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Scribbleboy
Bailey arrives in a new neighbourhood with his extraordinary family. He has no friends but receives a mysterious invitation to join the Scribbleboy Fan Club. The one and only founder member is Ziggy Fuzz. His vital mission is to spread the word about Scribbleboy and his amazing scribbles which years ago transformed the gloomy grey concrete of the neighbourhood. Swept along in plans to discover the identity of the mythical artist, Bailey carries on his work so the scribbles start again and eventually he discovers the scribbleboy is in fact a scribblegirl!
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
October 24, 2022
Amazing!
I'm positive Philip Ridley's Scribbleboy is a fantastic book to read, but I'm telling you, the audio edition is spectacular!
Definitely credit-worthy!!
This is the only book on Audible narrated by Rusell Boulter, so maybe it's a nom de plume, but holy smokes, he rocked this performance! I've never heard so many voices and accents, just so much emotion, and a thorough understanding of what the author is truly going for. It simply left me breathless.
An absolutely gorgeous performance of a truly impressive story. I'm recommending it to everyone!
I'm positive Philip Ridley's Scribbleboy is a fantastic book to read, but I'm telling you, the audio edition is spectacular!
Definitely credit-worthy!!
This is the only book on Audible narrated by Rusell Boulter, so maybe it's a nom de plume, but holy smokes, he rocked this performance! I've never heard so many voices and accents, just so much emotion, and a thorough understanding of what the author is truly going for. It simply left me breathless.
An absolutely gorgeous performance of a truly impressive story. I'm recommending it to everyone!
January 7, 2014
So much nostalgia. My absolute favourite book as a kid (aside from the Harry Potters) I must've re-read it 15 times. Time to dig it out of the attic I think.
July 22, 2013
Scribbletations Scribbler,
This is possibly the best children's book I have ever read. Whenever I read this book it brings back such happy summer memories as I reread this book for many summers in a row.
It is especially fantastic for children from unusual family situations. Ridley has fantastic insight into how children cope and feel in a tough family setting.
I recommend this book to everyone, old and young. It's vibrant, the characters are amongst the most imaginative ever created and there is also a melancholic vibe throughout the book which is unusual for a children's book but very realistic.
Love love love this book <3
This is possibly the best children's book I have ever read. Whenever I read this book it brings back such happy summer memories as I reread this book for many summers in a row.
It is especially fantastic for children from unusual family situations. Ridley has fantastic insight into how children cope and feel in a tough family setting.
I recommend this book to everyone, old and young. It's vibrant, the characters are amongst the most imaginative ever created and there is also a melancholic vibe throughout the book which is unusual for a children's book but very realistic.
Love love love this book <3
July 12, 2022
A fantastic book with a surprising twist at the end.
October 21, 2020
LOVVVVED Ridley as a kid! Just getting into his adult fiction now. gonna revisit all his children’s books. I can see why I liked them as a child; they do tend to meander plot wise sometimes it feels like he doesn’t really know where he’s going. And the ending Maybe it’s the years on me but I freebase Disney and it was even too Saccharine for me. But someone who’s not 500 will undoubtedly dig it like I did when I was younger. The book just excels in its character and the Chris Riddel visuals. I can’t wait to read more; hope they end a little more firmly but even if they don’t his prose if just fun to be spend time with.
December 30, 2019
Touching, thrilling, mind opening and inclusive. The Portuguese translation was great.
Tocante, emocionante, inclusivo e fez refletir. A tradução é ótima.
Tocante, emocionante, inclusivo e fez refletir. A tradução é ótima.
July 18, 2022
Loved it as a kid.
August 18, 2022
I have fond memories of reading this as a child and will be reading it to my son!
June 3, 2025
Another book finished! 📚 I just wrapped up Scribbleboy by Philip Ridley, and it was quite a ride. I read all 217 pages between January 2024 and June 2025, with a total reading time of 1 hour and 54 minutes—averaging about 114 pages per hour! My most focused reading day saw me cover 83 pages in just 44 minutes.
As for the book itself, it wasn’t quite what I expected. The heavy use of slang made it difficult to stay engaged, and I found it a bit off-putting at times. While the concept had potential, the style didn’t quite click with me. That said, I can see why it was removed from the Year Group reading list—it may not be the most accessible choice for all readers. Still, I’m glad I gave it a chance!
