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Hamish and the PDF #4
Hamish and the Baby BOOM!
'HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!' Frank Cottrell Boyce'Hilarious' Tim Minchin'Danny Wallace and Jamie Littler's books contain all the wit and warmth of Dahl and Blake at their best. Irresistible.' Phil Earle'Like David Walliams, Danny Wallace is a comedian turned children's author. Of the two, Wallace's writing is funnier' The Sunday Times, Children's Book of the WeekGet ready for another hilarious adventure from bestselling author Danny Wallace brought to life with illustrations from Jamie Littler, perfect for fans of David Walliams, Roald Dahl, David Baddiel and David Solomons!Beware the Babies ... they CRY ... they POO ... they ATTACK! Hamish and the Pause Defence Force have been left in charge of Starkley while his dad and the rest of the Belasko agents are off hunting down the universe's second-most dangerous villain - Axel Scarmarsh!But nothing bad will happen while he's gone, right? WRONG!Suddenly the babies of Starkley are on the rampage and causing chaos - but only Hamish and his friends seem to be worried about the odd behaviour. What’s behind the baby uprising and can the mini mutiny be stopped before EVERY BABY ON EARTH rises up?!
278 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 8, 2018
9 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Danny Wallace
61 books639 followersDaniel Frederick Wallace is a British filmmaker, comedian, writer, actor, and presenter of radio and television. His notable works include the books Join Me, Yes Man, and the TV series How to Start Your Own Country. As an author, Wallace's bestselling books have been translated into more than a dozen languages.
He began writing reviews for video game magazines at the age of 13 for school work experience: a reviewer had become ill and so Wallace was given the opportunity to review a game. At 18 he started writing comedy, mainly through the magazine Comedy Review. He specialised in radio production at the University of Westminster.
At 22, he became a BBC producer. He was part of the production team behind British Comedy Award-winning Dead Ringers, the original producer of the critically acclaimed cult hit The Mighty Boosh, and the creator and producer of Ross Noble Goes Global. As a journalist, Wallace has worked for The Scotsman, The Guardian, The Independent, Elle, Cosmo, The Times and other publications.
In 1999, Wallace challenged comedian Dave Gorman, who at the time was his flatmate, to find 54 other people called Dave Gorman ("one for every card in the deck, including the Jokers"). Wallace accompanied Gorman on his quest and the men created Are You Dave Gorman?, an award-winning comedy stage show about what happened during their journey. A BBC series, also co-written and co-produced by Wallace, followed, as did a book, written by both men.
In 2003, Wallace's book Join Me was published. The book explains how he "accidentally started a 'cult'" called Join Me. The movement would go global, with each member committing to undertaking one random act of kindness for a stranger every Friday ("Good Fridays"). Tens of thousands joined. Join Me celebrates "Karmageddon 10" in December 2011. Traditionally, hundreds of members travel to London for the meet-up and undertake good deeds for strangers, with Wallace present. The movement is now generally referred to as the "Karma Army", although members are still typically "Joinees". He became a minor celebrity in Belgium whilst on his quest for Joinees. While on a book tour through America, Wallace was dubbed a "Generation X legend" by the Wisconsin State Journal.
Wallace next wrote a short book called Random Acts of Kindness: 365 Ways To Make the World A Better Place, with the help of submissions from Joinees. It includes many humorous Random Acts of Kindness (RAoK) ideas, such as "Contradict Demeaning Graffiti", and "Make An Old Man Very Happy."
Wallace's second solo book, Yes Man was published in July 2005. In it, he describes how he spent six months "saying Yes where once I would have said No", to make his life more interesting and positive. In this book he shows the tribulations and mischief that he got up to while he said yes to any question or proposal. The book was described as "one of those rare books that actually has the potential to change your life" by the San Francisco Bay Guardian and as "a fascinating book and a fascinating experiment" by David Letterman. A film adaptation of Yes Man was developed with Warner Bros. and stars Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel. It was released in 2008 in the US and the UK. Wallace appeared on screen in a cameo in a bar scene in the last ten minutes of the film, holding a British pint glass.
