Code Name Bananas

by David Walliams (HarperCollins Children’s Books) PB RRP $22.99

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

David Walliams, who is being hailed as ‘the new Roald Dahl’, has published numerous humorous books for young readers which have become bestsellers. His latest, Code Name Bananas, is a whizz-bang epic action adventure for all the family! 1940. Britain is at war with Germany. As bombs rain down on the city, orphan boy Eric forms an extraordinary friendship with a remarkable gorilla: Gertrude.

Eric’s mission is code named Bananas as he and his uncle Sid (who has tin legs) flee from London to Bogis Regis with Gertrude who is scheduled for a needle to save her life. The escape involves the three in a flying truck, powered by oxygen, which is attacked by Nazi fighter planes. They finish up in Seaview Towers, a hotel staffed by two women who Eric discovers are Nazis planning to ensure the death of Churchill.

This is a book with relentless, not-stopping-for-a-moment action. There are frequent and different type faced action words scattered throughout the book which breaks up the look of the pages. And too, there are frequent black and white cartoon illustrations by Tony Ross.

Most children will love ‘naughty’ sentences such as ‘I’ve got a great big baboon’s bottom in my face’ and ‘A gorilla burp is bad enough, but a gorilla bottom burp in something else. You need a gas mask to survive it.’

Without doubt, this book is exciting, filled with fast-paced drama and readers

are sure to become engrossed in the story. At 480 pages, it’s a hefty book, but

it’s also imbued with historical facts about World War 11. At the end are notes

on the real wartime Britain, including information about the war, Hitler, the’

blitz, the Dunkirk evacuation, London Zoo, Winston Churchill and Buckingham

Palace.

 

The World’s Worst Teachers

The World’s Worst Teachers by David Walliams, illustrated by Tony Ross (HarperCollins) PB RRP $18.00 ISBN 978 0008363994

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

This is an impressive book, if only because it is super-heavy (over 330 pages), with every page illustrated in full colour and swamped with repetitive and exaggerated words and often with footnotes.

‘Warning! Ten Terrifying Tales within’ it reads on the cover of David Walliams’ latest book of short stories for readers aged 8 to 12 years. The cover also reads ‘from the Number One bestselling author’ but whether this is true, or a falsehood invented by the very inventive author, is difficult to discern. There have been comparisons with Roald Dahl, but the jury is out on that statement.

Other than the size, the other first impression of this book is that the publisher has spent a small fortune on producing it -- from the gold embossing on the cover and onto the book design. Every page has words and phrases in different sized font, with some pages to be read vertically instead of horizontally.

In keeping with the humorous tone of the stories, the world’s worst teachers have names like Mr Pent, Miss Spick, Miss Seethe and Miss Conceit. Except for Mrs Lovey-Dovey, all women are Miss, which is interesting. It would seem the author has a prejudice against spinster teachers. (It would be interesting to know of his student days and his teachers…)

Walliams employs wildly, super-exaggerated humour in relating the stories, each one of which is about a thoroughly dislikeable teacher who in the end gets his or her comeuppance. In Mr and Mrs Lovey-Dovey, for instance, the couple at the start of the story are singletons teaching at the same school, and of course they fall in love. As he often does, Walliams invents words, in this case ‘puketastic’ and ‘wondermental’ (love) to describe the romance from the students’ point of view. In the course of the story, Mr and Mrs are swept far out to sea, but after the children rejoice, there’s a twist at the end of the tale.

‘In the world of horrible teachers, one in particular (stands) out for her wickedness’; this is the elderly school librarian Miss Spick who instils fear into the hearts of all the pupils at Spottingdon School. She uses her mobility scooter to ride up and down the aisles of the school library, sending pupils flying. And too, she is by far the worst librarian ever, imposing fines left, right and centre.

In keeping with the totally over-the-top prose, the illustrations are eye-catching with cartoonish teachers appearing to be wicked, frantic, fearsome, punitive and ugly. Here, on just one page, from the story ‘Miss Seethe’s Detention Rampage’, are words which are variously enclosed in speech balloons or labels: “OH, YES I CAN!” thundered the deputy head. “OH, NO YOU CAN’T!” chimed in the whole school. “OH, YES I CAN!” “OH, NO YOU CAN’T!” “OH, YES I CAN!” ‘EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM, YOU ARE ALL IN DETENTION.” ‘DETENTION RAMPAGE!’

