite books – The Boy in the Dress and Mr Stink – made me laugh. Both, of course, are written by David Walliams.


"Sit down!" said Grubb Two, as he or she put his or her hand on Lauren's shoulder to force her down onto the bench. Lauren, however, grabbed his or her hand and twisted it behind his or her back, and then pushed him or her to the ground. The other Grubb charged her, so Lauren leaped into the air and kung fu kicked him or her to the ground. Then the other one leaped up and tried to grab her, but she karate chopped him or her on his or her shoulder and he or she raced off screaming in pain.

It really is quite hard writing this when you don't know someone's gender.

Review: Illustrated Stories for Bedtime, published by Usborne

The newest in Usborne's Illustrated Story Collections is a beautiful hardback aimed at children just beginning to read. The eight stories span from the well known - King Donkey Ears, The Enormous Turnip - to the slightly more obscure - The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Danny the Dragon. Each is beautifully illustrated. Your child will love reading the stories with you. A real treasure.


There was once a poor man named Wilf. He would travel from town to town looking for work, with only his dog, Scruff, and a very special stone.

One day, he came to a small cream cottage with a thatched roof. "Let's try here," he said to Scruff and rapped on the door.

It was opened by a woman who gave him a suspicious look. "Who are you?" she snapped. "What do you want?"

"Good morning ma'am," said Wilf. "I was wondering if you had any small jobs I could do, in return for some lunch?"

"I'm sorry, I don't have any jobs," said the woman, starting to close the door.

"I can make soup from a stone," Wilf said, quickly.

"Really?" said the woman. "That I'd like to see," and she invited him in.

Review: Illustrated Stories for Christmas, published by Usborne

Usborne's Christmas books are always beautiful and this one is no exception. Part of the Young Reading range, the stories range from classic Christams tales – 'Twas the Night before Christmas and The Snow Queen – to more modern stories – The Elf and the Toymaker and Santa's Day Off – to classic tales – East o'the Sun, West o'the Moon. Each is beautifully illustrated and written to appeal to children. Perfect to share with your young children on a snowy afternoon.


Wandering home that night, Kay gazed at the sparkling snowflakes drifitng down. As he stared, he noticed one that seemed to be growing. He gasped. The snowflake grew larger...

...until it became a beautiful woman. She was astonishing. Her shimmering white clothes were coated in snow and she herself was made entirely of ice.

'The Snow Queen!'

The woman turned her bright, cold eyes on Kay. He shook his head and she vanished. 'I must have imagined her,' he thought.

Review: More Bloody Horowitz, by Anthony Horowitz

Anthony Horowitz is best known for his Alex Rider series, but he also has a wicked sense of humour and it's fully on display here. Right from the first story, The Man who Killed Darren Shan, to the 'Editor's note' at the end, these stories never stop surprising you. Even when you know there must be a twist coming, it's hard to see them ahead of time.

The book itself is beautifully printed in an old fashioned style and the cover is vivid and eye catching. This is sure to be a bestseller.


"Are you really a machine?" Cameron asked.

"I am. But you don't need to think of me that way, dear. I'd like to be your friend."

"What's your name?"

"Tamsin."

"Tamsin? Tamsin?" Cameron played with the name for a moment. "If you're really made of metal, I'm going to call you Tin Sam," he announced.

And that was the name that stuck.

Event: Author Visit

This month's Author was Aubrey Flegg, Author of the Louise trilogy, Katie's War and The Cinnamon Tree, and the newly published Fugitives! a story of the Flight of the Earls. Aubrey met two groups of children from a local school and talked a little about his life and some of the experiences that later became novels.




We'd like to thank Aubrey for traveling to visit with us today.

Review: Illustrated Grimm's Fairy Tales, published by Usborne

The Young Reading collections are always beautiful and the newest in the series is no exception. The fifteen stories are a mix between the well known - Snow White, The Elves and the Shoemaker - and the lesser known - The Bear and the Wren, King Thrushbeard. Each story is illustrated in a slightly different style, making for easy identification. The book is satisfyingly chunky, but the stories are simple enough for even the youngest children.

A perfect bedtime treat.

One winter's morning, the queen was sitting beside her window sewing when it began to snow. The snowflakes drifted like feathers down from the sky and settled on the window ledge.

As the queen watched them, her needle slipped and pricked her finger. Three drops of blood fell onto the snow.

'I wish I had a child,' she sighed, 'with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as the ebony wood of the window frame.'

Nine months later the queen's wish came true and she gave birth to a baby girl. The king was delighted. 'Let's call her Snow White,' he suggested.

But the king's happiness didn't last long. The queen became very ill and within a week she died. He and Snow White were all alone.

