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The Only Child Club
What do you miss when you don’t have siblings? The Only Child Club aims to fi nd out the good and bad things about not having to compete or share with a brother or sister. A perfectly observed story of human behaviour.
Ryan wants to start a club. An Only Child Club. He knows that as an only child he doesn’t always have the same experiences as some of his classmates. He recruits two similarly deprived friends who join him in an experimental few days of constant bickering, fighting over who gets the free gift from the cereal box and spending a whole day making a model, only to have it destroyed. Having had a taste of what it’s like to have siblings, the club is happily disbanded and the trio realizes that friends are nearly as good as having brothers and sisters – and often less annoying!
Ryan wants to start a club. An Only Child Club. He knows that as an only child he doesn’t always have the same experiences as some of his classmates. He recruits two similarly deprived friends who join him in an experimental few days of constant bickering, fighting over who gets the free gift from the cereal box and spending a whole day making a model, only to have it destroyed. Having had a taste of what it’s like to have siblings, the club is happily disbanded and the trio realizes that friends are nearly as good as having brothers and sisters – and often less annoying!
64 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2013
19 people want to read
About the author
Anne Fine
395 books291 followersThough readers often find themselves inadvertently laughing aloud as they read Anne Fine's novels, as she herself admits, "a lot of my work, even for fairly young readers, raises serious social issues. Growing up is a long and confusing business. I try to show that the battle through the chaos is worthwhile and can, at times, be seen as very funny." In 1994, this unique combination of humour and realism inspired the hit movie MRS. DOUBTFIRE, based on Anne's novel MADAME DOUBTFIRE and starring the late comedic genius Robin Williams.
Anne is best known in her home country, England, as a writer principally for children, but over the years she has also written eight novels for adult readers. Seven of these she describes as black - or sour - comedies, and the first, THE KILLJOY, simply as "dead black". These novels have proved great favourites with reading groups, causing readers to squirm with mingled horror and delight as she peels away the layers in all too familiar family relationships, exposing the tangled threads and conflicts beneath. (It's perhaps not surprising that Anne has openly expressed astonishment at the fact that murder in the domestic setting is not even more common.)
Anne has written more than sixty books for children and young people. Amongst numerous other awards, she is twice winner of both the Carnegie Medal, Britain's most prestigious children's book award, and the Whitbread Award. Twice chosen as Children's Author of the Year in the British Book Awards, Anne Fine was also the first novelist to be honoured as Children's Laureate in the United Kingdom. In 2003, Anne became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded an OBE. Her work has been translated into forty five languages.
Anne Fine lives in the north of England and has two grown up daughters.
Anne is best known in her home country, England, as a writer principally for children, but over the years she has also written eight novels for adult readers. Seven of these she describes as black - or sour - comedies, and the first, THE KILLJOY, simply as "dead black". These novels have proved great favourites with reading groups, causing readers to squirm with mingled horror and delight as she peels away the layers in all too familiar family relationships, exposing the tangled threads and conflicts beneath. (It's perhaps not surprising that Anne has openly expressed astonishment at the fact that murder in the domestic setting is not even more common.)
Anne has written more than sixty books for children and young people. Amongst numerous other awards, she is twice winner of both the Carnegie Medal, Britain's most prestigious children's book award, and the Whitbread Award. Twice chosen as Children's Author of the Year in the British Book Awards, Anne Fine was also the first novelist to be honoured as Children's Laureate in the United Kingdom. In 2003, Anne became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded an OBE. Her work has been translated into forty five languages.
Anne Fine lives in the north of England and has two grown up daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 30, 2018
Humorous tale of only child who wants to experience all the adventure and aggravation that go with having siblings. A bit grass is greener in the story but it is very well told and has some great moments.
September 2, 2015
This is a lovely story to read to children who have just started school as it relates to making friends. It is also good for those that can read in KS1 and the younger years in KS2 as they will learn much on how to use speech marks in their writing. Furthermore it is ideal for children who want to progress in their reading and conquer larger books.
This book is definitely written for children of all cultures as there are characters in the story from different ethnic backgrounds. I would recommend East London primary school teachers to have it on their classroom bookshelf.
The story is about a small boy named Ryan who forms a club called the “Only Child Club” where the rule for joining is that you cannot have any brothers or sisters. It concentrates on the fun activities they do together, the arguments they have and the decisions they make.
Children will enjoy this story and educationally (an added bonus), they will get to learn the names of all the planets in the solar system.
The only negative I would give this book is that it is not a book for the younger ones to read as they would find it extremely boring for there is more writing spread on the page than the small pictures in the corner.
This book would get a star rating of 3 out of 5 from me. It was a good read but just needed more content. Anne Fine could have furthered the story in my view.
This book is definitely written for children of all cultures as there are characters in the story from different ethnic backgrounds. I would recommend East London primary school teachers to have it on their classroom bookshelf.
The story is about a small boy named Ryan who forms a club called the “Only Child Club” where the rule for joining is that you cannot have any brothers or sisters. It concentrates on the fun activities they do together, the arguments they have and the decisions they make.
Children will enjoy this story and educationally (an added bonus), they will get to learn the names of all the planets in the solar system.
The only negative I would give this book is that it is not a book for the younger ones to read as they would find it extremely boring for there is more writing spread on the page than the small pictures in the corner.
This book would get a star rating of 3 out of 5 from me. It was a good read but just needed more content. Anne Fine could have furthered the story in my view.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews