A doodling, distracted schoolboy and pirate cats have been declared the funniest children’s books of the year
The trials and tribulations of a cheeky schoolboy and the escapades of pirate cats have triumphed at the Roald Dahl funny prize.
The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon beat the former Python star Terry Jones’s Animal Tales to the prize with its journal-based story of a young master of excuses who torments his sister Delia, infuriates his grumpy teacher Mr Fullerman and relates hilarious tales of family life, from a disastrous camping trip to his parents’ embarrassing appearance at the school parents’ evening. Gates is an inveterate doodler and the story is also told through his scribbles. It is Pichon’s first book for older readers, although she is an established picture book writer and illustrator.
“It is brilliantly laugh out loud funny. It also has this energetic life force – a sparkle and an energy without being whimsical. I thought it was a truly funny and enjoyable book and I defy anyone not to enjoy it,” said Francesca Simon, author of the bestselling Horrid Henry series and one of the judges.
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