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Archie's Unbelievably Freaky Week by Andrew Norriss



Archie Coates has the most amazing talent for trouble, and whatever he does in all innocence, it's other people that suffer. On Monday he ends up with a teacher sitting on him, on Tuesday another one ends up half-naked. Both these and a lot more are shown with all the justification you need - and more humour than you could wish for - in this brilliant little book.

Archie's Unbelievably Freaky Week by Andrew Norriss

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Buy Archie's Unbelievably Freaky Week by Andrew Norriss at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Category: Confident Readers
Rating: 5/5
Reviewer: John Lloyd
Reviewed by John Lloyd
Summary: Seven episodes in the life of the biggest mishap in short trousers, and a wonderful, warm-hearted hit for under-tens.
Buy? Yes Borrow? Yes
Pages: 128 Date: August 2012
Publisher: David Fickling Books
ISBN: 9780857560117

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As you can tell it's one mishap after another for a remarkable boy and his friend Cyd. Fires, knife attacks, dangerous animals - health and safety would have a category just for him. But his extraordinary abilities don't stop there - as the week that sees him drive away supply teacher after supply teacher progresses, he even turns into a dog.

Andrew Norriss is another with brilliant talents too. Structured as seven short stories, with a set pattern in beginning and end, the book, however small, burgeons with wacky invention, cleverness - and, as I say, a delightful amount of humour. Never getting too silly, or slapstick, it just hits the mark and moves on, forever sprightly, always believable, and surprising to the end.

It has a weird fixation on ending up minus your clothes, something thankfully not carried over into the excellent illustrations. All the same, this freaky week is a charming way for youngsters to spend some time. It's a finely-judged success and on its way to being my favourite title for the under-tens for quite some time.

I must thank the publishers for my review copy. we also have a review of Mike by Andrew Norriss.

Pizza Cake by Morris Gleitzman has similarly inventive, small tales for small readers, mostly set in and around school.

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Buy Archie's Unbelievably Freaky Week by Andrew Norriss at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy Archie's Unbelievably Freaky Week by Andrew Norriss at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
Buy Archie's Unbelievably Freaky Week by Andrew Norriss at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy Archie's Unbelievably Freaky Week by Andrew Norriss at Amazon.com.

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