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Jonathan Meres was born in Nottingham and spent many years sailing the seven seas as a merchant seaman. He gave it up to be a rock star but ended up being an ice cream van driver and comedian instead. As a comedian he won the Time Out award and in the '90s was nominated for the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival. As a writer he is best known for being the author of over 30 books for children and in particular his bestselling, award-winning series, The World Of Norm, with over 800,000 copies sold in UK. He has also been a World Book Day Author. Jonathan lives in Edinburgh with his wife and children.
Interest Age 5-8 In a nutshell: granny always knows best Priya and her grandma swap jokes, stories and memories over ice-cream at the market café. Priya’s parents have a stall at the market and she loves it there, roaming round on her own or with her friends, checking out the displays on the other stalls and sharing the news with her Nana-ji. Her parents are despondent when a new pet stall opens, it’s competition for their own, and they’re even more worried when they hear of a new retail park, but Nana-ji has seen it all before and is totally relaxed: everything will be fine. This funny, gentle, reassuring story is a lovely tribute to age and experience, and to the special relationship between child and grandparent. Lovely to read it’s lovely to look at too, filled with Hannah Coulson’s warm, lively illustrations. Andrea Reece High quality cream paper and a special easy to read font ensure a smooth read for all. About the Little Gems series: Little Gems are in a gorgeous new chunky format, with high-spec production including coloured endpapers and jacketed flaps with activities. Additional features include high quality cream paper, Barrington Stoke font and illustrations on every page. They are perfect for 5-8's. These quality stories promote good reading practice for all newly independent readers.
Interest Age 9+ Reading Age 9 | In a nutshell: it’s only a rock’n’roll story but we like it! Part of dyslexia and reluctant reader specialist Barrington Stoke’s ‘super readable’ collection, Jonathan Mere’s novel will hit all the right notes with readers, male ones in particular. A meeting with this friend’s cool big brother Nigel (named after the XTC song) changes Darren’s life: he determines to become the best guitar player ever, just as soon as he’s persuaded his parents to buy him a guitar. Meres gives almost-eleven-year old Darren a very authentic voice, and his diary extracts are broken up at regular intervals by lists and fun facts, making this very accessible. A fun and satisfying story to make reading rock! ~ Andrea Reece Barrington Stoke is the foremost publisher of dyslexia friendly books and those for reluctant readers. Here on Lovereading4kids we are constantly selecting new titles and refreshing our special dyslexia friendly category. Click here to view our current selection which is broken down by age range.
One of our Super Readable Books of the Year 2016 | Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 | In a nutshell: funny story of football, fandom and fame | George is over the moon when she finds out her favourite footballer Dean Johnson has moved into the massive mansion in her home town, and even more excited when she actually meets him. He seems really nice, but that’s not what the papers say: has he invited her to the cup final to talk football, or just to exploit a PR opportunity? A different take on the football story, this is fun and easy to read, and the banter between George and her mates is top division stuff. ~ Andrea Reece Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 8+ Barrington Stoke is the foremost publisher of dyslexia friendly books and those for reluctant readers. Here on Lovereading4kids we are constantly selecting new titles and refreshing our special dyslexia friendly category. Click here to view our current selection which is broken down by age range.
One of our Books of the Year 2016 | September 2016 Book of the Month | In a Nutshell: Grandparents | Fun | Poignant | Interest Age 5-8 Best known for his hilarious World of Norm books, Jonathan Meres has here written a very different sort of book. Grandpa was an Astronaut is full of fun, indeed, it has a real sense of joy, but it’s also poignant. Grandparents take centre stage in this charming tale as a young boy and his grandfather let their imaginations take flight for an afternoon of space exploration. What Sherman likes to do best is gaze at the moon and play with his grandpa. After an afternoon doing just that, he goes home very happy, particularly when Grandpa gives him his special piece of moon rock. Grown-up readers will appreciate Grandpa’s comment that he’s waning as Sherman is waxing, and his gift suddenly takes on new meaning; young readers will mainly remember the fun - and Grandpa’s jokes. The story is told simply but very effectively and lively colour illustrations by Hannah Coulson make it lovely to look at too. ~ Andrea Reece About the Little Gems series: Little Gems are in a gorgeous new chunky format, with high-spec production including coloured endpapers and jacketed flaps with activities. Additional features include high quality cream paper, Barrington Stoke font and illustrations on every page. They are perfect for 5-8's. These quality stories promote good reading practice for all newly independent readers.
