The Fastest Truck by Sally Prue and Rory Walker

“Tim the Truck is big and green.

He’s strong and fast and very mean.”

Everyone knows that people with the name Tim are nice. Like Tim Henman, the tennis player who was always gracious in defeat and who had a hill named after him until it was stolen by Andy Murray. And Harry Enfield had a character called Tim. He was nice.

But this book is about a nasty Tim. What’s that all about? But then I remembered that there was a badboy Tim, Tim Westwood, Radio 1 DJ, liker of fast cars. This book is for him.

Tim the truck is always speeding about not caring about all the other cars until one day he gets stuck and needs their help to escape so he changes his ways.

My 3-year-old daughter has been carrying around this book for the past week or two. She obviously likes the fact that it has a naughty Tim in it, so divorced from all the nice Tims she has come across in real life.

So for Tim Westwood and three-year-olds everywhere this is the book for them. 

Publication date: 12 May 2011

Amazon UK link: The Fastest Truck

Johnny Nothing by Ian Probert

The first thing you notice about this book is the pictures at the beginning of each chapter. Each is a full colour landscape-orientated scene or portrait. They really are works of art.

I read this story with my 7-year-old daughter over several bedtimes. She always wanted more. This is because the plot is easy to get to grips with and is in itself gripping too. There is a clear villain so she was rooting for the hero of the story, Johnny Nothing. I would say that with a little bit of language, and most of the adults in the story being smokers (although the author keeps reminding the readers not to smoke) I had to edit it a little bit, and it would be more suited to its audience if this was done at source.

The story begins with a funeral, that of Jacob Ermentrude Marley, the 296th richest person in the UK, quickly followed by a will reading. Johnny Nothing, so called because he has nothing, is one of the people there because Jacob was his uncle. A few adults are there too, including Johnny's parents. "When they looked at Uncle Marley they just saw money. Rolls and rolls of banknotes. Bundles and bundles of bunce. Loads and loads of loot. Dollops and dollops of dough. A stash of cash. A wagonload of wonga."

Johnny though isn't interested in the money, although he does inherit something, a cash card to an account with £1million in it. "Your task is to come back to this church in exactly one year's time and I want you to have more than £1million in that bank account. If you can manage to do that I will give you ten times what you have."

Only trouble is that his mother is "the worst parent of all time: the meanest, nastiest, smelliest, ugliest, sweatiest mother you could possibly imagine." She takes the cash card for safe keeping, but then goes on a never ending spending spree that is out of control, and Johnny, "an easy going, uncomplaining sort of boy, can do nothing. Things escalate and Johnny comes up with plans which fail. Even when he gets the cash card back things still escalate to leave his bank account with nothing in it. But there is a happy ending to the story of course. 

Overall then my 7-year-old daughter really enjoyed the story, but I think a little editing is required for the book to be totally suitable for its target audience.

(Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

Publication date: 5 March 2014

Amazon UK link: Johnny Nothing

Asterix and the Banquet by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo

This is the fifth Asterix adventure. Roman General Overanxious is on a special mission from Caesar. "All Gaul is at peace with the liberating Roman Army, except this one little village of dissidents."

After he fails to battle them into submission he has another idea. "We shall isolate the Gaulish village from the outside world. You'll have to be self-sufficient and live on the produce of your own village! The outside world will forget you."

Asterix has other ideas though and makes a bet that he and Obelix will be able to escape, go on a tour of Gaul and return with all the local food specialties from all over Gaul as prove, serving them in a big banquet. 

"And this is the start of the famous tour of Gaul."

The plot is a bit busy I feel and would be most appreciated if you knew France and the stereotypes of its people. However there are still some good jokes in here, mainly relating to Obelix's weight and some of the character names, such as a guy they meet who betrays them called Unpatriotix, and two highwaymen they encounter, Villanus and Unscrupulus. The pirates feature again, and Dogmatix is introduced, although not by name.

Overall maybe not the best Asterix but that is because of the high standards of the other ones.

Original release date: Feb 7th 1963

Amazon UK link: Asterix and the Banquet

Asterix the Gladiator by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo

This is the fourth Asterix adventure. Odius Asparagus, the Prefect of Gaul, is going on leave to Rome and wants to take a present for Caesar. "I have a brilliant idea! Why not take Caesar one of the invincible Gauls?"

The least intimidating of the indomitable Gauls is Cacofonix the bard so he is the one kidnapped and taken to Rome. Asterix and Obelix are hot on their heels though to try and get their bard back. While in Rome they find out that Caesar wants to throw him to the lions at the next games in Circus Maximus, and "only condemned men, lions and gladiators get into the circus," so they train to be gladiators.

The book features fights galore, at which Obelix collects helmets of the people (mainly Romans) he beats as part of a competition with Asterix. The pirates also feature for the first time in the Asterix series.

The story involves a kidnapping, just like the previous adventure Asterix and the Goths did, but this doesn't detract from the story here. The strong, well-defined characters make for some really good jokes, including plenty at the expense of the bard and his bad singing. This is another excellent Asterix story.

Amazon UK link: Asterix the Gladiator

Publication date: First published 1964