Gnomes, Gnomes, Gnomes!

by Anne Fine

Sam's a bit obsessed. Any time he gets his hands on some clay, he makes gnomes. Dozens and dozens and dozens of gnomes. Funny thing is, Sam doesn't like to have gnomes in his room. So they live huddled together, out in the shed. But when Sam's mum suddenly needs that space, she says the gnomes will have to go.

And so Sam plans a send-off for his little clay friends. A send-off that turns into a night the family will never forget.

53 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Though 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.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

openlibrary.org archives
But, is it a picture-book (does it qualify for April 2024 discussion)?
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No, it doesn't. Nonetheless I'm glad I read it. So funny! And I love the main characters, the siblings that look out for each other and for their mum. Bonus - it's a child-tested, high interest/low vocabulary book, dyslexia-friendly font.

[Eve L-A Witherington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam loves to make gnomes especially as his sister likes to paint them as well as she likes to decorate them in fun ways.



However Sam's mum doesn't care for his hobby as it takes up all their spare space especially as she needs it to help their friend have a clear out and car boot sale.



Sam's hobby seems to have started since their dad left and so developed in space filling up his time and thoughts even though he can't bring his dad back or make a gnome to take his place.



It was a clever look at how grief can manifest and effect kids in different ways I liked how the gnomes could still be a hobby for Sam and his sister too after a successful car boot.

[Terra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was cleverly written to entertain older, or should I say, much older, readers as well as the young'uns.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young boy makes loads of gnomes during his school art classes.

I thought this was a sweet story for young children and the interactions between people (and gnomes) was good.