Shortlisted for The Red House Children’s Book Award 2012. The everyday becomes ridiculous in this hilarious story of Norm’s life – as seen through his own unusual and somewhat biased eyes! Norm’s life seems to have gone badly wrong and it is all his parents’ fault. Why did they decide to move? How Norm gets through the ups and many downs of his life is a rollercoaster of laughs. If you like the Wimpy Kid books, you'll love The World of Norm !
An entertaining introduction into some big words and what they mean. The approach is refreshing as there is no usual logic to the book, apart from the fact that words are listed alphabetically. Learning the meanings, usage and opposites of anything from Abashed to Zenith is both useful and fun.
All Frank wants is a new bike, but bikes cost money ... So he better start saving! When he settles on helping his sister, Lottie, with her paper round, the last thing Frank expects is to meet an old lady wearing a cowboy hat and boots - she's not like anyone he's ever met before. But Frank's new friend seems a bit muddled, and when she needs help, he's the only one there to lend a hand. A gentle exploration of Dementia and a touching tale of forging friendships across generations.
Interest Age 5-8 In a nutshell: granny always knows best Priya and her grandma swap jokes, stories and memories over ice-cream at the market café. Priya’s parents have a stall at the market and she loves it there, roaming round on her own or with her friends, checking out the displays on the other stalls and sharing the news with her Nana-ji. Her parents are despondent when a new pet stall opens, it’s competition for their own, and they’re even more worried when they hear of a new retail park, but Nana-ji has seen it all before and is totally relaxed: everything will be fine. This funny, gentle, reassuring story is a lovely tribute to age and experience, and to the special relationship between child and grandparent. Lovely to read it’s lovely to look at too, filled with Hannah Coulson’s warm, lively illustrations. Andrea Reece High quality cream paper and a special easy to read font ensure a smooth read for all. About the Little Gems series: Little Gems are in a gorgeous new chunky format, with high-spec production including coloured endpapers and jacketed flaps with activities. Additional features include high quality cream paper, Barrington Stoke font and illustrations on every page. They are perfect for 5-8's. These quality stories promote good reading practice for all newly independent readers.
The twelfth - AND FINAL - hilarious title in the award-winning, laugh-out-loud series, The World of Norm. Perfect for fans of Tom Gates and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Norm knew it was going to be one of those days when he woke up and found himself about to pee in his mum's wardrobe... No change there then. Well, except that last time it was his dad's wardrobe. Apart from that, though, it's the same old same old, over and over again. No one understands him. Everything's unfair. Blah, blah, flipping blah. You'd think Norm's thirteenth birthday might cheer him up, right? WRONG! But even the worst nightmares have to end sooner or later, don't they? FINGERS FLIPPING CROSSED!!! With brilliantly funny illustrations throughout from Donough O'Malley. Praise for Jonathan Meres: 'Hilarious stuff from one of my comic heroes!' - Harry Hill 'Jonathan Meres is flipping funny!' - Eddie Izzard
Interest Age 9+ Reading Age 9 | In a nutshell: it’s only a rock’n’roll story but we like it! Part of dyslexia and reluctant reader specialist Barrington Stoke’s ‘super readable’ collection, Jonathan Mere’s novel will hit all the right notes with readers, male ones in particular. A meeting with this friend’s cool big brother Nigel (named after the XTC song) changes Darren’s life: he determines to become the best guitar player ever, just as soon as he’s persuaded his parents to buy him a guitar. Meres gives almost-eleven-year old Darren a very authentic voice, and his diary extracts are broken up at regular intervals by lists and fun facts, making this very accessible. A fun and satisfying story to make reading rock! ~ Andrea Reece Barrington Stoke is the foremost publisher of dyslexia friendly books and those for reluctant readers. Here on Lovereading4kids we are constantly selecting new titles and refreshing our special dyslexia friendly category. Click here to view our current selection which is broken down by age range.