Danny Wallace and the Centre of the Universe was published in 2006. It is linked with World Book Day which in 2006 was on Thursday 2 March. It tells the story of Wallace's trip to Idaho, to visit a manhole cover in a small town, whose residents have proclaimed it the centre of the universe. The cover identifies it as a "Quick Read"; the price and length of the book have been curbed in order to encourage people who may not often read books to purchase it.
Wallace's book, Friends Like These, was released on the 3 July 2008, and tells the story of how he spent a summer trying to track down his old school friends from his days in Dundee,
He began writing reviews for video game magazines at the age of 13 for school work experience: a reviewer had become ill and so Wallace was given the opportunity to review a game. At 18 he started writing comedy, mainly through the magazine Comedy Review. He specialised in radio production at the University of Westminster.
At 22, he became a BBC producer. He was part of the production team behind British Comedy Award-winning Dead Ringers, the original producer of the critically acclaimed cult hit The Mighty Boosh, and the creator and producer of Ross Noble Goes Global. As a journalist, Wallace has worked for The Scotsman, The Guardian, The Independent, Elle, Cosmo, The Times and other publications.
In 1999, Wallace challenged comedian Dave Gorman, who at the time was his flatmate, to find 54 other people called Dave Gorman ("one for every card in the deck, including the Jokers"). Wallace accompanied Gorman on his quest and the men created Are You Dave Gorman?, an award-winning comedy stage show about what happened during their journey. A BBC series, also co-written and co-produced by Wallace, followed, as did a book, written by both men.
In 2003, Wallace's book Join Me was published. The book explains how he "accidentally started a 'cult'" called Join Me. The movement would go global, with each member committing to undertaking one random act of kindness for a stranger every Friday ("Good Fridays"). Tens of thousands joined. Join Me celebrates "Karmageddon 10" in December 2011. Traditionally, hundreds of members travel to London for the meet-up and undertake good deeds for strangers, with Wallace present. The movement is now generally referred to as the "Karma Army", although members are still typically "Joinees". He became a minor celebrity in Belgium whilst on his quest for Joinees. While on a book tour through America, Wallace was dubbed a "Generation X legend" by the Wisconsin State Journal.
Wallace next wrote a short book called Random Acts of Kindness: 365 Ways To Make the World A Better Place, with the help of submissions from Joinees. It includes many humorous Random Acts of Kindness (RAoK) ideas, such as "Contradict Demeaning Graffiti", and "Make An Old Man Very Happy."
Wallace's second solo book, Yes Man was published in July 2005. In it, he describes how he spent six months "saying Yes where once I would have said No", to make his life more interesting and positive. In this book he shows the tribulations and mischief that he got up to while he said yes to any question or proposal. The book was described as "one of those rare books that actually has the potential to change your life" by the San Francisco Bay Guardian and as "a fascinating book and a fascinating experiment" by David Letterman. A film adaptation of Yes Man was developed with Warner Bros. and stars Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel. It was released in 2008 in the US and the UK. Wallace appeared on screen in a cameo in a bar scene in the last ten minutes of the film, holding a British pint glass.
Danny Wallace and the Centre of the Universe was published in 2006. It is linked with World Book Day which in 2006 was on Thursday 2 March. It tells the story of Wallace's trip to Idaho, to visit a manhole cover in a small town, whose residents have proclaimed it the centre of the universe. The cover identifies it as a "Quick Read"; the price and length of the book have been curbed in order to encourage people who may not often read books to purchase it.
Wallace's book, Friends Like These, was released on the 3 July 2008, and tells the story of how he spent a summer trying to track down his old school friends from his days in Dundee,
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 23, 2018
Warning warning babies on the loose! It is time for a bayhem!
The newest (and very shiny) Hamish book and this time they are up to their neck in stinky nappies as the babies are rising and are growing faster than they should. Yep. It is time for a Baby BOOM!
The book immediately gets to the action as Hamish and his mom are at the hospital for a baby visit. We see that all sorts of things go wrong at the hospital. People arguing, babies having tantrums, a baby with a baby blue spanner! But of course Hamish first needs to find a bit more proof as he already had a few false alarms (which meant one restaurant is now still without a good roof :P). You can imagine how the PDF reacts to Hamish when he does tell them. Yep. Try telling your friends that babies are doing funky stuff and you suspect being stalked by them.
But quite soon his friends see in that something is going wonky in the world. Babies are indeed acting weirdly, they are doing stuff that they shouldn't be doing. Like riding a pram alone like an expert Formula One driver. Or doing crossword puzzles. Or tearing off mirrors from a car. They quickly see that there is something wrong. But still, finding evidence and then contacting Belasko. Yep. You guessed it. There is something going in Starkley and Hamish's dad is out of town to find Scarmash. What a coincidence right? I just knew something was up, it was just too suspicious.
The baby situation went from OMG weird to OMG we are all going to be screwed in a pretty nice tempo. It didn't feel rushed or hurried. Instead you saw things getting steadily worse as the days went on. The babies were pretty creepy though I loved how most adults just wouldn't see that something was wrong.
I did feel sorry for Hamish and PDF and the articles that were circulating everywhere talking about how the PDF sucks/isn't real/etc. etc.. You could clearly see that Hamish was hurting. Of course later we find out why the articles were so terrible and it made sense, but still, how could anyone do that? Is your job so important you would rather write terrible stuff than to just resign?
I had a laugh that it took the kids quite a long time to figure out what was happening to the babies. I just knew from the moment THAT was introduced it was the source of all problems. Of course I didn't know where it came from, but hey, details.
I also hope that the two towns can be happier together now that certain elements are gone. It would be nice.
And I hope that Venk will find something he is good at, or at least doesn't feel so left out. :(
Again tons of compliments for the fun, brilliant illustrations!
I can't wait for the next Hamish book, I need it now!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
The newest (and very shiny) Hamish book and this time they are up to their neck in stinky nappies as the babies are rising and are growing faster than they should. Yep. It is time for a Baby BOOM!
The book immediately gets to the action as Hamish and his mom are at the hospital for a baby visit. We see that all sorts of things go wrong at the hospital. People arguing, babies having tantrums, a baby with a baby blue spanner! But of course Hamish first needs to find a bit more proof as he already had a few false alarms (which meant one restaurant is now still without a good roof :P). You can imagine how the PDF reacts to Hamish when he does tell them. Yep. Try telling your friends that babies are doing funky stuff and you suspect being stalked by them.
But quite soon his friends see in that something is going wonky in the world. Babies are indeed acting weirdly, they are doing stuff that they shouldn't be doing. Like riding a pram alone like an expert Formula One driver. Or doing crossword puzzles. Or tearing off mirrors from a car. They quickly see that there is something wrong. But still, finding evidence and then contacting Belasko. Yep. You guessed it. There is something going in Starkley and Hamish's dad is out of town to find Scarmash. What a coincidence right? I just knew something was up, it was just too suspicious.
The baby situation went from OMG weird to OMG we are all going to be screwed in a pretty nice tempo. It didn't feel rushed or hurried. Instead you saw things getting steadily worse as the days went on. The babies were pretty creepy though I loved how most adults just wouldn't see that something was wrong.
I did feel sorry for Hamish and PDF and the articles that were circulating everywhere talking about how the PDF sucks/isn't real/etc. etc.. You could clearly see that Hamish was hurting. Of course later we find out why the articles were so terrible and it made sense, but still, how could anyone do that? Is your job so important you would rather write terrible stuff than to just resign?
I had a laugh that it took the kids quite a long time to figure out what was happening to the babies. I just knew from the moment THAT was introduced it was the source of all problems. Of course I didn't know where it came from, but hey, details.
