Funny, sometimes moving, always engaging Guardian I love this book because it really made me laugh! The best book I've read since I was born! Tom, 11, LoveReading4Kids

The Blockbuster Baddiel Box (The Parent Agency, The Person

Famous works of art can be found in the illustrations, but the people have been replaced by gorillas. Can you identify the original pictures? Who painted them? Say hello to Malcolm, he is our MC, and he doesn't like animals. He has his reasons, and I was nodding along, I could totally understand he may not be all that happy with animals. I understood his point that animals seemingly do nothing all day, just laze around, or do some weird animal thing. Of course, I am an animal fan myself, but I could still understand Malcolm's reasoning. At the end of chapter nine, Malcolm discovers that he has transformed into a tortoise. Write your own version of what might happen next. Malcolm’s family have lots of pets. Create a set of instructions to teach people how to look after a particular pet. These could be written instructions, a radio report or a video tutorial that could be posted online. The only bright spot on the horizon is the Year Six school trip, which Malcolm never thought his parents would pay for. And yet there he is, on the bus, heading to… oh no. A farm.As a whole, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and can see it easily being a popular choice for children and could even provide some interesting discussion points. For further reading I would suggest the award winning: The Parent Agency by David Baddiel. Many thanks to the publishers for sending a review copy to The Bookbag. Which is a problem because his family love them. Their house is full of pets. What the house is NOT full of is stuff Malcolm likes. Such as the laptop he wanted for his birthday. Over the course of the three-day trip, poor Malcolm inhabits various farm animal bodies, learning a little about their lives and abilities along the way, and gradually realising who it is he wants to be. And where. But can he get there? Over the next days, Malcolm changes. He learns a lot about animals. More, in many ways, than he would like. He learns what it’s really like to be an animal. A whole series of animals, in fact…

Animalcolm by David Baddiel. | Teaching Resources Quiz on Animalcolm by David Baddiel. | Teaching Resources

Look at photos of different primates and draw your own pictures of some of them. You could also look at video footage of gorillas and other primates. For example: The path of the story is an obvious one, but I loved how Baddiel takes Malcolm through various incarnations and lives, and gets the whole farm involved in the final push to get him where he needs to end up. This book was so cool and sometimes It's so intimidating I end up reading 5 chapters or 7 chapters and its just soooooooo cool! A light and amusing read, Baddiel gives us an imaginative look at how cats climb and tortoises talk to each other - how Malcolm communicates cross-species is also cleverly done. Over the next days, Malcolm changes. He learns a lot about animals. More, in many ways, than he would like. He learns what it’s really like to be an animal. A whole series of animals, in fact...It does make him think differently. And speak differently. And eat differently. And, um, smell differently. But will he end up the same as before? What happens when a compulsive liar is suddenly unable to tell anything but the truth? Misunderstanding and mayhem, certainly - but also plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and some unexpected consequences.