The eleventh hilarious title in the award-winning, laugh-out-loud series, The World of Norm. Perfect for fans of Tom Gates and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Norm knew it was going to be one of those days when he woke up and nothing happened ... Home alone and the fridge to himself? What could possibly go wrong? Well, apart from the snails. And having to hang his mum's pants out to dry. And the dreaded perfect cousins paying a visit. And worst of all, the entire family going vege-flipping-tarian! But apart from that, what could possibly go wrong? You'd think Norm would know better by now, wouldn't you? ABSO-FLIPPING-LUTELY! With brilliantly funny illustrations throughout from Donough O'Malley. Praise for Jonathan Meres: 'Hilarious stuff from one of my comic heroes!' - Harry Hill 'Jonathan Meres is flipping funny!' - Eddie Izzard
One of our Super Readable Books of the Year 2016 | Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 | In a nutshell: funny story of football, fandom and fame | George is over the moon when she finds out her favourite footballer Dean Johnson has moved into the massive mansion in her home town, and even more excited when she actually meets him. He seems really nice, but that’s not what the papers say: has he invited her to the cup final to talk football, or just to exploit a PR opportunity? A different take on the football story, this is fun and easy to read, and the banter between George and her mates is top division stuff. ~ Andrea Reece Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 8+ Barrington Stoke is the foremost publisher of dyslexia friendly books and those for reluctant readers. Here on Lovereading4kids we are constantly selecting new titles and refreshing our special dyslexia friendly category. Click here to view our current selection which is broken down by age range.
One of our Books of the Year 2016 | September 2016 Book of the Month | In a Nutshell: Grandparents | Fun | Poignant | Interest Age 5-8 Best known for his hilarious World of Norm books, Jonathan Meres has here written a very different sort of book. Grandpa was an Astronaut is full of fun, indeed, it has a real sense of joy, but it’s also poignant. Grandparents take centre stage in this charming tale as a young boy and his grandfather let their imaginations take flight for an afternoon of space exploration. What Sherman likes to do best is gaze at the moon and play with his grandpa. After an afternoon doing just that, he goes home very happy, particularly when Grandpa gives him his special piece of moon rock. Grown-up readers will appreciate Grandpa’s comment that he’s waning as Sherman is waxing, and his gift suddenly takes on new meaning; young readers will mainly remember the fun - and Grandpa’s jokes. The story is told simply but very effectively and lively colour illustrations by Hannah Coulson make it lovely to look at too. ~ Andrea Reece About the Little Gems series: Little Gems are in a gorgeous new chunky format, with high-spec production including coloured endpapers and jacketed flaps with activities. Additional features include high quality cream paper, Barrington Stoke font and illustrations on every page. They are perfect for 5-8's. These quality stories promote good reading practice for all newly independent readers.
The tenth hilarious title in the award-winning, laugh-out-loud series, The World of Norm. Perfect for fans of Tom Gates and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Norm knew it was going to be one of those days when he lost his house... But even when he finds it, things don't get much better. What could be worse than imagining your parents at a salsa dancing event - with your best friend?! Norm's not sure what's got into Mikey, but he suspects hormones may be involved. Flipping typical! With brilliantly funny illustrations throughout from Donough O'Malley. Praise for Jonathan Meres: 'Hilarious stuff from one of my comic heroes!' - Harry Hill 'Jonathan Meres is flipping funny!' - Eddie Izzard
The ninth hilarious title in the award-winning, laugh-out-loud series, The World of Norm. Perfect for fans of Tom Gates and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Norm knew it was going to be one of those days when he was grounded before he'd even got up... But that's what happens when you run up a phone bill the size of a flipping bus. The trouble is Norm has no idea how it happened! All he knows is that he has to somehow pay it off if he's to go biking with Mikey. Even if that does mean going into business with the world's most annoying next door neighbour... With brilliantly funny illustrations throughout from Donough O'Malley. Praise for Jonathan Meres: 'Hilarious stuff from one of my comic heroes!' - Harry Hill 'Jonathan Meres is flipping funny!' - Eddie Izzard
The eighth hilarious title in the award-winning, laugh-out-loud series, The World of Norm. Perfect for fans of Tom Gates and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Norm knew it was going to be one of those days when he went to the toilet, just for something to do... But things can only get better, right? WRONG! If only Brian and Dave hadn't found Dad's million year old aftershave. If only Mikey wasn't feeling lower than a snake's backside. If only Chelsea would hurry up and move! It's all ifs and buts though. Or should that be whiffs and butts? Either way it's just so flipping unfair! With brilliantly funny illustrations throughout from Donough O'Malley. Praise for Jonathan Meres: 'Hilarious stuff from one of my comic heroes!' - Harry Hill 'Jonathan Meres is flipping funny!' - Eddie Izzard
