The first book of the Rook Saga – a trilogy within the wonderful Edge Chronicles – follows the fortunes of Rook Barkwater, who breaks out of the sewer-chambers of Undertown to journey to the Free Glades and an encounter with the mysterious last sky pirate. A deeply satisfying fantasy adventure from two master storytellers.
Everything Celia Rees writes is worth reading. This is the sparkling, swashbuckling tale of two young women, from vastly differing backgrounds, who meet in the West Indies in the 18th century and become pirates and comrades in adventure.
It was the quirky illustrations in this book that made me first pick it up. Then I read it to my four-year-old and we both loved the twists (which I won’t spoil by letting you know!)!
A classic and a favourite in our house – I loved it even before I had children. With a limited colour palette, Duviosin’s illustrations are stylish and expressive. This tale follows a Happy Lion in France who, after escaping the small zoo where he lives, is surprised that people, who loved visiting him there, are now scared of him.
OK, so this one isn’t a laugh-out-loud side-splitter but it is important to me. I LOVE humour that takes you to unexpected places and what could be more unexpected than an alphabet primer with a body count? Gorey paints it black: a child dies on every page, and while it’s only about 200 words long they’re 200 words of gasp-shock-funny. For me, it was a lesson in how dark you can go with children’s humour. The Gashlycrumb Tinies was a major influence on a book I wrote called How to Cook Children, which was a recipe book for witches using kids as ingredients.
I had to include Frankenstein here. Mary Shelley’s nineteenth century novel has been cited as the first ever work of science fiction – and Victor Frankenstein’s shocking creation, while not a robot, is certainly an artificial intelligence of sorts. Frankenstein explores what it means to be human and examines the ethics and unforeseen consequences of creating a self-aware being. Would the rest of this list even exist without it?
The Colour of Magic was Pratchett’s first Discworld book. It came out when I was thirteen and I gobbled it, and then every other book he ever wrote. It was different from anything that had come before: sui generis, I think posh people call it. In a class of its own. Rubbish wizards, elderly barbarian heroes with false teeth, a flat planet carried on the back of a giant turtle … The Colour of Magic took tired ideas in fantasy writing and turned them on their head, creating something completely new and fresh. Also, did I mention funny? So, so funny. I still read the entire Discworld series from start to finish at least once a year and it always makes me think the world is a better place for having had Terry Pratchett in it.
For various reasons I have an emotional connection with all the above books, but there’s loads of other amazingly funny stuff out at the moment. I would have sponged up today’s funny books when I was a young reader. Jennifer Killick’s Alex Sparrow, Swapna Haddow’s Dave Pigeon series, Sam Copeland’s Charlie Changes into a Chicken, Dashe Roberts’ Bigwoof Conspiracy … I could go on and on. Elys Dolan’s ‘… For Beginners’ (Knighthood, Wizarding, Royalty) books stand out because they’re exactly my sense of humour: absurd, unexpected, and deeply, deeply silly. Just when you think the adventures of Dave the dragon and his mate Albrecht the goat cannot get any more ridiculous, Dolan somehow finds another level of absurd. Dragons in legwarmers doing lunges? Count me in!
Fasten your seatbelts and brace yourself for a rip-roaring adventure into the cosmos. Brimming with humour, imagination and all things wacky, The Cosmic Atlas of Alfie Fleet is reminiscent of the stories of Douglas Adams written with a younger audience in mind. With a plot that feels like anything could happen next, this is the kind of story that will appeal to readers who love to laugh at the wacky and the unexpected. Read our full review on the blog.
Alfie Fleet and the Professor are on a planet-hopping quest-keep up if you can! With the Universal Travel Agency about to open its doors, Alfie’s adding the last few entries to his Guide to the Universe when disaster strikes in the form of an old adversary. Alfie needs help fast… and he only has to travel through a few galaxies to find it!
review
Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:
Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:
Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?
Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?
Would you recommend the book for use in primary schools?
yes
Curriculum links (if relevant)
Curriculum links (if relevant)
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Any other comments