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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
NOTE: This book was read as part of my kids book club, Barnaby Book Club. The review includes how the kids - or "Barnabies" responded.
“Mr Stink stank. He also stunk.” Begins this wonderful tale of friendship and family, all told with whimsy, grace, delightful detail and tenderness.
Chloe is a lonely girl, isolated at home from her super busy high achieving sister Annabelle and her super bossy tyrannical mother Mrs Crumb and bullied at school by leader of the cool gang Rosamund. One day she talks to Mr Stink, a tramp who sits on a bench in the park with his dog Duchess. He really listens to her and helps her. Then she takes him home to live in her garden shed. The problem is that her mum likes to be posh. And she is running in the election with policies that include banning homeless people. So Mr Stink in the shed is a precarious secret.
Mr Stink has his own secrets and his own story to tell. Chloe's Dad has some secrets too, that could deflate Mrs Crumb's bouffant. And secrets are going to lead to havoc in the Crumb (pronounced “Croomb” ) family. But sometimes things need to fall apart to be put back together in a better way.
David Walliams conjures such a total world that the reader gets to know all the characters very well. There's Annabelle the over achieving sister, Mr Stink’s dog Duchess, Raj in the corner store and even the Prime Minister. Yes. The prime minister. And Christmas. This story also is a lovely Christmas story.
Mr Stink is a great story of accepting people, of not being judgemental, about being loved for who we are and for sticking up for our friends and that to be happy we need to have the strength and the support to honestly be ourselves. It is jam packed with details that are hilarious (it's worth a visit tot he website where you can visit Raj's corner store) and used throughout the plot very thoughtfully. The book explores many issues: politics, media, homelessness, unemployment, bullies - but always with tenderness and humour and never in a didactic way.
Barnaby book club loved reading Mr Stink - mostly. One or two found the language a bit over their heads (they are only 8 year olds and the book is probably pitched at 9 or 10 and up) and one boy just didn’t like it at all. He couldn’t relate to anyone in the story. Not even Duchess the dog. But one out of 12 aint bad.
Most of the Barnabies loved Mr Stink as a character. They felt sorry for his sad story but loved his irreverence and stinkiness - rabbit droppings for ear plugs, clearing out cafe's with his smell, his old fashioned money and manners, talking about doing number twos live on tele and his love of sausages. The Barnabies related to Chloe and her plight of being bullied at school and misunderstood at home and they also loved her knack for story telling with her wonderful vampire epics. Most of all the loved plucky response to the Prime Minister!
I think overall the Barnabies felt immersed in the detail of the world – The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle stationary from Raj’s shop, Mrs Crumb pronounced “Croomb” with her bouffant hair, the Dad with his secret and his interesting past, Mr Stink with his monogrammed handkerchief. Nothing is off hand or wasted in this David Walliams book. Every detail adds to the story and is a real part of the story. Everything has meaning. Kids see through gauche attempts at imagination but David Walliams certainly passes the test. Like Chloe Crumb, he has wonderful knack for story telling.
Everyone felt the warmth of the book. Highly recommended.
“Mr Stink stank. He also stunk.” Begins this wonderful tale of friendship and family, all told with whimsy, grace, delightful detail and tenderness.
Chloe is a lonely girl, isolated at home from her super busy high achieving sister Annabelle and her super bossy tyrannical mother Mrs Crumb and bullied at school by leader of the cool gang Rosamund. One day she talks to Mr Stink, a tramp who sits on a bench in the park with his dog Duchess. He really listens to her and helps her. Then she takes him home to live in her garden shed. The problem is that her mum likes to be posh. And she is running in the election with policies that include banning homeless people. So Mr Stink in the shed is a precarious secret.
Mr Stink has his own secrets and his own story to tell. Chloe's Dad has some secrets too, that could deflate Mrs Crumb's bouffant. And secrets are going to lead to havoc in the Crumb (pronounced “Croomb” ) family. But sometimes things need to fall apart to be put back together in a better way.
David Walliams conjures such a total world that the reader gets to know all the characters very well. There's Annabelle the over achieving sister, Mr Stink’s dog Duchess, Raj in the corner store and even the Prime Minister. Yes. The prime minister. And Christmas. This story also is a lovely Christmas story.