The seventh hilarious title in the award-winning, laugh-out-loud series, The World of Norm. Perfect for fans of Tom Gates and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Norm knew it was going to be one of those days when he was woken by the sound of an elephant breaking wind in the next room... Not the best start to a day, but it's about to get a whole lot worse. As if a trip to see his perfect cousins isn't bad enough, they've only gone and got the brand new Call Of Mortal Battle! Not that Norm could play anyway what with being banned off Xbox due to a curious incident of a stinky dog at bath time. Business as usual? ABSO-FLIPPING-LUTELY!!! With brilliantly funny illustrations throughout from Donough O'Malley. Praise for Jonathan Meres: 'Hilarious stuff from one of my comic heroes!' - Harry Hill 'Jonathan Meres is flipping funny!' - Eddie Izzard
Hilarious, full-length activity book dedicated to the World of Norm! Packed with quizzes, games, doodles, fun facts and lots more. You'd be abso-flipping-lutely mad to miss out... With brilliantly funny illustrations from Donough O'Malley. Praise for Jonathan Meres: 'Hilarious stuff from one of my comic heroes!' - Harry Hill 'Jonathan Meres is flipping funny!' - Eddie Izzard
The sixth hilarious title in the award-winning, laugh-out-loud series, The World of Norm. Perfect for fans of Tom Gates and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Norm knew it was going to be one of those days when he woke up and found himself in 18th century France... If only he hadn't fallen asleep in History! And if only he'd done his punishment exercise! And if only he could go biking instead of playing stupid football! Except Norm can't go biking. Why not? BECAUSE HIS BIKE'S BEEN STOLEN, THAT'S WHY! Nightmare? It's worse than that... IT'S AN ABSO-FLIPPING-LUTE DISASTER! With brilliantly funny illustrations throughout from Donough O'Malley. Praise for Jonathan Meres: 'Hilarious stuff from one of my comic heroes!' - Harry Hill 'Jonathan Meres is flipping funny!' - Eddie Izzard
The fifth hilarious title in the award-winning, laugh-out-loud series, The World of Norm. Perfect for fans of Tom Gates and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Norm is back! And he knows that it's just going to be one of those days... Before long a dog-related injury prevents him from biking, and an old 'friend' threatens the one thing even more important to Norm than his bike. And we're not talking pizza! Upset plans and upset stomachs...Norm's out of luck. And it may be contagious! With brilliantly funny illustrations throughout from Donough O'Malley. Praise for Jonathan Meres: 'Hilarious stuff from one of my comic heroes!' - Harry Hill 'Jonathan Meres is flipping funny!' - Eddie Izzard
The fifth animal in the hilarious AWESOME ANIMALS series - awesome adventures with the wildest wildlife. From the author of the hilarious WORLD OF NORM series comes the second crazy koala caper. Dude, Bro and Squirt are pros at doing...nothing. They can do nothing all day long - nothing but munch on their favourite treat, lie in the sunshine and think about moving. Their little sister, baby Squeak, is not quite so good at doing nothing. In fact she's got more energy than her brothers know what to do with! She's so lively that when the boys lose track of her they soon discover she's no longer in the tree tops...she's heading for the beach! Can they find Lil before the dingos do? What if she's swept off to sea? Or is little Lil a bit more like her brothers than they thought? Find out in a brand new KOALA CALAMITY!
The fourth hilarious title in the award-winning, laugh-out-loud series, The World of Norm. Perfect for fans of Tom Gates and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Norm knew it was going to be one of those days when he got out of bed and trod in something he shouldn't have... What with overdue homework, overdue pocket money and a bag full of overdue newspapers, one thing's for sure: life for Norm isn't getting any less unfair. And did he mention the fact that he's the only kid on the planet without an iPad? ABSO-FLIPPING-LUTELY RIGHT HE DID! With brilliantly funny illustrations throughout from Donough O'Malley. Praise for Jonathan Meres: 'Hilarious stuff from one of my comic heroes!' - Harry Hill 'Jonathan Meres is flipping funny!' - Eddie Izzard
The fifth animal in the hilarious AWESOME ANIMALS series - awesome adventures with the wildest wildlife. From the author of the hilarious WORLD OF NORM series comes the second crazy koala caper. Dude, Bro and Squirt are pros at doing...nothing. They can do nothing all day long - nothing but munch on their favourite treat, lie in the sunshine and think about moving. Their little sister, baby Squeak, is not quite so good at doing nothing. In fact she's got more energy than her brothers know what to do with! She's so lively that when the boys lose track of her they soon discover she's no longer in the tree tops...she's heading for the beach! Can they find Lil before the dingos do? What if she's swept off to sea? Or is little Lil a bit more like her brothers than they thought? Find out in a brand new KOALA CALAMITY!
