Awful Auntie

Product Information

Funnily enough I got this hilarious, heart-warming book from my own auntie (who is not awful at all!). Having read David Walliams’s previous books, I was very surprised to see that unlike his other books, this story was set a long time ago. The revenge plan? It was fun, but was that toilet part necessary? It felt silly, unnecessary and quite disgusting to read it. Pee and poo "humour" isn't something I want to see in books. Aunt Alberta - at times she's funny (her retellings of Fairy Tales for her niece), but she's also like the villains of Demon Dentist and Ratburger in that she's more stereotype than real, though she's better characterised than either of them. She seems to be based on Miss Trunchbull, even in the drawings, and does get some juicy moments. This book was a step up from Mr Stink and I can't deny that it's very good. I read it to Celyn and she asked that I give it 5*. Personally I would deduct 1* and here's why:

Dacă planul de a îi omorî pe fratele și soția acestuia i-a reușit, din accident a scăpat Stella. Așa că tot ce poate sa facă este să găsească testamentul ascuns și să o pună pe Stella sa semneze actul de renunțare la moștenire.Mr and Mrs Twit are extremely nasty, so the Muggle-Wump monkeys and the Roly-Poly bird hatch an ingenious plan to give them just the ghastly surprise they deserve!

Because that is also what the problem is with the books, they are over-the-top, overkill and trying way too hard to be funny. Trying to be funny is one thing, when it works, but this just feels like someone is trying to hard to make sure people laugh, trying to insert any silly situation or puns. The illustrations are still fantastic and I still really like them, and they are still another big reason why I still read these books.Alison Flood (27 November 2014). "David Nicholls and David Walliams win top prizes at National Book Awards". The Guardian . Retrieved 20 April 2023. Apart from that I have no complaints. It's quite a brutal book in the Roald Dahl vein with multiple murders, some quite grisly. It is genuinely funny, genuinely interesting, and at the last, genuinely touching. Don't tell me that stuff is okay because it's a kid's book or a funny book. It's not okay to present children with sloppy crap and bad writing. And to call the plot rambling and tissue-thin is to overpraise wildly. If you removed the blether, repetition and scenes that have no impact on the plot, it would be maybe 40pp long. Awful Auntie won the Specsavers National Book Awards "Children's Book of the Year" in 2014. [7] Film adaptation [ edit ] This book was accompanied by cute illustrations which made the story even more delightful. Also this book is funny. I was laughing at so many instances! My favorite character is, hands down, Gibbon The Ancient Butler. I also loved the giant owl!