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Mr Gum and the Biscuit BillionaireAndy Stanton
Mr Gum and the Biscuit Billionaire
by Andy Stanton
A man made entirely of biscuits comes to life in a puddle and inherits a fortune, which Mr Gum and Billy William intend to take from him.
A story about a grown-up villain and children, funny and silly in tone. We would put it with children of 7–10, and at a reading age of about 8 for reading alone.
Nothing flagged
We have not flagged any content in this one that a parent would usually want warning about.
Part of a series
This is book 2 of the Mr Gum series, so there is more to read if it goes down well — which is worth a great deal with a reluctant reader.
Our take on this book
A man made entirely of biscuits blinks into life in a puddle, inherits a million pounds by a piece of nonsense luck, and immediately becomes the target of the horrible Mr Gum and his even more horrible friend Billy William, who want the money for themselves. Andy Stanton's books are gloriously, deliberately silly — the narrator interrupts, the logic is bananas, and the language is a joyful riot that begs to be read aloud with maximum drama. Beneath the anarchy there is a clear line between the kind characters and the nasty ones, and the nasty ones always lose, so the chaos never feels mean. There is nothing frightening here, only surreal, giggling mayhem. For a seven- to ten-year-old with a taste for the absurd — and for the grown-up reading it aloud — it is one of the funniest series around, and a brilliant cure for a child who thinks books are boring.
If they like this, try these
Chosen by matching age, reading age, tone and subject — not by what is selling.
You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum!Andy Stanton
George's Marvellous MedicineRoald Dahl
RatburgerDavid Walliams
The TwitsRoald Dahl
Horrid HenryFrancesca Simon
Or let them write their own.
Nothing gets a child reading like a story they invented themselves. Your child plans the characters and the plot, and we write, illustrate and print it as a real book with their name on the cover as the author.
Find another book
Tell us the age, the reading age and what they like, and we will suggest a handful.