Mr Stink is a great story of accepting people, of not being judgemental, about being loved for who we are and for sticking up for our friends and that to be happy we need to have the strength and the support to honestly be ourselves. It is jam packed with details that are hilarious (it's worth a visit tot he website where you can visit Raj's corner store) and used throughout the plot very thoughtfully. The book explores many issues: politics, media, homelessness, unemployment, bullies - but always with tenderness and humour and never in a didactic way.
Barnaby book club loved reading Mr Stink - mostly. One or two found the language a bit over their heads (they are only 8 year olds and the book is probably pitched at 9 or 10 and up) and one boy just didn’t like it at all. He couldn’t relate to anyone in the story. Not even Duchess the dog. But one out of 12 aint bad.
Most of the Barnabies loved Mr Stink as a character. They felt sorry for his sad story but loved his irreverence and stinkiness - rabbit droppings for ear plugs, clearing out cafe's with his smell, his old fashioned money and manners, talking about doing number twos live on tele and his love of sausages. The Barnabies related to Chloe and her plight of being bullied at school and misunderstood at home and they also loved her knack for story telling with her wonderful vampire epics. Most of all the loved plucky response to the Prime Minister!
I think overall the Barnabies felt immersed in the detail of the world – The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle stationary from Raj’s shop, Mrs Crumb pronounced “Croomb” with her bouffant hair, the Dad with his secret and his interesting past, Mr Stink with his monogrammed handkerchief. Nothing is off hand or wasted in this David Walliams book. Every detail adds to the story and is a real part of the story. Everything has meaning. Kids see through gauche attempts at imagination but David Walliams certainly passes the test. Like Chloe Crumb, he has wonderful knack for story telling.
Everyone felt the warmth of the book. Highly recommended.
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
kid bok hva kan man forvente
Read- July 2019 for The Book Junkie Trials (Empty Barrel Inn) and Reading Rush (read and watch a book to movie adaptation.
- Original Rating- 5 Stars
I don't know why I put this book off for so long because I knew I would adore it and I really do. A few years ago they made a movie for this book which was shown on Christmas Eve so me and my family sat down to watch it and we have done so every Christmas Eve since it was first shown. It's a story I knew I would love and I'm so happy I've finally read it.
Read- July 2020 for The Reading Rush (Read a book that inspired a movie you've already seen)
- Rating- 4 Stars
I totally forgot that I read this book for the same prompt (well, basically the same prompt), that's so strange. The movie adaptation of this book is one of my favourite Christmas movies of all time. I didn't enjoy this book as much this second time around but I still adore it.
- Original Rating- 5 Stars
I don't know why I put this book off for so long because I knew I would adore it and I really do. A few years ago they made a movie for this book which was shown on Christmas Eve so me and my family sat down to watch it and we have done so every Christmas Eve since it was first shown. It's a story I knew I would love and I'm so happy I've finally read it.
Read- July 2020 for The Reading Rush (Read a book that inspired a movie you've already seen)
- Rating- 4 Stars
I totally forgot that I read this book for the same prompt (well, basically the same prompt), that's so strange. The movie adaptation of this book is one of my favourite Christmas movies of all time. I didn't enjoy this book as much this second time around but I still adore it.
(audiobook) Like reading / listening to Little Britain, but for children.
Quintessentially British humour throughout. Ending rather rushed and twee.
I read this for my internship, and I'm surprised by how much I liked it. I heard that David Walliams was a great writer, and having read one of his books, I can say I agree. It's a lovely written book, with a great moral. The perfect story to read around Christmas!
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I finished Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine this morning and was at a loss as to what to read next but then remembered how much I enjoyed the stage adaptation of this and its similar theme of a marginalised individual who is treated with loving kindness and friendship. I zipped through it in a day and loved it just as much as the play; Mr Stink and Raj in particular are delightful characters. David Walliams is a worthy successor to Roald Dahl (having Quentin Blake onside certainly helps; is that man immortal or something?!) and I look forward to reading my way through the rest of his oeuvre now.