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Philip Ardagh was our Guest Editor in May 2010. Click here to see the books that inspired him.
Philip Ardagh, whose very first Grubtown Tale won him the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, is author of numerous books including the award-winning Eddie Dickens adventures, which have been translated into over 30 languages.
He wrote BBC Radio’s first truly interactive radio drama, collaborated with Sir Paul McCartney on his first children’s book and is a ‘regularly irregular’ reviewer of children’s books for the Guardian. Married with a son, he divides his time between Tunbridge Wells and Grubtown, where he cultivates his impressive beard.
And if your children love Grubtown then do get them to go to www.visitgrubtown.com
Drawing on the weird and wonderful characters and settings from the Grubtown books, visitgrubtown.com features six distinct Grubtown locations – including the Daily Herald newspaper office, the Duckhouse/Museum and Smoky’s cinema. The site incorporates fun audio and video - what more could you ask for!
If you’ve ever looked at a furry ball of purry cat asleep in the sunshine and wondered what they are getting up to in their dreams, then you’ve got something in common with Philip Ardagh. In these exciting, comic and purr-fectly written little adventures, he imagines his feline star, Furry Purry Beancat exploring one of her other eight lives while asleep. In the first story, she finds herself on a pirate ship, a pirate ship’s cat. She arrives at a particularly exciting moment too as the ship is under attack from fellow pirates. With her captain locked up in his cabin, things look bleak, but Furry Purry Beancat soon discovers that the ship’s rats are a resourceful bunch and together they turn the tide in favour of their own pirate crew. It helps that one of the opposing pirates, a huge chap called Ten-Tun, falls for Beancat, but really, who wouldn’t? The little story is packed with incident and adventure as well as some gloriously comic moments thanks in the main to the young rats. It’s irresistible reading, made even more so by fabulous black and white illustrations by Rob Biddulph. All in all, this is a real treat, and it’s great to know that there will be eight more Furry Purry Beancat stories to come.
Even among lovable children’s book characters, Furry Purry Beancat is in a class of her own. A beautiful, beautifully furry little pussy cat with the pinkest nose and the fluffiest tale, she has some very exciting adventures. Sometimes you see, when Beancat goes to sleep, she’ll wake up somewhere completely different and in another one of her nine lives and that’s when she knows an adventure is about to happen. In this story, she’s a railway cat – what could be better? And she’s arrived at the station in very interesting times – there are unscrupulous thieves targeting the passengers and they’re in cahoots with enemy spies up to no good. Fortunately, Beancat is not one to panic and with the help of a great supporting cast, including Yorkie the talkative cockatoo, she’s able to save the day and the life of her new friend, Polly. It’s beautifully told for young readers, a mix of excitement and charm and the illustrations by Rob Biddulph are purr-fect too. Funny, exciting and thoroughly charming.
Interest Age 5-8 | When Norman the Norman from Normandy’s dad, Great Big Norman, is killed in a fight (with ten Bretons from Brittany), Norman swears to visit every one of this dad’s three graves (long story) to pay his respects. He sets off with this dad’s HUGE sword on his not-very-wild boar Truffle and, without meaning to, indeed often without even noticing, avenges his father’s death. If that sounds quite bloodthirsty, it sort of is, but more than that, in the hands of this gifted comedy partnership, it’s just very, very funny. Part of Barrington Stoke’s excellent Little Gems series, this packs more laughs and entertainment into its short extent than books three times the length. High quality cream paper and a special easy to read font ensure a smooth read for all.
THOMAS SNOOP is in training to become a SPY. Entrusted with a TOP SECRET mission by the mysterious Lord Severn, right-hand man to the Tudor king, Thomas must travel to the magnificent Goldenhilt Hall - in the guise of a servant - in order to uncover traitors plotting against the crown. It will take all Thomas's wits and cunning to uncover the traitors lurking at Goldenhilt Hall - and he must do so without being discovered himself... Perfect for fans of Horrible Histories, filled with amazing facts and historical trivia, and brilliantly illustrated throughout, you won't be able to put this SECRET DIARY down! Discover other books in Philip Ardagh and Jamie Littler's hilarious Secret Diary series: The Secret Diary of John Drawbridge, Medieval Knight in Training The Secret Diary of Jane Pinny, Victorian House Maid (and Accidental Detective) The Secret Diary of Kitty Cask,Smuggler's Daughter
This cheery group of Little Adventurers will charm young readers with the fun they are having with their pets. Finnegan has brought his puppy, Licky Dog, Floss is showing off her cat Podge, Peanut’s pet is a little mouse called Pocket. Spratt, the littlest of the adventurers, has the most unusual pet of all. He has a leaf called Leafy. What on earth can a leafy do to impress Sprat’s fellow adventurers? Luckily, Leaf has plenty of surprises in store and soon the friends realise just what a special pet he can be. the Little Adventurers four will encourage hours of immersive play, and will ignite the imagination of curious adventurers everywhere. ~ Julia Eccleshare