#BookReview #Scribbleboy #PhilipRidley #FinishedReading #ReadingStats #BooklyApp #MiddleGradeFiction #ReadingReflection #BookThoughts #ReadAndReflect #BookCommunity #ReadingJourney #BooksOf2025 #BookWrapUp
As for the book itself, it wasn’t quite what I expected. The heavy use of slang made it difficult to stay engaged, and I found it a bit off-putting at times. While the concept had potential, the style didn’t quite click with me. That said, I can see why it was removed from the Year Group reading list—it may not be the most accessible choice for all readers. Still, I’m glad I gave it a chance!
#BookReview #Scribbleboy #PhilipRidley #FinishedReading #ReadingStats #BooklyApp #MiddleGradeFiction #ReadingReflection #BookThoughts #ReadAndReflect #BookCommunity #ReadingJourney #BooksOf2025 #BookWrapUp
October 20, 2023
A magical realism story set in a London suburb about a group of boys who become obsessed with a missing graffiti artist.
Though this is aimed at younger readers than Ridley’s previous books I’ve read, this was an absolute joy!
Ridley makes use of an overarching theme in his work; that of magic permeating the mundane and creating positive change. Here, this is demonstrated through beautifully described street art offering hope and comfort to those living in a grey concrete world.
Ridley uses so much emotional intelligence in creating his characters. Where they first appear as comical eccentrics, they are made real by their complex emotions, their pain and fears.
It’s a mystery with a surprising outcome, but it’s also a story about unusual family dynamics. It follows the dreadful loss of control children feel when everything is changing around them. It’s about the ways we cope with change. A heartfelt story filled with humorous dialogue and cosmic prose.
Though this is aimed at younger readers than Ridley’s previous books I’ve read, this was an absolute joy!
Ridley makes use of an overarching theme in his work; that of magic permeating the mundane and creating positive change. Here, this is demonstrated through beautifully described street art offering hope and comfort to those living in a grey concrete world.
Ridley uses so much emotional intelligence in creating his characters. Where they first appear as comical eccentrics, they are made real by their complex emotions, their pain and fears.
It’s a mystery with a surprising outcome, but it’s also a story about unusual family dynamics. It follows the dreadful loss of control children feel when everything is changing around them. It’s about the ways we cope with change. A heartfelt story filled with humorous dialogue and cosmic prose.
March 5, 2021
Very much of its time (1997) in one sense, this wonderful book is timeless in its ability to capture the feelings of a young boy whose Mum has left him with his older brother and dysfunctional father to cope with life in a run-down concrete jungle of a housing estate. There is much joy and plenty of laughs in this story inhabited by warm, eccentric characters who rally to Bailey, the protagonist's side, when things get bad, but it is art which ultimately proves his saviour.
October 29, 2017
This was just as good as the first time I read it when I was 10 and I decided to re-read it on a whim but I'm glad I did. I would recommend this for any young kid but I do think that 10 yr olds should definitely read this because I remember loving this and I just love how different it is to other books that I read at that age.
January 10, 2024
Rated just for nostalgia, but I re-read it this week. I last read this at 10 and remember that the whole story came alive in my imagination.
The book was good, easy to read. Some characters seemed like very 90s stereotypes but it was all in good jest. I remembered the twist from early on. A great book to reminisce with.
The book was good, easy to read. Some characters seemed like very 90s stereotypes but it was all in good jest. I remembered the twist from early on. A great book to reminisce with.
September 10, 2024
An older book but still one I think can be relevant today. I loved meeting l of the different characters and seeing how they came together. A fun way to show that family doesn’t always mean blood relations.
April 9, 2025
Definitely targeting at a younger age group I’d say 7-12 yr old but still lived this book. Read it as a kid reread it now. Only issue is because it’s a kids book the ending is kind of obvious by the time your about a quarter of the way through still recommend
May 14, 2020
Very nostalgic book for me, it was my favourite growing up alongside Harry Potter and Jacqueline Wilson titles. It’s just as lovely as I remembered, and I’d recommend it to anyone and everyone!
June 18, 2020
One of my favourite books EVER
July 18, 2020
One of my favorite books as a kid
September 28, 2021
One of the best books I ever read as a child. In my adult life, I stumbled across some of Philip Ridley's work for adults which is absolutely riveting.
June 13, 2025
one of my absolutely favourite childhood books. The memory of it just popped into my head for the first time in at least 15 years
August 21, 2025
I don’t really remember anything much now but it inspired a whole new art direction and ultimately long running project for me so it was really valuable
January 10, 2018
This was a reread of a book I remember very fondly from my childhood, so I asked for my own copy of it for my birthday this year, and my family delivered. Upon the reread I did like it, but it wasn't as amazing as I remembered (though to be fair, that was over a decade ago). All the characters I remembered as fun and quirky had become a bit annoying upon second reading.
