The Astounding Broccoli Boy

Description

Rory Rooney likes to be prepared for all eventualities. His favourite book is Don't Be Scared, Be Prepared, and he has memorized every page of it. He could even survive a hippo attack. He knows that just because something is unlikely doesn't mean it won't ever happen . . . But Rory isn't prepared when he suddenly and inexplicably turns green. Stuck in an isolation ward in a hospital far from home with two other remarkably green children, Rory's as confused by his new condition as the medics seem to be. But what if it's not in their genes, or a virus, or something they ate? What if turning green actually means you've turned into a superhero? Rory can't wait to make it past hospital security and discover exactly what his superpower might be . . .

Frank Cottrell-Boyce is an award-winning author and screenwriter. Millions, his debut children's novel, won the CILIP Carnegie Medal. He is also the author of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again, Cosmic, Framed and The Astounding Broccoli Boy. His books have been shortlisted for a multitude of prizes, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Whitbread Children's Fiction Award (now the Costa Book Award) and the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth was shortlisted for the 2017 CILIP Carnegie Medal and selected for the inaugural W H Smith Tom Fletcher Book Club. Frank is a judge for the BBC Radio 2 500 Words competition and, along with Danny Boyle, devised the Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics. He has written for the hit TV series Dr Who, and is the screenwriter for upcoming film, Goodbye Christopher Robin.

Family and friends, the power of the imagination, tackling bullies and learning that real heroes come in every shape and size are just some of the themes covered in this delightful, laugh-out-loud reading odyssey which has been brought to glorious life by Steven Lenton's quirky illustrations and is guaranteed to enchant both children and parents. * Lancashire Evening Post * A funny, silly and underlyingly serious story about self-belief, slapstick adventures, a very endearing penguin, the miraculousness of London and the value of being nice to people. It also carries the message that even if your are small (or any other size) and green (or any other colour), you should never be pushed around. -- Nicolette Jones * Sunday Times * An action-filled romp from an all-star author. * Metro * Frank Cottrell Boyce has cracked it again with a fast-paced adventure about a boy who turns green . . . a rallying cry for the power of difference. -- Lorna Bradbury * Telegraph.co.uk * This is classic Cottrell Boyce: brilliantly funny, believable and very human. * The Bookseller *