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Thimble Holiday Havoc

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Thimble Holiday Havoc

Jon Blake

Illustrated by Martin Chatterton

Firefly Press

Earlier this year, we reviewed the #lollies2017 nominated Thimble Monkey Superstar by the industrious Jon Blake. It proved a big hit with Nina, making a lasting impression with its genuinely laugh-out-loud episodes of hilarity. Well, Thimble is back and this time he’s going on holiday with the hapless Douglas Dawson and his family.

The Dawsons take part in a ‘house swap’, driving over to France with Thimble in tow. Thimble barely steps onto the continent before catastrophes and calamities strike. It’s clanger after clanger as the mischievous, manic monkey causes devastation in the rural village.

Nina found ‘Holiday Havoc’ even more hilarious than Monkey Thimble Superstar; in fact it’s bigger and better in many ways. It is quite literally a bigger book and seems to be written for a slightly older readership – recommended for 7 to 9 year olds. It is also extremely funny as the madcap humour and “crazy stuff” (Nina’s words) is ratcheted up a few notches: Thimble gets his hands on some superglue and does his worst; he manages to turn dad’s trousers into hot pants when he gets hold of the scissors; and you really don’t want to know the mayhem that is caused when Thimble finds the drill.

The Thimble stories are an absolute delight; fresh and funny, anarchic and inventive – they’re brilliant for reading aloud and totally accessible for newly independent readers. The illustrations by Martin Chatterton really bring the story to life. Both books now come highly recommended – Nina gives five stars or 10/10 (“whichever is higher”) and has already voted Thimble in the Laugh Out Loud Awards.

Thimble Holiday Havoc is published by firefly press and can be purchased online or at your local independent book shop.

We are grateful to Firefly Press for providing us with a review copy of the book.

Jon Blake Introduces Thimble…

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An exclusive article by author Jon Blake to mark our first ever blog tour (#Lollies2017)
Jon Blake with his son

I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce Thimble Monkey Superstar to those who haven’t yet read it and after this introduction possibly never will.

Thimble Monkey Superstar is set in a bungalow.  This is important because ‘bungalow’ is one of my favourite words and also the type of house in which I grew up.  There were three bedrooms at one end of our bungalow and a kitchen and lounge at the other, joined by a brief hall.  My dad was a big man and if he took up a strategic position in this hall he was inescapable.  And believe me, there were times when we needed to escape.  Psychologists have theorised that children’s writers often suffer from arrested development due to their own bad experiences in childhood, and I can –  

I’m sorry, I’ve gone completely off the point.  Yes, Thimble is set in a bungalow, inhabited by failed children’s author Douglas Dawson, who is under the illusion he lives in a castle complete with portcullis and dancing bears.  Douglas is a kind of cross between Alan Partridge and Martin Amis.  He has a disabled son, Jams, who is a kind of cross between sunshine and Spongebob.  Jams is loosely based on my own son and chief cuddling partner, Jordi.  Last but not least there is Nora, Jams’ mum, on whose income as a green energy something-or-other they all depend.  How Nora became Douglas’s partner is a considerable mystery, but once Thimble arrives there is no doubt whose company she prefers.  Thimble, as you may have guessed from the title, is the star of the show, a kind of cross between a capuchin and Harpo Marx.

Douglas Dawson is less than happy playing second fiddle to a monkey and keen to remove him by any means necessary.  Jams, having the best friend he always dreamed of, is not.  Therein lies the basis of the tale, which features (among other things) nits, tarantulas, mechanical diggers, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, monkey charades and a near-death experience.  There is only one poo joke and I would modestly suggest it’s quite a good one.

Thimble Monkey Superstar is illustrated by the legendary Martin Chatterton and published by Welsh indie publishers Firefly Press. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank them for rescuing my long career as a children’s writer from oblivion. In my own mind it’s a little bit like Heaven 17 resurrecting Tina Turner back in the 80s. Then again, my own mind is a little bit like Douglas Dawson’s: no stranger to fantasy.  

