Dynamic duo Michael Rosen and Neal Layton are back with another comic tale, Uncle Gobb and the Dread Shed, published by Bloomsbury this month.
This is a work of fiction with some non-fiction mixed in free of charge by Michael with important pictures full of interest, terror and toast by Neal. It’s a perfectly ordinary story about a perfectly ordinary ten year old boy called Malcolm and his very bossy uncle, some baked beans, a school which tries to make interesting things BORING, the famed Italian city of Ponky, and a genie who appears when you rub your nose. Neal’s rollicking illustrations beautifully capture Michael’s hilarious text. In the words of The Bookseller: “What a great pairing: uproarious comic fiction with hundreds of illustrations…’
We also particularly like Andrea Reece’s recent review on the Lovereading4kids blog:
“Malcom’s Uncle Gobb is really irritating, and not just because he keeps shouting ‘the boy needs to do more homework’. When Gobb Education starts taking over their school, and Uncle Gobb sets up the ‘Dread Shed’ in their playground, Malcolm and his best friend Crackersnacker decide they’ve got to get rid of him. Children will love seeing Malcolm bamboozle and confuzzle Uncle Gobb to a standstill with entirely logical but unanswerable questions and Neal Layton’s scratchy illustrations brilliantly match the riotous tone. Great fun for children, who will recognise the absurdities Malcolm faces daily, less enjoyable reading perhaps for any secretaries of state for education”.
