The Orphans of St Halibut's

Description

Stolen cakes, major explosions and an unforgettable cast of characters - dive into The Orphans of St Halibut's, a hilarious caper from debut author Sophie Wills and million-copy bestselling illustrator, David Tazzyman. Perfect for fans of Roald Dahl and Lemony Snicket. Life has been perfect ever since the orphans of St Halibut's buried their matron - don't look like that, it was an accident! Tig, Stef, Herc, and Pamela the goat just have to make sure nobody finds out they're on their own. Discovering that an Inspector is on his way, they'll need to convince him that everything is peachy or they'll be sent to the Mending House - where badly behaved orphans go, never to return. But the Inspector is not quite what he seems and things very quickly go from bad to spectacularly out of hand . . . Can these crafty kids outsmart the adults and save their home? 'This book reminded me of an old fashioned film caper - a little like St Trinians meets Oliver with a twist of Matilda thrown in' Year 6 Teacher and Parent 'I would recommend this book to people that like spooky, funny and adventurous stories' Reader, aged 8

Sophie Wills grew up in Chelmsford, Essex. She failed the 11+, had a weekend job at a boarding kennels where she suffered workplace bullying from a goat and nurtured a dream to have a career she could do in her pyjamas. She worked at two London publishers before finally achieving her ambition by going freelance in 2003. She entered Mumsnet's first Bedtime Story competition in 2012 and Michael Rosen picked out as a winner her story about a pig-riding sheriff. David Tazzyman is an internationally acclaimed award-winning illustrator. He worked as a commercial illustrator before falling into children's publishing in 2006, illustrating Andy Stanton's Mr Gum series which went on to win numerous awards, including the first Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2008. Now David mainly illustrates children's picture and fiction books and lives in Leicestershire with his partner and three children.

The most effortlessly hilarious book I've read in a long time with an unforgettable cast -- Nizrana Farook, author of The Girl Who Stole an Elephant A lovely - warm, funny, energetic - read. -- Lucy Mangan Deliciously funny, dark, eccentric and clever -- Nicola Penfold, author of Where the World Turns Wild A fabulously funny tale of clever orphans, rambling houses, angry goats and grizzly ends . . . made me laugh out loud! -- Kirsty Applebaum, author of The Middler What a wonderful caper . . . fantastically high-spirited and truly heartwarming story. -- Marina Hyde, Guardian columnist Fast-paced, witty and clever with wicked twists and turns and a brilliant bunch of characters. David Tazzyman's illustrations are spot on! -- MyBookCorner Blog All round middle grade perfection! -- Marie Basting, author of Princess BMX This book will make you snort, squirm and scream with laughter! -- Dashe Roberts, author of Sticky Pines: The Bigwoof Conspiracy Dark, funny and very, very clever. With gloriously gothic artwork from David Tazzyman -- Rashmi Sirdeshpande, author of How to be Extraordinary Deliciously dark and laugh-out-loud funny, I LOVE The Orphans of St Halibut's -- Julie Pike, author of The Last Spell Breather A darkly delightful combination of slapstick humour and sharp satire -- Miss Cleveland, book blogger Stupendous and hilarious! Hapless heroes, slime ball villains, and a volatile goat. Deliciously disgusting at times, and filled to the brim with Sophie's dark humour. Perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket. -- Hana Tooke, author of The Unadoptables [A] brilliantly funny tale -- Anna Fargher, author of The Umbrella Mouse 'There's nothing I love more than getting stuck into a really good book featuring orphans, workhouses and wicked matrons so I LOVED The Orphans of St Halibut's! Plus it's proper laugh-out-loud funny. What a treat' -- Judith Eagle, author of The Secret Starling An irreverent quirky dark and twisty middle-grade adventure perfect for Halloween -- Zoe James-Williams, drawingonbooks blog