Find out more about Thimble Monkey Superstar here

Read our full Q and A with Jon Blake here

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonblakeauthor

Follow Firefly on Twitter @fireflypress

Most Anticipated New Books from Welsh Authors and Publishers

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Daddy Bookworm looks ahead to the next few months of Welsh books

So we’ve already had a few corkers in 2017 – our favourites being The Bus Stop at the End of the World by Dan Anthony (Gomer Press) and Elias Martin by Nicola Davies (Graffeg). We thought we’d look ahead to what’s on offer in the coming months, with a few books from Welsh publishers getting us VERY excited…

Next week sees the publication of Gaslight by Eloise Williams (Firefly Press). From what we’ve heard, it’s comparable to Pullman’s Ruby in the Smoke and is a dark and rich Victorian thriller. Can’t wait for our copy.

The amazing Nicola Davies has so many books out this year; I bet even she is struggling to keep pace. There will be two more supernatural tales in the Shadows and Light series published in September and another release through Graffeg in May. The Pond is a second collaboration with Cathy Fisher (see Perfect) exploring a difficult topic – the death of a father. Graffeg do a brilliant job in making hardback editions to treasure – we’re sure this will be no exception.

Nicola Davies works with other publishers too and has two books coming out with Walker. King of the Sky will be published in May, but our most anticipated Nicola Davies book is Lots: The Diversity of Life on Earth. This will be out in June and is a collaboration with Emily Sutton – the team that brought you Tiny, The Invisible World of Microbes. From what we’ve seen (only snippets of pages on Twitter!) the illustrations look absolutely gorgeous and completely captivating.

Nine year old Noah’s most anticipated book is Aubrey and the Terrible Ladybirds by Horatio Clare (Firefly Press). The first Aubrey book won the Branford Boase Award and was also longlisted for this year’s Carnegie – scandalous that it didn’t make the shortlist! This is the book we are most excited about!

I guess Noah should also be quite excited about Jackie Morris’ Mrs Noah’s Pockets (Otter Barry Books). This is a collaboration between Jackie and James Mayhew; text by Jackie, illustrations by James. We have to wait for September for this one, but it’s such a brilliant idea and definitely one I’ll be taking in to school to share.

Jackie Morris also has two books being republished in large hardback versions by Graffeg – The Ice Bear and Snow Leopard will be published in September. These formats show off Jackie Morris’ illustrations magnificently well.

Claire Fayers’ Accidental Pirates are currently doing battle with Michael Morpurgo and a Jam Doughnut in the Younger Readers’ Book Award from FCBG (Federation of Children’s Book Groups). The second instalment is due in the middle of May and is called Journey to Dragon Island (MacMillan Kids).

Other bookish highlights include Through The Eyes of Me, written from the perspective of a child with autism (by Jon Roberts, Graffeg) and the reveal of the Tir Na n-Og winner in May. The three books battling it out are:

Alien Rain by Ruth Morgan (Firefly Press)

Sweet Pizza by Giancarlo Gemin (Nosy Crow)

The Haunting of Jessop Rise by Danny Weston (Andersen Press)

So we’ll get those read and let you know which one we prefer. In the meantime, if we’ve missed any great releases by fabulous Welsh authors or publishers, please let us know in the comments below. Thanks.

Noah’s Top Ten

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So here are Noah’s favourite reads. He’s ordered them from top to bottom in the picture, and we’ll take them in reverse order. He’s given a one-word review of each book.

10. Cogheart, Peter Bunzl – Exciting

9. Swallows and Amazons, Arthur Ransome – Gripping

8. A Boy Called Christmas, Matt Haig – Emotional

7. Jinks O’Hare Funfair Repair, Reeves & McIntyre – Magical

6. The Imaginary, A.F. Harrold – Imaginative

5.  Aubrey and the Terrible Yoot, Horatio Clare – Innovative

4. Fizzlebert Stump and the Bearded Boy, A.F. Harrold – Hilarious

3. Radio Boy, Christian O’Connell – Heroic

2. The Bus Stop at the End of the World, Dan Anthony – Mythical

1. Wolf Wilder, Katherine Rundell – Adventurous

 

Some observations: A.F. Harrold makes 2 appearances; there’s no room for Harry Potter (11), Tom Gates (12) or Wimpy Kid (erm, probably 20); two of the authors are Welsh; Swallows and Amazons is clearly the oldest book on the list (1930), swiftly followed by Fizzlebert Stump (2013!); the remaining books have been published since 2014 with numbers 2 and 3 being published this year.