Perfect books full of rip-roaring fun. Give the kids in your life a hilarious, adventurous Christmas with these specially marked-down titles and guaranteed favourites.
Guinness World Records 2021
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Really it goes without saying that the end of this year would be a very good time to spend a while considering some of the great, unexpected and, yes, often terribly silly but regularly amazing things that people get up to.
This year’s edition features a special chapter on the history of exploration – which begins with the first circumnavigation of the globe and records our greatest feats of discovery and adventure. Along with this, GWR 2021 also includes chapters on the Solar System, weird, exotic and cute creatures, gaming and eSports, actors, musicians, TV stars and influencers, and sporting achievements… among many more. There are even spreads on outlandish body modification – a reliable favourite – and the most expensive foods in the world.
Let’s get lost in some terrifically entertaining facts!
Code Name Bananas – David Walliams
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It’s another effortlessly entertaining non-stop adventure from David Walliams, tireless purveyor of laughs! When a quest starts with a little boy and his great big gorilla friend, you know you want in.
Young Eric spends most of his time at London Zoo, because that’s where he’s happiest. The thing is, it’s 1940 and England is at war with Nazi Germany – so Eric needs to be among his animal friends. As the bombs begin to fall over London, Eric knows he needs to help them, particularly his beloved Gertrude the Gorilla. With the help of his zookeeper uncle Sid, Eric and Gertrude escape London and make it to the seaside, where things are a bit calmer… and then they run straight into a secret Nazi plot.
Code Name Bananas is a hilarious, epic adventure that further establishes David Walliams (if this is even possible) as this generation’s master of laugh-out-loud romps.
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The Ickabog – J.K. Rowling
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Also Available in Afrikaans
A magical testament to the power of myth and story, The Ickabog is a brilliant, original fairy tale from an author who needs no introdutions. Bravery, hope, the power of friendship, The Ickabog has everything that you’d want from a Rowling tale… plus, this gorgeous hardcover edition is illustrated by the young winners of The Ickabog Competition.
Everyone knows that the Ickabog is just a myth used to frighten children into behaving. Way up in the misty marshland lurks the fearsome monster… but the people of Cornucopia – a happy, wealthy, kingdom full of luxury and opulence – are too sensible to believe in such a myth. Until that “myth” begins to threaten their entire way of life. There are, however, two kids who might know what to do, if they can only make it.
The 130-Storey Treehouse – Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton
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The newest addition to the series features a further host of extraordinary constructions and loads of whacky adventure.
Andy and Terry have now lived in the treehouse long enough to add yet another 13 levels to their beloved project. By now, the treehouse includes an observatory just for checking on extra-terrestrial life, a whole level just for time-wasting, a toilet paper factory (because you never know when you’ll run out) and a 13-storey igloo – I guess you’d have to ask them how they managed that.
The thing that Andy, Terry and Jill didn’t really realise is that if they are watching the aliens, they might just be watching them back. Of course, when they are abducted by a giant floating intergalactic eyeball, they probably realise their oversight. But hey, Planet Eyeballia actually sounds super-exciting… until they arrive, that is. Will the gang be able to make it back to Earth in time to get their book finished?
Another 13 storeys, another treasure trove of absurd, slapstick humour, outrageous invention and impossible shenanigans!
DOAWK 15: The Deep End – Jeff Kinney
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Also Available in Afrikaans
It’s time for an epic cross-country camping trip! The whole Heffley family is ready for the adventure of a lifetime. And, as we all know, family holidays absolutely always come off without a hitch, right?
A little way into their much-needed trip, the Heffleys become stranded at a campsite. Why didn’t they get stuck at some luxury get-away paradise? That’s just not the way these things work. Things get even worse when the skies open up. It’s beginning to look like this holiday is beyond salvaging. Is there anything they can do, or have they no choice but to wait around as the water keeps on rising?
Packed full of the sorts of disasters to which many a family can relate, and certainly not slowing down on the gleeful jokes, The Deep End is yet another triumphal addition to this stellar series.
Wizards of Once #4: Never and Forever – Cressida Cowell
Cowell’s Wizards of Once brilliant quartet concludes with this surprising, suspenseful new adventure.
Xar and Wish are on the final leg of their journey. First stop: The Mines of Unhappiness. Here, starvation is never far away for the Magical creatures who toil in its horrible depths. Xar and Wish must escape and fast; Xar needs to take control of his ever-growing Witchstain, and Wish must achieve her Destiny. But the Tazzelwurm is in their way, a grotesque monster who threatens to block every entrance. Time is not on their side, but the forests are calling them. Will their combined strength be enough for the BIGGEST quest so far; to defeat the Kingwitch once and for all?
Future Friend – David Baddiel
With his hilarious new blockbuster David Baddiel takes us into the future! In fact, he’s catapulting us 1000 years ahead, into a world that has talking cats, a world where you have to stay inside your Living Space… a world which is, well, a bit boring. Until things get a bit messy and the world needs saving, that is!
The year is 3020. Pip@256X#YY.3_7 is lonely and bored. She goes to a virtual reality school, she chats with her cat and her parrot, and that’s about it. She can’t go outside because of all the floods and the heatwaves, and there’s barely anything to do indoors.
Then, one day, while she’s just wandering around, Pip manages to stumble into a time slip, ending up in a warehouse in 2019, where she meets a young inventor named Rahul. So, she’s not lonely anymore… but what happens when best friends come from two different millennia? Non-stop comedic adventure, with some serious peril thrown in for good measure, that’s what!
The Trails of Apollo #5: The Tower of Nero – Rick Riordan
Apollo somehow made it out of his last trial alive. With help from the Hunters of Artemis, he managed to defeat Tarquin and the army of the undead, the Battle for Camp Jupiter was one and New Rome is safe or the time being. But the war is not over just yet, and a new trial is about to begin.
Apollo and Meg are about to face their final adventure – and you just know it’s going to be a close call. It’s time to defeat the terrifying Emperor Nero, but in order to do so, Apollo will need to once again find his reclusive god form and Meg will need to deal with her troubled past if they are to stand a chance against this fearsome foe.
Ever since he was cast down to Earth and forced to inhabit the hopeless body of a mortal, Apollo has faced his fair share of adrenaline-pumping adventure, but now his tribulations are coming to an end. Don’t miss this incredible finale.