Review: Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, illustrated by Axel Sheffler

Last year's best seller returns in a new paperback format. This is the 70th anniversary of the book's publication, and the bright new pictures are a fantastic way to celebrate. A beautiful book from the illustrator of The Gruffalo and Tabby McTat. Everyone knows at least a few lines from these poems. Treat yourself to the book and see the story unfold.


His manner is vague and aloof,
You would think there is nobody shyer.
But his voice has been heard on the roof,
While he was curled up by the fire.
And he's sometimes been heard by the fire,
While he was about on the roof.
(At least, we all heard that somebody purred!)
Which is incontestable proof
Of his singular magical powers;
And I've known the family to call
Him in from the garden for hours
While he was asleep in the hall.
And not long ago this phenomenal cat
Prduced seven kittens right out of a hat!
And we all say, Oh! Well, I never! Was there ever
A cat so clever as
Magical Mr Mistoffelees?

Review: Lies, by Michael Grant

Lies is the third in the 'Gone' series.

In Gone everyone over 15 vanished in an instant, leaving the kids to struggle with what had happened. In Hunger, the monstrous gaiaphage revealed itself in the nearby mine. Now in Lies, everything the town has built is threatening to come down around them.

The Council have taken some of the pressure off Sam, but he still holds himself responsible for everything that happens in the town. When Zil, part of the Human Crew, starts stirring up trouble, Sam wants to deal with him once and for all. The Council refuse.

Meanwhile Orsay has become known as the Prophetess. The children believe she's in touch with the world outside the FAYZ, their sealed little bubble. The messages she relays seem to say that the kids who vanish on their fifteenth birthday – take the poof, as the kids call it – have all reappeared in the real world. More and more kids are contemplating taking the poof.

When Zil finally attacks the consequences are tragic. But through the smoke and flames of Zil's rampage an old enemy is spotted. Someone everyone believed to be dead...


Reading any of the Gone books always poses a dilemma. You're not going to want to put it down for any reason. So far three books in the projected six-book series have been published, one about every six months. It's not fast enough. These books are heartstopping, breathtaking thrillers and they never let up.

Gone, the first book, takes place over the course of twelve and a half days, with an epilogue a few days later. Hunger, set three months later, covers only five days, again with an epilogue three days later. Four months on, Lies covers almost three days. The intervals are getting shorter, but the books themselves are not and it makes for a much more intense story.

I loved the brief glimpse of life outside the FAYZ, though Grant cleverly doesn't tell us whether it's real or an illusion provided to Orsay by the Darkness. The new kids are a nice touch as well; in an enclosed environment, it should be hard to introduce new characters, but Grant pulls it off so well that they never feel shoehorned in. At the same time the regular characters are not neglected; several have breakdowns of one kind or another in the course of the story, and it's painful watching them wrestle their way back to something approaching normalcy.

Can't wait for the next book, Plague, or indeed the final two – Darkness and Light.

Parents be warned; there is violence in this book, some quite severe.


'You ok, man?'

Sam didn't answer. He peered into the darkness. Searched the shadows. Clenched. Ready.

Finally, he forced hims fists to relax. Forced himself to take a breath. 'I've never set out to hurt anyone,' Sam said.

Edilio waited.

'I never set out thinking I'm going to kill someone. I go into a fight and I think, maybe I'll have to hurt someone. Yeah. I think that. And I have. You know; you've been there.'

'Yeah, I've been there,' Edilio said.

'If it's him, though, if Drake is somehow back...it's not going to be about just doing what I have to do. You know?'

Edilio did not answer.

'I've done what I had to do. To save people. Or to save myself. This won't be like that. If it's him, I mean.'

'Dude, it's Zil. Zil and the Human Crew did this.'

Sam shook his head. 'Yeah. Zil. But I know he's out there, Edilio. I Know Drake is out there. I feel it.'

'Sam...'

'If I see him, I'll kill him,' Sam said. 'Not self defence. I'm not waiting until he attacks. I see him, I burn him.'

Edilio grabbed him by both shoulders and got in his face. 'Hey! Listen to me, Sam. You're getting freaked out here. The problem is Zil. Ok? We have real problems, we don't need nightmares. And anyway, we don't do cold blooded murder. Not even if it is Drake.'

Sam firmly pried Edilio's hands off his shoulders. 'If it's Drake, I'm burning him down. If you and Astrid and the rest of the council want to arrest me for doing it, fine. But I'm not sharing my life with Drake Merwin.'

'Well, you do what you got to do, Sam, and I will too. Right now what we got to do is figure out what Zil is up to. So, I'm going to go and do that. You want to come? Or do you want to stand here in the dark talking about murder?'

Edilio stomped away, swinging his machine pistol down into firing position.

For the first time, Sam followed Edilio.