In between all the highlighted and often repetitive words there are stories: they are full of action but are probably too long for the reluctant reader. Having said that, as most children are subversive, they are probably going to enjoy the subversive tone of the book. But whether teachers will be happy to put the book on library shelves remains to be seen.

Fing

Fing by David Walliams, illustrated by Tony Ross (HarperCollins) PB RRP $19.95 ISBN 9780008349080 

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Walliams, the UK multi-million best-selling author, is being touted as the ‘worthy successor’ to Roald Dahl (Telegraph). Certainly, there are similarities in that his books featuring exaggerated characters, are fast-paced, highly imaginative and often funny. Unlike Dahl, Walliams frequently relies on lists (in this book, lists of possessions, jungle animals, and so on). Fing is also filled with typographical extravaganzas and pages of zany and eccentric illustrations by the very talented Tony Ross. On reflection, Dahl seems to be the master and Walliams his acolyte, whether intentional or not.

Fing features Myrtle Meek who is anything but meek, though her librarian parents are certainly meek in name and temperament. They are hugely indulgent of their only child who is a total brat, never satisfied with what they do for her or what they give her. They’ve indulged her wants so much that Myrtle doesn’t know what else she wants except ‘a fing’. Not knowing what a ‘fing’ is, Mr and Mrs Meek venture into the lower vaults of their library where they find The Monsterpedia, a hard copy form of Google. There they find that a fing is to be found in the deepest part of the jungle.

The story switches to Mr Meek’s exploits, overcoming all kinds of dangers, to locate a fing. He brings it back to Myrtle, only to find she already has one (found in the local pet shop). The fing turns out to be every bit – even more – demanding than Myrtle. By book’s end, Myrtle’s parents have what they ought to have had from the start – peace and quiet.

There’s no doubt that readers aged 7 to 11 years will savour this book, even chuckling aloud at the exploits of a child who has everything, not just her parents’ total devotion and attention, but every possession possible. Any kid’s dream! Like Dahl, Walliams has his finger on the pulse of childhood.

The Ice Monster

The Ice Monster by David Walliams, illustrated by Tony Ross (Harper Collins) PB RRP $22.99
ISBN 9780008297244

Reviewed by Kylie Buckley

The Ice Monster is a middle grade fiction novel set in London in 1899. The protagonist, Elsie, is a kind-hearted 10-year-old orphan who has lived at Wormly Hall: Home for Unwanted Children all her life. After being constantly and severely mistreated by the iniquitous old Mrs Curdle, who manages the orphanage, Elsie decides to escape to ‘anywhere but here.’

Elsie then lives on the streets and fends for herself. Her new-found freedom, and sneaky tricks, allows her daily access to the National History Museum to relish in the wonders of the world. Big news soon hits London that an Ice Monster will be arriving from the Arctic to be exhibited at the museum! Elsie sees its photo on the front page of the newspapers and feels an instant connection as it looks ‘lost and alone’…’an orphan’…’just like me’. She follows the news daily until the perfectly preserved woolly mammoth, found frozen in a huge slab of ice, arrives. Elsie immediately and unequivocally adores it.

Elsie comes up with an idea to bring the prehistoric creature to back to life.  With the assistance of a newly found ally (Dotty the museum cleaner) and an egocentric museum Professor they put their strategy into action. A hilarious adventure and plenty of mishaps ensue, including a list of entertaining characters and some enemies intent on foiling Elsie’s plans for ‘Woolly’.

481 pages including 78 chapters may, at first, seem overwhelming for younger readers, however; with a quick flick through the pages they’ll soon discover lots of monochrome pictures, big spacing between lines and plenty of onomatopoeia in large bold font throughout the book. The Ice Monster is highly recommended for children aged 8+ who enjoy humorous adventures. For those of you familiar with Walliams work and curious… yes, Raj makes an appearance!