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As a child, Pamela Butchart was lucky enough to grow up in a house full of pets, have a mum and dad who were bonkers, and go to The Best Most Awesome Primary School in the WorldTM. As a student, Pamela's student jobs included: fishwife, teaching basketball in America, phlebotomist, and Artist Liaison for a (really bad) Abba tribute band. Now, Pamela teaches philosophy to teenagers and spends all day pondering questions such as, 'Is time travel possible?' and 'How do I know I'm not really a robot?' The stories write themselves really...Pamela lives in Dundee with her husband, Andy, and their two cats, Bear & Carlos. Carlos only has one eye and is Pamela's hero.
Misbehaving parents, frustrated artistic ambitions, a unicorn-obsessed boy who dotes on her – just some of the problems detailed in this memoir of 12-year-old Peri (thankfully only her best friend knows her real name). As she writes sitting in the wardrobe, she’s convinced that her best friend Cammy hates her, and that their band The Spoons, which also features Cammy’s cat Margaret, is finished. It also seems that the boy she ‘likes’ likes, is a rotter. Her description of the events leading up to this unusually low point also include the curse of a malevolent pigeon. The story is gloriously funny and no matter how outlandish the action, always believable, and the characters, from Peri’s classmates to her teachers and parents, very well observed. While there’s nothing really to fear from pigeon curses, readers will pick up a sense of the importance of tolerance, kindness and compassion.
Number 11 in the Baby Aliens series, A Monster Ate My Packed Lunch sees Izzy and her class plus their long-suffering teachers heading off on a school activities trip. On the official agenda is raft-building, a nature walk and a ropes course, but, as we’ve come to expect, things turn out to be a lot more surprising, risky and dramatic. Together the gang has seen off Yetis, Demon Dinner Ladies and Vampire Rats, but can they cope with Camp Mentors’ monster? As always in this hugely popular series, the story is laugh-out-loud funny, the humour driven by Butchart’s exuberant imagination and perfectly captured child’s-eye-view of life. Packed with illustrations by Thomas Flintham, this is just right for newly confident readers. The LoveReading LitFest invited Pamela to the festival to talk about A Monster Ate My Packed Lunch. The digitally native, all year round, online literature and books festival, with new content released every week is a free-for-all-users festival. What are you waiting for? Check out a preview of the event and sign up to become a member.
Selected for The Book Box by LoveReading4Kids | It all starts when Maisie breaks her leg dancing (the dancing was Jodie’s idea) and ends up in hospital, but, as is the way with Pamela Butchart’s brilliant and brilliantly funny primary school set series Baby Aliens, things just snowball from there. Before you know it the action involves curses, missing cuddly toys, ghosts and a mummy, and trolley loads of tuna sandwiches. It’s all recounted at a breathless, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it pace by Maisie’s best friend Izzy, with cartoon illustrations by Thomas Flintham speeding things up even more, and it makes for some of the funniest, most addictive reading around. No matter how zany things get, there’s a logic to everything that happens that children will completely understand and it’s not hard to see why this series is so popular with readers. This is the tenth Baby Aliens adventure, but it works perfectly as a stand-alone.
September 2020 Book of the Month | Jeremy is a worrier. We all know one, perhaps we even are one. He imagines risk everywhere, in burnt toast, spotty bananas, squirrels, and especially the wind. His friend Maggie has a much more laid-back approach, “What’s the worst that can happen?” is her motto. Well, one day, Jeremy gets to find out. Of course, in Pamela Butchart’s deliciously zany but reassuring story, the worst turns out to be a wonderful adventure. It’s a story that will make even the most resolute worrier unwind and one that will work its magic on the Maggies of this world too. Kate Hindley’s illustrations are typically expressive, particularly the three wordless spreads that tell the tale of Jeremy’s experience of ‘the worst’. A wonderfully clever and entertaining picture book with a very wide appeal. The overly-anxious will also enjoy Melanie Watt’s Scaredy Squirrel series, which is equally comic. You can find more books on this theme in our Anxiety & Wellbeing collection.
Joining Class 2R at Wigglesbottom Primary is always a treat, and the three adventures in this collection are typically funny, well-observed, and gorgeously illustrated. Once again, the children let their imaginations run wild, so that everyday primary school life becomes a thing of delight and wonder: could the pet rabbits in the playground be attack bunnies? Is the special visitor sitting at the back of the classroom and making Miss Riley so nervous really a TV talent scout? Could Miss Stein the music teacher be a witch? We’re happy to accept all these propositions, at least until the truth is revealed, and the stories make irresistible reading. Becka Moor’s illustrations are as bold and lively as the text, and these little stories are absolute gems.
An award winning author with an infallible touch when it comes to humour and familiar settings that all children can relate to and told with a flair for zany and exciting plots like this one!
Izzy and her friends are shocked when they find their lollipop man has disappeared! Maisie thinks he's gone to Rome but if that's true, why do they keep seeing a weird white wispy cloud around the school? And why do Izzy's legs feel cold even though she's got tights on? Could it be that the lollipop man is a phantom and he's come to spook them all?! Laugh-out-loud fun from Blue Peter Award winners Pamela Butchart and Thomas Flintham. Read more of Izzy's adventures!
Here are three more very funny stories of primary school life perfectly pitched for young readers. Wigglesbottom Primary year twos find excitement in all sorts of things – things that adults wouldn’t regard as out of the ordinary at all. When a dog appears in the playground, they decide it has superpowers and are soon finding all sorts of proof; there’s definitely something wrong with the school mashed potatoes though, they’re right about that. As for Susie Keys’s special egg and spoon race egg, keeping a distance is probably wise … Pamela Butchart catches all the joy and possibilities open in a young child’s imagination and her readers will completely understand her characters. Short chapters, lively illustrations and lots of humour make them even more irresistible reading. ~ Andrea Reece The Editor at Nosy Crow says: “These stories are a hoot from start to finish, and Becka Moor’s illustrations bring out the brilliance brilliantly. A joy for anyone who’s ever sat on an itchy story-time carpet. And who hasn’t?”
Julia Eccleshare's Pick of the Month August 2016 Lovable Pugly, a pug with a great character, is back for a hilarious new adventure. This time she is all set to solve the mystery of what Glitterpuff the Poodle who lives next door is really up to. Pugly doesn’t trust any poodle so, when things begin to go missing, he is sure it is Glitterpuff who is to blame. Dogs, cats and adventure – the mixture is irresistible in this easy to read and copiously illustrated story.~ Julia Eccleshare The Editor at Nosy Crow says “Everyone knows that pugs are the best dogs around and Pugly is the best pug ever! He thinks way beyond the back garden and while this can get him into trouble, he has a lot of fun too!” Julia Eccleshare's Picks of the Month for August 2016 The Other Alice by Michelle Harrison Pugly Solves a Crime by Pamela Butchart Good Night, Everyone by Chris Haughton Dotty Detective and the Great Pawprint Puzzle by Clara Vulliamy The Sands of Shark Island by Alexander McCall Smith Return by Aaron Becker Super Gran by Forrest Wilson Oi Dog! by Kes and Claire Gray
Of the many tributes to Shakespeare in this anniversary year, To Wee or Not to Wee must be the zaniest. It features retellings of four favourite Shakespeare plays with a definite focus on the action and character motivation. The twist however is that this is Shakespeare through the eyes of Izzy, star of the Baby Aliens series, so her retelling of Hamlet is prompted by Zach’s inability to decide between the hat and the car in Monopoly. Her version is certainly to the point: ‘As soon as the gravediggers said that Hamlet screamed “I knew him, Horatio”, and jumped RIGHT into the grave and began SPEAKING to the skull and asking it loads of questions, like “What should I do about EVERYTHING?” and just “Why?”’. For all the silliness, it gets across the main themes of the plays, and Izzy’s top-speed accounts are irresistible. ~ Andrea Reece The Editor says: “Who better to introduce children to Shakespeare than Pamela Butchart? If anyone can see the role of lasagne in Hamlet, or how annoying it must be for Lady Macbeth to have to lay on anunexpected buffet for Duncan, she can. The perfect introduction to the Bard, with all the suspense,heroics and Italian food of the originals.”
In a Nutshell: comedy – chaos – pug cooking! A perfect piece of comic writing for children, Pugly Bakes a Cake is certain to be a huge favourite with young readers. Pugly is a pug with great ideas and when he decides to make a cake he’s determined it will be the best ever. What he lacks in skill he makes up for in enthusiasm, but his big mistake is to listen to Clem the cat who, as readers will quickly realise, is out to get him into trouble. The story unfolds at a breathy, pug-snuffly pace as Pugly causes more and more chaos, ending up trapped in the cat-flap and weeing helplessly. Smart design adds to the fun and Gemma Cowell is a pug illustrator par excellence! ~ Andrea Reece The Editor at Nosy Crow says: “Everyone knows that pugs are the best dogs around and Pugly is the best pug ever! He thinks way beyond the back garden and while this can get him into trouble, he has a lot of fun too!”
The pupils at Wigglesbottom Primary have very active imaginations and are quick to believe that there’s a shark in the swimming pool, a dinosaur skeleton under their vegetable garden and that Miss Ranger’s play parachute bestows invisibility. Their poor teachers really don’t stand a chance! Absolutely perfect for children just starting to read on their own, these wonderfully accurate descriptions of school life are funny, well-told and hugely satisfying. There are three self-contained stories in the book, easy and rewarding to read. They look fabulous too – Becka Moor’s illustrations bring the characters to life while clever design smooths the way for new readers. Excellent stuff. ~ Andrea Reece Kirsty from Nosy Crow says: “These stories are a hoot from start to finish, and Becka Moor’s illustrations bring out the brilliance brilliantly. A joy for anyone who’s ever sat on an itchy story-time carpet. And who hasn’t?"
Welcome to Wigglesbottom Primary and the first book in what should become a very popular series for new readers. There are three stories here, each one describing the kind of event that all primary school children will be familiar with, but turning them into wild and very funny adventures. So, a broken tap in the boys’ loos becomes the story of the Toilet Ghost, while an ant farm unadvisedly brought in for Show and Tell results in the Curse of the Itchy Carpet. The stories capture the fun of primary school exactly and are perfectly pitched for their audience. The design and layout too is particularly appealing, and Becka Moor’s lively illustrations add to the fun. ~ Andrea Reece Kirsty from Nosy Crow says: “These stories are a hoot from start to finish, and Becka Moor’s illustrations bring out the brilliance brilliantly. A joy for anyone who’s ever sat on an itchy story-time carpet. And who hasn’t?" Books in The Wigglesbottom Primary Series: 1. Wigglesbottom Primary: The Toilet Ghost 2. Wigglesbottom Primary: The Magic Hamster 3. Wigglesbottom Primary: The Shark in the Pool 4. Wigglesbottom Primary: Super Dog! 5. Wigglesbottom Primary: The Classroom Cat 6. Wigglesbottom Primary: Break-Time Bunnies 7. Wigglesbottom Primary: Dino Chick
Winner of the Children’s Book Award 2016, Books for Younger Readers category A third riotous adventure for Jodi, Maisie, Zach and all the rest in 4J including the fast-paced narrator, Izzy. This time, part of the school is suddenly put out-of-bounds. When 4J have to share a classroom with 6B, the gang discover that the reason that it is closed is …Rats! Could this have anything to do with the new head teacher who keeps his curtains closed ? As ever, the gang is quick to jump to conclusions. If the head is a vampire rat, they must do everything in their power to destroy him! The classroom goes wild in this witty no-holds-barred story. Kirsty from Nosy Crow says: “Lots of books are described as ‘laugh out loud’ but Pamela’s are the real deal. They are beloved by all who read them. Pamela is a real star, and we’re delighted to have found such a perfect match for her in Thomas Flintham.”
Winner of the Blue Peter Book Award 2015 - Best Story Izzy is really pleased to have been put in charge of the new girl at school. Matilde is French, and Izzy and her friends can't wait to show her their den and its moth, and to help her avoid school dinners (also known as poison). But Matilde LOVES school dinners and even has seconds! And that's when they know. Matilde is a spy and she has come to find out their secrets. They must stop her before it's TOO LATE!!!
Another hilarious take on school life from the brilliant Pamela Butchart - three stories of mayhem and chaos where pupils' imaginations run riot... The strangest things happen at Wigglesbottom Primary! A school trip to a farm introduces Year 2 to a lamb like no other. IT CAN TALK! And it's about to get them all into big trouble! Perfect for newly-independent readers, these are more funny school stories from award-winning Pamela Butchart, brilliantly colour-illustrated by Becka Moor.
A brilliantly funny and original picture book featuring a feisty female detective who is absolutely the BEST Finder-Outer-in-the-Whole-Wide-World! Penelope Snoop has a new case to solve - her favourite toy, Sidney the Smelly Sock Snake, has disappeared. With her trusty sidekick, Carlos the dog, Penelope sets out to uncover the mystery - and begins a search for the Sock Snake which will take them right up into outer space! Hilarious, original and fabulously illustrated, this is an irresistible picture book from the bestselling, award-winning Pamela Butchart.