The Grunts - Mr and Mrs and adopted son Sunny - are back, and as delightfully repulsive as ever. Yes, they wash with cheese (if there’s no soap to hand), eat roadkill, and argue with one another all the time (‘Choking hazard’ ‘Fly tip’ just some of the terms of abuse hurled) but they’re strangely lovable nonetheless. This new adventure sees them on the run from a group of criminals who hold the Grunts responsible for their misfortunes and culminates in a very funny chase involving a tractor, bunny slippers, a mummy on a sack and an enormous man in a bird suit. All ends happily for the Grunts, and there’s even a surprise revelation about Sunny’s background. There are jokes to appeal to readers of all ages while the author’s asides alone are worth the cover price. Axel Scheffler’s illustrations catch the daftness of the story perfectly. ~ Andrea Reece
The Grunts - Mr and Mrs and adopted son Sunny - are back, and as delightfully repulsive as ever. Yes, they wash with cheese (if there’s no soap to hand), eat roadkill, and argue with one another all the time (‘Choking hazard’ ‘Fly tip’ just some of the terms of abuse hurled) but they’re strangely lovable nonetheless. This new adventure sees them on the run from a group of criminals who hold the Grunts responsible for their misfortunes and culminates in a very funny chase involving a tractor, bunny slippers, a mummy on a sack and an enormous man in a bird suit. All ends happily for the Grunts, and there’s even a surprise revelation about Sunny’s background. There are jokes to appeal to readers of all ages while the author’s asides alone are worth the cover price. Axel Scheffler’s illustrations catch the daftness of the story perfectly. ~ Andrea Reece
Interest Age 7-12 Reading Age 7 Philip Ardagh is one of the funniest - and cleverest - authors around and his stories of the Green Men of Gressingham are not only laugh-out-loud funny, they do a fair bit of consciousness raising too. Peasant Squat is recruited by the outlaws specifically to help them see off the unpleasant and seemingly invincible knight Sir Jack de Zack. The way in which Squat does this is very ingenious indeed and though short, as all Barrington Stoke books are, it’s a thoroughly satisfying story. The narrative voice is particularly droll and the author’s interjections great fun. ~ Andrea Reece Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 7+ Barrington Stoke is the foremost publisher of dyslexia friendly books and those for reluctant readers. Here on Lovereading4kids we are constantly selecting new titles and refreshing our special dyslexia friendly category. Click here to view our current selection which is broken down by age range.
There are actually four stories for the price of one in this chunky little book. It brings together three of Philip Ardagh’s jolly adventures of the Green Men of Gressingham. The Green Men (brown men would be more accurate – their outfits are brown as it hides the dirt better) are a band of outlaws led by Robyn-in-the-Hat who, together with young knight-in-training Tom Dashwood, set about helping the poor and undertaking quests. The stories are perfect for young readers, packed with incident and humour, and full of appealing characters. Here they are enclosed within an extra comic story: the tale of their creation, as recounted through communications between the Author, and his hapless publisher, sent via Dotty, the Author’s assistant. It’s a clever way of breaking up the stories, though might set young readers wondering if all authors are quite so obsessed with lunch! ~ Andrea Reece ***This is the launch title of the Conkers, from Barrington Stoke, a new imprint of stories packed with brilliant extras like fun facts, quizzes and loads of gorgeous illustrations to tempt reluctant readers into longer stories.
One of our Books of the Year 2014 Award winning Philip Ardagh’s Mr and Mrs Grunt are as disgusting as ever as they trundle into this fourth adventure in their ramshackle caravan which, in a typically unusual way, is drawn by an elephant. Still up their always crafty and usually revolting tricks (and with lots of witty asides to the reader), Mr and Mrs Grunt have an encounter with a doctor who’ll find he has a lot less garden when he has treated a very swollen nose, engage in some serious skulduggery in the preserves, jams and jellies competition and even end up in prison (again). As ever, Sunny and Mimi have a lot to do just to keep the hilarious show on the road. ~ Julia Eccleshare
Shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2013 - June 2013 Book of the Month The Grunts, a family of doubtful charm to whom extraordinary and mostly disgusting things happen, are back for a fabulous new adventure. Everything that is revolting is crammed into this hilarious new story as Mr Grunt takes on the challenge of getting a POGI – Person of Great Importance – to a certain Mrs Bayliss. But Mr Grunt, Mrs Grunt and Sunny, their stolen son, who live in a madcap caravan and live off road kill are not the most reliable people to entrust with such a task...Fans of Roald Dahl’s The Twits will love the outrageous Grunts and their topsy turvey life.
Meet the Grunts! Mr and Mrs, their cat Ginger Biscuit, two donkeys Clip and Clop and Sunny, a child Mr Grunt stole off a washing line as a present for Mrs Grunt. The Grunts roam the land in a ramshackle and unlikely looking home on wheels. Their adventures are as unsavoury, unlikely and entertaining as they are as Axel Scheffler’s illustrations wittily show; fans of Andy Stanton’s Mr Gum and Roald Dahl’s The Twits will delight in this disgusting but amiable pair their terrible antics... Books in The Grunts Series: 1. The Grunts in Trouble 2. The Grunts All at Sea 3. The Grunts on the Run 4. The Grunts in a Jam
