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Jennings #19
The Jennings Report
‘I’ve seen some bat-witted wheezes in my time but this one takes the certificate of merit’ When Jennings and Darbishire discover a hibernating hedgehog they are instantly intrigued. Then, when Venables tells him that foxes eat hedgehogs, Jennings decides to rescue it. But things rarely go to plan for poor Jennings, and after a series of mishaps involving Miss Thorpe’s puppy and a bottle of Ants and Anti-Escaping Fluid, Jennings is left wondering whether Old Sleepy will make it through the winter. ‘Clueless clodpoll!’
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
50 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Buckeridge
112 books45 followersAnthony Malcolm Buckeridge was born in London but following the death of his banker father in the First World War he moved with his mother to Ross-on-Wye to live with his grandparents.
At the end of the war they returned to London where he developed a taste for theatre and writing. A scholarship from the Bank Clerks' Orphanage fund permitted his mother to send him to Seaford College boarding school in Sussex. His experiences as a schoolboy there were instrumental in his later work, particularly in his famous Jennings series of novels.
Following the death of his grandfather, the family moved to Welwyn Garden City where his mother worked in promoting the new suburban utopia to Londoners. In 1930 Buckeridge began work at his late father's bank but soon tired of it. Instead he took to acting including an uncredited part in Anthony Asquith's 1931 film 'Tell England'.
After marrying his first wife, Sylvia Brown, he enrolled at University College London where he involved himself in Socialist and anti-war groups and he was later to become an active member of CND. Unfortunately at university he did not take a degree after failing Latin.
By then the couple had two children and, with a young family to support, he found himself teaching in Suffolk and Northamptonshire, which again provided further experiences for his later work. During the Second World War, he was called up as a fireman and wrote several plays for the stage before returning to teaching in Ramsgate.
He used to tell his pupils stories about the fictional character Jennings, who was based on an old school chum of his, Diarmid Jennings. Diarmid was a prep schoolboy boarding at Linbury Court Preparatory School, where the headmaster was Mr Pemberton-Oakes.
After World War II, he wrote a series of radio plays for the BBC's Children's Hour chronicling the exploits of Jennings and his rather more staid friend, Darbishire. 'Jennings Learns the Ropes', the first of his radio plays, was broadcast on 16 October 1948. And then in 1950, the first of 26 Jennings novels, 'Jennings Goes to School' was published.
'Jennings Follows a Clue' appeared in 1951 and then Jennings novels were published regularly through to 1977 before he reappeared in the 1990s with three books that ended with 'That's Jennings' in 1994. The books were as well known and as popular as Frank Richards' Billy Bunter books in their day and were translated into a number of other languages.
The stories of middle class English schoolboys were especially popular in Norway where several were filmed. The Norwegian books and films were rewritten completely for a Norwegian setting with Norwegian names and Jennings is called "Stompa". And in France Jennings was, rather oddly, known as Bennett!
He also wrote five novels featuring a north London Grammar School boy, Rex Milligan, one other novel, 'A Funny Thing Happened: The First [and only] Adventure of the Blighs' (1953), wrote a collection of short stories, 'Stories for Boys' (1957), his autobiography, 'While I Remember' (1999) and edited an anthology, 'In and Out of School' (1958).
In 1962 he met his second wife, Eileen Selby. They settled near Lewes where he continued to write and from where he also appeared in small (non-singing) roles at Glyndebourne.
He was awarded the OBE in 2003.
He died on 28 June 2004 after a spell of ill health with his second wife Eileen and three children, two from his first marriage, surviving him.
Gerry Wolstenholme
September 2010
At the end of the war they returned to London where he developed a taste for theatre and writing. A scholarship from the Bank Clerks' Orphanage fund permitted his mother to send him to Seaford College boarding school in Sussex. His experiences as a schoolboy there were instrumental in his later work, particularly in his famous Jennings series of novels.
Following the death of his grandfather, the family moved to Welwyn Garden City where his mother worked in promoting the new suburban utopia to Londoners. In 1930 Buckeridge began work at his late father's bank but soon tired of it. Instead he took to acting including an uncredited part in Anthony Asquith's 1931 film 'Tell England'.
After marrying his first wife, Sylvia Brown, he enrolled at University College London where he involved himself in Socialist and anti-war groups and he was later to become an active member of CND. Unfortunately at university he did not take a degree after failing Latin.
By then the couple had two children and, with a young family to support, he found himself teaching in Suffolk and Northamptonshire, which again provided further experiences for his later work. During the Second World War, he was called up as a fireman and wrote several plays for the stage before returning to teaching in Ramsgate.
He used to tell his pupils stories about the fictional character Jennings, who was based on an old school chum of his, Diarmid Jennings. Diarmid was a prep schoolboy boarding at Linbury Court Preparatory School, where the headmaster was Mr Pemberton-Oakes.
After World War II, he wrote a series of radio plays for the BBC's Children's Hour chronicling the exploits of Jennings and his rather more staid friend, Darbishire. 'Jennings Learns the Ropes', the first of his radio plays, was broadcast on 16 October 1948. And then in 1950, the first of 26 Jennings novels, 'Jennings Goes to School' was published.
'Jennings Follows a Clue' appeared in 1951 and then Jennings novels were published regularly through to 1977 before he reappeared in the 1990s with three books that ended with 'That's Jennings' in 1994. The books were as well known and as popular as Frank Richards' Billy Bunter books in their day and were translated into a number of other languages.
The stories of middle class English schoolboys were especially popular in Norway where several were filmed. The Norwegian books and films were rewritten completely for a Norwegian setting with Norwegian names and Jennings is called "Stompa". And in France Jennings was, rather oddly, known as Bennett!
He also wrote five novels featuring a north London Grammar School boy, Rex Milligan, one other novel, 'A Funny Thing Happened: The First [and only] Adventure of the Blighs' (1953), wrote a collection of short stories, 'Stories for Boys' (1957), his autobiography, 'While I Remember' (1999) and edited an anthology, 'In and Out of School' (1958).
In 1962 he met his second wife, Eileen Selby. They settled near Lewes where he continued to write and from where he also appeared in small (non-singing) roles at Glyndebourne.
He was awarded the OBE in 2003.
He died on 28 June 2004 after a spell of ill health with his second wife Eileen and three children, two from his first marriage, surviving him.
Gerry Wolstenholme
September 2010
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 9, 2017
I loved these books so much as a kid - I had a huge crush on Jennings when I was a little gay preteen - and so it was a delight to revisit these memories in the form of this audiobook.
October 21, 2016
Kalo sudah sering baca kisah Jennings, pasti udah bisa nebak sedikit banyak tentang ide brilian bin ajaib bocah ini beserta sobatnya, Darbishire. Kali ini, dunia terselamatkan berkat kebaikan hati L.P. Wilkins Esq!! Lebih tepatnya keselamatan nilai matematika Jennings dan Darbi sih. Bagian paling lucu, tentu saja waktu sang ahli alam tertukar dengan dokter sekolah pengganti :D
What a great book to start the weekend. Have a great one, ppl
by Si Tukang Tidur yg kelar hibernasi
What a great book to start the weekend. Have a great one, ppl
by Si Tukang Tidur yg kelar hibernasi
July 4, 2015
Again, the situations in this one are rather forced; they sometimes even come across as less coherent/amusing versions of situations from previous, much better books. Miss Thorpe and her "bounding boxer" represent one of the very lowest points of the series to me.
Highlight: Jennings is confident that he alone has devised the perfect plan to have the run of Mrs Lumley's café during what is supposed to be a maths lesson, but upon arrival he discovers that devious schoolboy minds think alike.
Highlight: Jennings is confident that he alone has devised the perfect plan to have the run of Mrs Lumley's café during what is supposed to be a maths lesson, but upon arrival he discovers that devious schoolboy minds think alike.
August 24, 2023
This is a fairly by numbers Jennings effort - entertaining enough but not exactly breaking new ground. Jennings' attempts to look after a hedgehog cause minor confusion at the school in fairly predictable manner.
October 9, 2022
The first two thirds seemed a bit weak compared to other Jennings stories but all the rest was exhilarating and eventually moving, even. I'll never go tired of reading Buckeridge!
October 4, 2025
A great great book it was sooooo funny
June 8, 2019
Not a classic Jennings... but Jennings and a hedgehog is still a pretty good combination.
March 4, 2017
This was my first book from Anthony Buckeridge in his Jennings Series, and I enjoyed it. It was one of those British school boy stories, and one, I think, that boys would enjoy reading. It was a little simplistic, but not insultingly so for an adult reader. I will probably look for more of them and would recommend to my grandsons.
April 25, 2023
Salah satu judul favorit dari serial yang amat saya gandrungi ini, sudah dibaca berkali-kali dan selalu membawa perasaan hangat dan nyaman tiap kali...
'Laporan Jennings' di sini mengacu kepada tugas proyek sekolah yang harus diselesaikan Jennings bersama sobat kentalnya, Darbishire. Namun, ada saja kendala muncul yang menghambat mereka bisa menyelesaikannya:
-anjing boxer nakal yang harus ditangkap untuk dikembalikan ke pemiliknya;
-insiden saat dituduh sebagai mata-mata pemerintah untuk menciduk pemilik TV ilegal;
-prahara jaket berbau busuk dan pengoperasian mesin binatu secara asal-asalan oleh Jennings;
-landak hibernasi berjulukan 'Tukang Tidur' yang akhirnya dirawat secara diam-diam.
Yang terakhir itu sukses mengangkat buku ini dari 'bagus dan menghibur' jadi 'salah satu buku favorit sepanjang masa' di mata saya. Di sela-sela kekonyolan dan kesalahpahaman ala serial Jennings, ada keindahan tersendiri melihat bagaimana dua bocah lugu memeras otak menghadapi misteri alam berupa hibernasi & melanggar berbagai peraturan sekolah demi menjaga sebuah nyawa. Saat dibaca ulang, kutipan berikut rasanya jadi mengena sekali:
Tiba-tiba Pak Wilkins berhenti bicara lalu menatap anak-anak itu dalam-dalam—dan ia merasa harus mempertimbangkan kata-katanya. Seperti si Tukang Tidur, ia juga mengalami perubahan, tapi yang berubah pada Pak Wilkins adalah pikirannya, bukan tubuhnya. Ia melihat cahaya berbinar-binar di mata kedua anak itu ketika mereka menyerbu masuk ke ruangan. Ia mendengar nada kemenangan dalam suara mereka ketika bercerita kepada Pak Carter... Sekarang cahaya itu lenyap dan suara kemenangan itu hilang.
Pertama kali saya baca buku ini sewaktu masih bocah, di sela hujan gerimis kota Bandung sambil mendengarkan musik di radio. Sekarang usia saya jelas lebih dekat dengan Pak Wilkins daripada Jennings dan Darbishire, haha. Sebagai orang dewasa, banyak realita dan masalah kehidupan sekarang yang lebih pelik daripada 'menyelesaikan tugas sekolah untuk guru yang galak'.
Namun, seperti adegan klimaks bukunya saat para orang dewasa sama terhanyutnya dengan anak-anak didik mereka menyaksikan suatu peristiwa alam, kadang mata saya pun masih bisa berbinar-binar.
'Laporan Jennings' di sini mengacu kepada tugas proyek sekolah yang harus diselesaikan Jennings bersama sobat kentalnya, Darbishire. Namun, ada saja kendala muncul yang menghambat mereka bisa menyelesaikannya:
-anjing boxer nakal yang harus ditangkap untuk dikembalikan ke pemiliknya;
-insiden saat dituduh sebagai mata-mata pemerintah untuk menciduk pemilik TV ilegal;
-prahara jaket berbau busuk dan pengoperasian mesin binatu secara asal-asalan oleh Jennings;
-landak hibernasi berjulukan 'Tukang Tidur' yang akhirnya dirawat secara diam-diam.
Yang terakhir itu sukses mengangkat buku ini dari 'bagus dan menghibur' jadi 'salah satu buku favorit sepanjang masa' di mata saya. Di sela-sela kekonyolan dan kesalahpahaman ala serial Jennings, ada keindahan tersendiri melihat bagaimana dua bocah lugu memeras otak menghadapi misteri alam berupa hibernasi & melanggar berbagai peraturan sekolah demi menjaga sebuah nyawa. Saat dibaca ulang, kutipan berikut rasanya jadi mengena sekali:
Tiba-tiba Pak Wilkins berhenti bicara lalu menatap anak-anak itu dalam-dalam—dan ia merasa harus mempertimbangkan kata-katanya. Seperti si Tukang Tidur, ia juga mengalami perubahan, tapi yang berubah pada Pak Wilkins adalah pikirannya, bukan tubuhnya. Ia melihat cahaya berbinar-binar di mata kedua anak itu ketika mereka menyerbu masuk ke ruangan. Ia mendengar nada kemenangan dalam suara mereka ketika bercerita kepada Pak Carter... Sekarang cahaya itu lenyap dan suara kemenangan itu hilang.
Pertama kali saya baca buku ini sewaktu masih bocah, di sela hujan gerimis kota Bandung sambil mendengarkan musik di radio. Sekarang usia saya jelas lebih dekat dengan Pak Wilkins daripada Jennings dan Darbishire, haha. Sebagai orang dewasa, banyak realita dan masalah kehidupan sekarang yang lebih pelik daripada 'menyelesaikan tugas sekolah untuk guru yang galak'.
Namun, seperti adegan klimaks bukunya saat para orang dewasa sama terhanyutnya dengan anak-anak didik mereka menyaksikan suatu peristiwa alam, kadang mata saya pun masih bisa berbinar-binar.
April 9, 2008
finally ketemu juga buku ini di good reads. buku yang ku baca bertahun lalu, pas kelas enam SD. masih ada lho sampai sekarang. aku suka banget buku ini, kenekatan jennings melanggar peraturan sekolah untuk tidak membawa hewan ke sekolah sungguh luar biasa. ide konyolnya untuk melakukan penelitian kecil membandingkan jumlah antena di kota dan di desa, aneh banget menurutku waktu itu. apa lagi ketika melihat hasilnya bahwa jumlah antena di desa lebih banyak dibanding di kota, serta kesimpulan jennings bahwa warga desa lebih banyak menonton Tv dibanding warga kota benar-benar konyol. yang paling lucu adalah ketika jas jennings tersiram parafin, dan menyusut bebrapa Cm setelah dicuci. semua ulah usil jennings menghibur banget buat dibaca. untungnya ending kisah ini membahagiakan dan membanggakan. laporan jennings tentang hibernasi landak, hewan yang ia pelihara disekolah mendapat pujian dari pengunjung pameran akhir tahun.
lagi-lagi jennings si iseng
lagi-lagi jennings si iseng
November 28, 2011
berawal dari menemukan landak
apa yang ada di pikitan anak kelas 3? sekarang mikirin apa, ntar dah kepikiran yang lain. tapi pengen ngapain, sekarang sudah pengen ngelakuin yang lain. pikiran mereka yang berloncatan dan tak terduga. penuh dengan ide-ide baru yang pengen direalisasikan. tapi yang terjadi... hampir gagal semua na.
begitu juga yang dialami jennings dan sahabat na, dari rencana awal bikin proyek laporan apa, tapi akhirn na justru menjadi apa. berkat di landak. ikut deg-degan juga saat jennings memperdaya guru-guru na.
hanya sayang, untuk cover na tidak menggambarkan kondisi sebenar na. kenapa jika si anjing melawan untuk dibawa, tapi na bisa selonggar itu ya?
-rhe si pengamat cover-
-101-
apa yang ada di pikitan anak kelas 3? sekarang mikirin apa, ntar dah kepikiran yang lain. tapi pengen ngapain, sekarang sudah pengen ngelakuin yang lain. pikiran mereka yang berloncatan dan tak terduga. penuh dengan ide-ide baru yang pengen direalisasikan. tapi yang terjadi... hampir gagal semua na.
begitu juga yang dialami jennings dan sahabat na, dari rencana awal bikin proyek laporan apa, tapi akhirn na justru menjadi apa. berkat di landak. ikut deg-degan juga saat jennings memperdaya guru-guru na.
hanya sayang, untuk cover na tidak menggambarkan kondisi sebenar na. kenapa jika si anjing melawan untuk dibawa, tapi na bisa selonggar itu ya?
-rhe si pengamat cover-
-101-
August 3, 2025
While the situations in this Jennings book are still rather forced, both the hedgehog and Mr Wilkins' maths project provide some pleasing originality. Meanwhile Jason, Miss Thorpe's 'playful puppy', provides a brand of originality I really could do without! Fortunately, however, both dog and owner disappear from the story some time before the end, thus leaving me with an overall favourable impression.
Highlight: Darbishire must attract Aunt Angela's attention in the head's sitting room by covert means.
Lowlight: Jennings and Darbishire rush around after Jason and then get invited into Miss Thorpe's cottage.
Highlight: Darbishire must attract Aunt Angela's attention in the head's sitting room by covert means.
Lowlight: Jennings and Darbishire rush around after Jason and then get invited into Miss Thorpe's cottage.
July 2, 2012
I borrowed an audio version of this from the library for my children (& of course me) to listen to on our travels. It was a great book & the person reading it did a great job. While I had to explain a few things, it was a good level for my kids to enjoy (ages 6,8,10) and we all were laughing. Definitely will look for more of these in the future.
August 1, 2011
Pinjam dari Iyut, terima dari Mute.
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June 16, 2013
Quite the funny book. ^^
January 30, 2016
This is the first book of the Jennings' series that I didn't really enjoy. The plot was too thin and some parts felt like repetition of the previous books.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews