Books Jack Reads

After Polly and Friday O’Leary saved Jake the dog from death at the hands of Mr Gum in the first book, life in Lamonic Bibber has become quiet and peaceful, until a new friend shows up one evening.

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While reading up on Boaster’s Hill, Polly meets Alan Taylor, a gingerbread man with electric muscles, who also happens to be ridiculously rich, but very self-centred.

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Needless to say, it doesn’t take long for Mr Gum and his revolting butcher friend, Billy William the Third, to find out about Alan and his riches, and hatch a cunning plan to steal the money for themselves.

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Will Polly and Friday be able to recover Alan’s money before Mr Gum and Billy escape to France?

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If your kids have already read You’re a Bad Man, Mr Gum, then they’ll enjoy this story. There are eight books in total in this series, and this one is the second.

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There are lots of new characters in this story that kids will enjoy meeting, like Old Granny, the oldest woman in Lamonic Bibber, and Monsieur Bellybutton, a very smelly Frenchman who smells so bad, he actually has wavy lines coming off him.

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And just like with the first Mr Gum story, there is plenty of random humour throughout the book, like when Polly is too excited for words, so she says some numbers instead, or when Mr Gum uses a powerful telescope he made out of a jar of mustard, a rolled-up magazine, and a powerful telescope.

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Overall, this is another crazy story from a talented author, and perfect for fans of the Mr Gum series.