The Fall of Julius Caesar (2017) - a retelling of the Shakespeare story for the Collins' Big Cats range And so the tale begins as brother and sister Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face try to find the badgers and bring them to justice, along the way meeting the King ("I'll just have to send someone on a mission to drive all badgers from the kingdom. You'll do") and several other characters, including a talking shopping trolley that they rescued from a stream.

Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face live on the peaceful little island of Great Kerfuffle. One day Stinkbomb notices that a tenner has gone missing from his piggy bank. "The badgers have taken your tenner. What are we going to do about it?" A man wearing a bathrobe and a badge with the word Butler opens the door and lets them in. He leads the kids inside and then walks in place trying to make the palace much bigger than it is. Finally he sits in a chair labeled throne puts on a small crown and a badge that says king but when the kids remind him he is in a book he rushes up stairs to change out of his bathrobe and put on real clothes. After he is properly dressed he says there can't be a problem with badgers since he banned them all, but it is realized as he describes what he banned that what he really banned was rhinoceroses. So the king sends the kids out in search of the badgers. Stinkbomb is not sure how they will find them. Ketchup Face says they will get help, but Stinkbomb says that only happens in books, but Ketchup Face reminds him they are in a book. Summary: The fourth, and perhaps even the most silly and funny, book in this series – definitely high esteem indeed. Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face are a mischief-making brother and sister who are not afraid to make a mess or strike out on their own adventure." --School Library JournalBooks like these don't follow the pattern. They miss out what one of the lead characters call the best bits, they get letters of apology from the author mid-way through, people are aware of their fictionality and which chapter they're in, and more. And on this evidence they're ridiculously funny. And that's coming from a chap who's read the other three books, and found them more than worth the while – this one is definitely the best for absurdist humour, postmodern pranks and silliness. This wonderfully zany story is perfectly paired with the scratchy stylings of David Tazzyman; ensuring fans of Mr Gum will be drawn to this story is a smart move. Sharp wit and genuinely funny storytelling keep everything moving along at a rattling speed. It’s a short read, perfect for primary schools and could enchant a few reluctant older readers too. Clever, surprising and satisfyingly silly. Find sources: "John Dougherty"author– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( May 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) My daughter liked the way these stories were incorporated, famous stories such as Treasure Island and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, as well as made up ones. She also liked the character Alfred Kendon-Furtado who won a competition to be in the book but seemingly had nothing to do except put up his hand after he'd been ignored for a while to remind people that he won a competition to be in the story.

This results in lots of characters from lots of different stories colliding and, of course, this leads to chaos (accompanied by "comedy saxophone music").Unless, that is, they want Ketchup-Face's song. She mentions the possibility, and then it passes. I haven't given one of these excellent books five stars yet – indeed I found the third a little too arch and abrupt to finish at times – but this one gets the rating, song or no song. Roll on the fifth, is what I say.

Being so fond of breaking the rules, the creators don't mind introducing some of the funniest and best characters halfway along, or allowing the Ninja Librarian to come and go at will. The books don't bother with morals, and use their inventiveness as source of surprise rather than clever, articulate plotting. What they do from the outset is test the form, and the reader's laugh muscles, as they give the audience what they want. The book is being pitched as for fans of the Mr Gum books, and I'd go along with that. It has the same silly, surreal nature, plus it also makes use of repetition, recognition humour. My 7-year-old daughter said it was really funny and deserving of a 5-star rating. A Midsummer Night's Dream (2014) - a retelling of the Shakespeare story for the Collins' Big Cats range My children love the Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face series and a new addition is always welcome. If you haven’t read any of the books before, you will need to know that Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face are a brother and sister, who live on the Isle of Great Kerfuffle. Oh, and there are some very evil badgers, who regularly cause mayhem.Finn MacCool & the Giant's Causeway (2011) - a retelling of the Irish legend for the Oxford Reading Tree He worked as a primary school teacher in London during the 1990s and early 2000s; during this period, he began to write stories for children. His first book was published in 2004 and he left teaching the same year to concentrate on his writing career.