Book review: Schoolboy Tom Watkins is forced to move to “somewhere in the depths of Cornwall,” Trefuggle Bay to be precise, famed for the scubbly (a type of fish) found in its bay.
So Tom doesn't like his new school, St. Scubbly's, and he has no friends until he finds a goat, which he then promptly kills – “it was lying at my feet, eyes staring, tongue lolling out, legs sticking up like flag poles" – accidental of course. This is when he meets the goat’s owner Mr. Baboomski, “a crazy looking nutcake with a bonkers moustache”, originally from Escorvia where he was in charge of a circus but now in England.
The goat turns out not to be dead and the three of them go on an adventure bringing to justice a pair of crooks in the town.
The book is full of comedy. Whether that be bad goat puns, wordplay with Mr. Baboomski’s bad English – “My circus days is all in my behind now” – or blues lyrics from “dad’s favourite singer” Throaty Malone.
Mr. Baboomski’s deliberately bad English occasionally makes the book a little harder to read, but in the end you’ll get used to it and probably be speaking like him, saying “is” instead of “am” and “are” for example. And you might even learn some new words – patoof, crazlepops, patonkleberries, skaboonky!
There are some black and white drawings along the way too to add to the text, plus the odd recipe inserted too.
This is a funny book ideal for confident readers or to be read to those younger.
Publication date: 7 Jan 2016
No comments:
Post a Comment