The fifth animal in the hilarious AWESOME ANIMALS series - awesome adventures with the wildest wildlife. From the author of the hilarious WORLD OF NORM series comes the first of two crazy koala capers. You might think that koalas are boring, just because all they do is eat eucalyptus leaves and sleep. For 19 hours a day. But you'd be wrong. They're not boring. They're just LAZY. They're chilling, basically, kicking back and catching some rays in the treetops, and staying out of trouble. At least, that's what our cool koala buddies Dude and Bro, and little brother Squirt WERE doing, till one day they wake up to find they've missed their transfer from the koala sanctuary to the zoo across town, and will now have to find their own way there before Mum and Dad find out they're missing. Can they make it across town in their stolen zoo buggy or will the day end in one great big koala calamity?
A hilarious collection stuffed with jokes, funny poems, weird and wonderful Christmas facts*,crazy lists, Brussels sprouts**, doodles and other Christmas craziness. A perfect stocking filler to keep the whole family giggling. * Some facts may not be entirely true. ** Like this one. There are no Brussels sprouts included with this book. Sorry.
The third hilarious title in the award-winning, laugh-out-loud series, The World of Norm. Perfect for fans of Tom Gates and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Norm knew it was going to be one of those days when he got blamed for global warming. And that's just the tip of the iceberg... It seems like the whole world has gone mad. His dad's obsessed with gas, his best friend has come down with a case of hormones and his brother is in dire need of deodorant. Looks like there's going to be quite a stink. Is life still unfair for Norm? ABSO-FLIPPING-LUTELY! Jonathan Meres follows up May Contain Nuts and May Cause Irritation with another laugh-out-loud story about Norm, a boy who can't understand why everything always seems unfair... With brilliantly funny illustrations throughout from Donough O'Malley. Praise for Jonathan Meres: 'Hilarious stuff from one of my comic heroes!' - Harry Hill 'Jonathan Meres is flipping funny!' - Eddie Izzard
The second hilarious title in the award-winning, laugh-out-loud series, The World of Norm. Perfect for fans of Tom Gates and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Norm knew it was going to be one of those days when he woke up and found himself standing at a supermarket checkout, totally naked. It might be a dream, but Norm soon finds that things go from bad to worse - when his perfect cousins arrive for a walk. If there was one thing worse than spending time with his perfect cousins it was being forced to go on a flipping walk with them! What's the point in going for a walk - except to get from A to B?! Jonathan Meres follows up May Contain Nuts with another laugh-out-loud story about Norm, a boy who can't understand why everything always seems unfair... With brilliantly funny illustrations throughout from Donough O'Malley. Praise for Jonathan Meres: 'Hilarious stuff from one of my comic heroes!' - Harry Hill 'Jonathan Meres is flipping funny!' - Eddie Izzard
Shortlisted for The Red House Children’s Book Award 2012. The everyday becomes ridiculous in this hilarious story of Norm’s life – as seen through his own unusual and somewhat biased eyes! Norm’s life seems to have gone badly wrong and it is all his parents’ fault. Why did they decide to move? How Norm gets through the ups and many downs of his life is a rollercoaster of laughs. If you like the Wimpy Kid books, you'll love The World of Norm !
An entertaining introduction into some big words and what they mean. The approach is refreshing as there is no usual logic to the book, apart from the fact that words are listed alphabetically. Learning the meanings, usage and opposites of anything from Abashed to Zenith is both useful and fun.
First-class, award-winning authors interweave a gripping narrative with stacks of fun facts. This work caters particularly for the tastes of reluctant readers who would rather read about topics they're interested in than fiction - especially suitable for boys. It features fun, top-quality illustrations on almost every page. It is tested by consultants at every stage of production. Darren is going to be the best rock guitarist ever...just as soon as he learns how to play the guitar. But if he wants an electric guitar for his birthday, he has to solve his dad's puzzles first!
When George discovers who her new neighbour is - she gets the shock of her life. Dean Johnson - the most famous footballer in Britain! Is he as nice as he seems or should she believe what she reads in the papers? A fresh, infectious look at fame. Barrington Stoke specialise in books for reluctant, struggling and dyslexic readers.
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