But I still liked the slightly dystopian, slightly mad world Philip Ridley has created, where all these characters live side by side and no-one thinks it's particularly odd. It also had his trademark dialogue-heavy style of writing, which some people might find annoying but I thought was a really cool and quite different way of telling the story.
I also liked how he captured the feeling of helplessness children often experience, because ultimately they're not in charge of their life (and I thought a similar thing when I read The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman last month). I really sympathised with Bailey when it seems like his life is turning on its head and nobody seems to care how this is affecting him, and he is just trying to distract himself from it all with the legend of Scribbleboy.
(A sidenote: the Goodreads synopsis of this books spoils the major plot twist 80% of the way through the book, which seems just a little redundant.)
My rating: ★★★
But I still liked the slightly dystopian, slightly mad world Philip Ridley has created, where all these characters live side by side and no-one thinks it's particularly odd. It also had his trademark dialogue-heavy style of writing, which some people might find annoying but I thought was a really cool and quite different way of telling the story.
I also liked how he captured the feeling of helplessness children often experience, because ultimately they're not in charge of their life (and I thought a similar thing when I read The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman last month). I really sympathised with Bailey when it seems like his life is turning on its head and nobody seems to care how this is affecting him, and he is just trying to distract himself from it all with the legend of Scribbleboy.
(A sidenote: the Goodreads synopsis of this books spoils the major plot twist 80% of the way through the book, which seems just a little redundant.)
My rating: ★★★
July 26, 2016
Every character seemed to have their own "manner" of speaking (like one person calling everyone "sweeetheart", one who seemed to end every sentence with "baby"), which I found incredibly annoying after a while. I know the book is supposed to be for kids, but honestly that stuff would have annoyed me as a ten year old as well! I enjoyed the actual story though, and Philip Ridley certainly seems to understand how kids feel in unusual/tough family situations. Minus one star for all the "sweethearts" and "babies" and "snotty snottys" (and what does snot have to do with punkrockers anyway?!)
September 7, 2013
It was a very good book. It is FANTSTIC. Iam tempted to read it over and over again. PHILIP RIDLEY is a very imaginative author. the characters in the book are Baily; Ziggy; Monty; Tiffany; Skipper; Mr.silk; Mrs.silk; Ma galmrock; Pa punrock; Levi Toot; Hip - hop; Be - bop Shoo - wop and scribbleboy [The main man]. Years ago, he transformed them gloomy grey concreat into glittering colours. It took many days for me to finish, but i enjoyed the journey of the funny & crazy book.
May 29, 2010
what a beautiful story! funny and crazy characters that are all very likable. and they'r all speaking diffrently. very simple way to characterize and this is just making it a fun read.
ridley finds the right dosage between what's real and what's fantasy or what even could be magic.
i just think the ending is a bit cheesy. not that i don't want that for bailey...
ridley finds the right dosage between what's real and what's fantasy or what even could be magic.
i just think the ending is a bit cheesy. not that i don't want that for bailey...
October 12, 2012
This book i clearly remember my teacher in grade 5 or 6, reading it to the whole class. After we finished the book we were told to design our own cover of Scribbleboy. FANTASTIC book, Philip Ridley is an amazing writer for Children's books, he could really create beautifully & shape out the imagination of kids minds.
December 27, 2016
Mixed feelings - a good story, zany characters and a slightly surreal plot rooted in 'real-life issues'. I enjoyed it but found elements quite irritating - it's not aimed at me though and I'm sure many 8-11 year olds would love it! It will go in my class library rather than my class novel pile. Scribbledacious.
March 30, 2011
Can't decide what I think of this book. I think some kids will enjoy it and I enjoyed some parts but some parts were a little annoying (perhaps it was the audio and not the book, though?, I'm not sure...). Tiffany's over use of "sweetheart" drove me crazy, for instance.
July 23, 2015
like if you were to shove all your dreams and nightmares and fantasies in a single book. it would be this one. i don't even have any more words to describe this one. heart eyes tbh
not read in 2015
not read in 2015
September 6, 2020
This book was my difinitive school reading moment. In year three or five our class teacher read this to us. The world of an inner city Graffiti artist felt risky and cool but the unlying themes of families and dynamics really rung true for me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews