Llama United

by Scott Allen

What happens when eleven llamas unknowingly eat the ashes of one of the greatest footballers of all time? They become brilliant at football, of course! Managed by eleven-year-old Tim, his unusual friend Cairo and Scottish World Cup-winner McCloud (yes that *happened* apparently), Llama United goes on an amazing cup run. But who wants to lose to a team of stupid llamas? Nobody, that's who!

Rival teams will do anything in their power to stop Llama United in its tracks. When the best cup in the world is at stake, football can be a nasty old business...

Genres: Middle Grade

320 pages, Paperback

Published May 4, 2017

Reviews

[Simon Wilkes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this across two flights to Tenerife and back for a golfing weekend (much to the annoyance of my 11-year-old son who was at the semi-final stage of the book) and flew through it, genuinely laughing out loud on several occasions (much to the annoyance of other passengers).

It has a feel of Roald Dahl to it in terms of its tone and humour, and grabs you from the off, with the characters introduced in an engaging way.

I'm now reading it with my nine-year-old son, who is loving the llamas and their characteristics, and we're romping through it as the chapters fly by with good pace.

I've given this a five-star review and think it's a good read for all football fans - of all ages.

[Claire Fayers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely bonkers and great fun. I'm not a football fan but this book may have converted me. There are proper laugh-out-loud moments as the human football teams come up with increasingly desperate schemes to beat their four-legged opponents. The illustrations are fantastic, too. This would be the perfect book for boys who think they don't like reading, girls who think they don't like football, or anyone who thinks llamas are funny - and who doesn't?

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilariously mental story of llamas eating ashes of famous footballer and then becoming soccer players themselves. Very British humour and good fun to be had, would have liked them to be playing in a league though, to see them go through a season, but the cup run made sense for the story.
Anyway minor quibbles aside it was a fun read, and I look forward to the sequel.

[Margaret McCulloch-Keeble · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a treat, an absolute treat. Obviously you have to suspend all rational thinking. Once you've got that sorted though you can revel in silly names, eve sillier asides, cheesy cliched footy managers and a classic tale of the underdogs who are actually llamas trying hard to win the day. A great kids book but there's plenty to entertain us big kids too.

[Patricia Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book to read aloud with the kids. We're on our second reading and have to stop to laugh our heads off.

[Seawood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loathe football, so there were a fair few bits that didn't make sense to me, but it's certainly fun. I can see this going down well from Y3-5, and it's definitely got a nicer feel in terms of friendship/family/doing the right thing than things like Wimpy Kid or Tom Gates.