I think this could be my favourite Mr Gum book. There are some wonderfully silly and funny moments and it features Old Granny who has a sneaky fondness for sherry, teaches everyone about the old ways and gives this particular reader a chance to show off a wonderful impression of an octogenarian from the West Country.
After finding the Power Crystals, Polly discovers that they have magical powers and want to cause harm to her beloved Lamonic Bibber. She is desperate to not them fall into the hands of Mr Gum and Billy William, but she is powerless to stop the inevitable. As ever though, her band of friends come together to save the day in this dramatic, heart-warming and very funny story.
Bella, age 8, says: “I liked it because it’s really funny, especially when all the chapters are the same from 3-11. I liked that joke.
My favourite characters are: Barcelona Jim because all he says is HEE-HAW and I like the donkey-ness of him; Friday because he used his teeth to pull on the rope and Mrs Lovely said, ‘good boy’ and fed sugar lumps into his mouth; and Polly is great because she’s the main character. She finds the stones and goes on a wild adventure with them. I like the accent that my dad does for her and I like that she always tries to do the right thing even when she could do bad stuff.”
Tom, age 8, says: “It’s really funny. My favourite bit is when Old Granny tells Polly about what Mr Gum is going to do so that Polly can try and stop them. My favourite character is Polly because she is so brave when she faces up against Mr Gum, Billy William and Nicolas De Twinklecakes. I was a bit worried when it sounded like Lamonic Bibber was going to burn and burn, but it was ok in the end.”
Discover more brilliant books for Key Stage 2 children here…
Discover more brilliant books by Andy Stanton here…