I’m intrigued by the concept of AniMalcolm, David Baddiel’s latest book for kids ages 9 and up.
When he was a baby, my 7 year old used to eat books. I don’t just mean nibbling on the odd book cover. I’m talking about biting out chunks, chewing and swallowing pages (excuse the TMI, but I would often find the ‘evidence’ in his nappies). Jed ate anything cardboard related — cereal boxes, egg trays, delivery packaging… you name it.
At the stage when he was gnawing on cardboard, drooling everywhere and crawling on all fours, I did start to wonder. Had the hospital made a mistake and swapped my little boy for a puppy?
Funnily enough there’s a real dog named Jed in the family — my niece named her two puppies after her favourite cousins, Ezra and Jed!
I’m sure many of you can relate to having critters in human form tearing up your homes. As the title AniMalcom suggests, it’s about a boy named Malcolm who, against his better nature, starts to develop some beastly habits.
The irony is that Malcolm hates animals. He would rather play with gadgets than the family pets. And his house is crawling with pets. On his Year 6 school trip, Malcolm is sent to.. shock, horror, a farm! Here he gets up close and personal with the farm animals and soon starts scratching, grunting, smelling and sprouting in unexpected places…
Ezra will be heading on his Year 6 trip next summer and I’m hoping he doesn’t come back any – well – hairier! I know he’ll love this book though, as it’s filled with David Baddiel’s famously left-field sense of humour.
A hugely successful TV comedy writer, columnist and comedian (Baddiel and Skinner, The Mary Whitehouse Experience), David Baddiel is also the author of several novels. Baddiel’s debut children’s’ book, The Parent Agency, won the LOLLIES (Laugh Out Loud) award and was the bestselling 9-12 debut in 2014. That book was inspired by a chat with his son (also called Ezra) about why Harry Potter didn’t just leave the Dursleys and go find better parents. Read more about that here.
AniMalcolm comes hot on the hooves heels of The Parent Agency and is set to be another hit with school-age kids.
WIN a copy of AniMalcolm for your kids this Christmas: Head to Babes about Town on Facebook for your chance to bag a FREE copy of David Baddiel’s latest blockbuster!
My little animal and some clown behind him (aka Jed and Ezra in costume at Camp Bestival 2014!)
Treasured Moments (in conversation with Babes)
I love the sound of this book, and have already bought for Isabelle for Xmas, cannot wait for her to read it! How nice of your niece to name her puppies after your boys xxx
I’ve always enjoyed David Baddiel’s sense of humour so great he’s launched into the children’s book arena. It was very funny when we discovered the dogs were named Ezra and Jed, at first I thought it was my brother having a laugh! :-)