A brilliantly funny and original picture book featuring a feisty female detective who is absolutely the BEST Finder-Outer-in-the-Whole-Wide-World! Penelope Snoop has a new case to solve - her favourite toy, Sidney the Smelly Sock Snake, has disappeared. With her trusty sidekick, Carlos the dog, Penelope sets out to uncover the mystery - and begins a search for the Sock Snake which will take them right up into outer space! Hilarious, original and fabulously illustrated, this is an irresistible picture book from the bestselling, award-winning Pamela Butchart.
Number 11 in the Baby Aliens series, A Monster Ate My Packed Lunch sees Izzy and her class plus their long-suffering teachers heading off on a school activities trip. On the official agenda is raft-building, a nature walk and a ropes course, but, as we’ve come to expect, things turn out to be a lot more surprising, risky and dramatic. Together the gang has seen off Yetis, Demon Dinner Ladies and Vampire Rats, but can they cope with Camp Mentors’ monster? As always in this hugely popular series, the story is laugh-out-loud funny, the humour driven by Butchart’s exuberant imagination and perfectly captured child’s-eye-view of life. Packed with illustrations by Thomas Flintham, this is just right for newly confident readers. The LoveReading LitFest invited Pamela to the festival to talk about A Monster Ate My Packed Lunch. The digitally native, all year round, online literature and books festival, with new content released every week is a free-for-all-users festival. What are you waiting for? Check out a preview of the event and sign up to become a member.
The strangest things happen at Wigglesbottom Primary! When Year Two is chosen to look after some eggs that are about to hatch, they KNOW somthing is strange about one of them. What if it's not a chick egg, but a DINOSAUR EGG??? Perfect for Easter reading, these are more funny school stories from award-winning Pamela Butchart, brilliantly colour-illustrated by Becka Moor.
Selected for The Book Box by LoveReading4Kids | It all starts when Maisie breaks her leg dancing (the dancing was Jodie’s idea) and ends up in hospital, but, as is the way with Pamela Butchart’s brilliant and brilliantly funny primary school set series Baby Aliens, things just snowball from there. Before you know it the action involves curses, missing cuddly toys, ghosts and a mummy, and trolley loads of tuna sandwiches. It’s all recounted at a breathless, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it pace by Maisie’s best friend Izzy, with cartoon illustrations by Thomas Flintham speeding things up even more, and it makes for some of the funniest, most addictive reading around. No matter how zany things get, there’s a logic to everything that happens that children will completely understand and it’s not hard to see why this series is so popular with readers. This is the tenth Baby Aliens adventure, but it works perfectly as a stand-alone.
A quirky, touching fully illustrated picture book that will open up important conversations about worries and anxiety from Blue Peter prize winning author, Pamela Butchart. Jeremy is a worrier. He worries about odd socks, spotty bananas, evil squirrels, burnt toast, dinosaurs and, most of all . . . the wind! His friend Maggie isn't worried about anything - after all, what's the worst that could happen? But when Maggie decides to go outside and play in the wind, Jeremy must act fast to keep her out of danger, and he is soon to discover that a bit of courage leads to the most exciting adventures. A funny and reassuring story from the bestselling author of Wigglesbottom Primary, and with charming and humorous artwork by Kate Hindley, illustrator of best-selling 'The Same But Different Too' and 'You Must Bring a Hat'.
September 2020 Book of the Month | Jeremy is a worrier. We all know one, perhaps we even are one. He imagines risk everywhere, in burnt toast, spotty bananas, squirrels, and especially the wind. His friend Maggie has a much more laid-back approach, “What’s the worst that can happen?” is her motto. Well, one day, Jeremy gets to find out. Of course, in Pamela Butchart’s deliciously zany but reassuring story, the worst turns out to be a wonderful adventure. It’s a story that will make even the most resolute worrier unwind and one that will work its magic on the Maggies of this world too. Kate Hindley’s illustrations are typically expressive, particularly the three wordless spreads that tell the tale of Jeremy’s experience of ‘the worst’. A wonderfully clever and entertaining picture book with a very wide appeal. The overly-anxious will also enjoy Melanie Watt’s Scaredy Squirrel series, which is equally comic. You can find more books on this theme in our Anxiety & Wellbeing collection.
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