I also hope that the two towns can be happier together now that certain elements are gone. It would be nice.
And I hope that Venk will find something he is good at, or at least doesn't feel so left out. :(
Again tons of compliments for the fun, brilliant illustrations!
I can't wait for the next Hamish book, I need it now!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
April 29, 2020
Hier geht's zur vollständigen Rezension auf meinem Blog.
Rezension
Kann Spoiler bezüglich der ersten drei Teile enthalten!
Die Bücher rund um Hamish und seine Freunde haben mich bisher immer begeistert. So auch dieses Mal. Nachdem Starkley, Hamishs Heimatstadt, nun bis ins letzte Detail bekannt ist, wird die Welt in diesem Buch wieder ein wenig erweitert, indem Starkleys Nachbarstädte einbezogen werden, vor allem Frinkley. Starkley und Frinkley liegen so sehr im Clinch wie es zwei Nachbarstädten nur möglich ist. Ich fand es richtig lustig, wie Werbebanner, Zeitungen und Cartoons aus Frinkley sich über Starkley lustig machen. Auch die Beschwerden, die die Bewohner von Frinkley bei der Beschwerde-Behörde von Starkley hinterlassen, beispielsweise darüber, dass Starkleys Häuser gefälligst weiter von Frinkley entfernt werden sollen, waren einfach nur witzig.
Ganz besonders positiv aufgefallen ist mir in diesem Buch, dass der Autor nichts dem Zufall überlässt. Er setzt nicht einfach zufällige Ideen zu Geschichten um. Stattdessen gibt es Erklärungen, Hintergründe und Begründungen für alles. Beispielsweise wird noch ausführlicher als im vorherigen Teil erklärt, warum Scarmarsh es ausgerechnet auf Starkley, Hamish und seinen Vater abgesehen hat. Außerdem wird eine absolut nachvollziehbare Begründung dafür geliefert, warum ausgerechnet die Babys verrückt spielen. Es hat mich positiv überrascht, wie viele Überlegungen dahinter stecken und wie sich diese Katastrophe ganz natürlich aus den vorherigen Büchern herleiten lässt. Die Geschichte ist sehr gut durchdacht und das gefällt mir. Obwohl es Kinderbücher sind, muss nichts einfach als Fakt hingenommen werden.
Darüber hinaus mochte ich auch diesmal wieder die Geschichte, auch wenn es mehr die kleinen Dinge waren, an denen ich mich besonders erfreut habe. Richtig toll fand ich unter anderem, dass Venk, der in den vorherigen Büchern immer so ein bisschen der tollpatschige, eher nutzlose Mitläufer war, diesmal auch eine Sternstunde hatte. Ich mochte es auch sehr, dass explizit angesprochen wurde, dass Venk darunter leidet, dass er bei den bisherigen Ereignissen nicht viel beitragen konnte, dass die anderen aber sicher sind, dass sich irgendwann noch zeigen wird, worin sein Talent besteht, und dass sie ihn wertschätzen und unterstützen.
Außerdem fand ich neben dem Konflikt zwischen Frinkley und Starkley besonders witzig, wie die Erwachsenen einfach völlig blind waren für das Chaos und die Zerstörung, die ihre Kinder angerichtet haben. Ich habe mich köstlich darüber amüsiert, wie diese blinde Liebe und auch die Erschöpfung frischgebackener Eltern auf die Schippe genommen und für den Zweck der Geschichte uminterpretiert wurde.
Der einzige Aspekt, der mich nicht packen konnte, war eine Enthüllung am Ende des Buches. Die habe ich schon im zweiten Kapitel vorhergesehen, weil sie doch ziemlich offensichtlich war. Das war zwar ein wenig schade, machte mir im Grunde aber nichts aus, weil das Buch auch so sehr unterhaltsam war.
Fazit
Auch der vierte Band rund um Hamish und seine Freunde hat mich wieder überzeugt. Die Geschichte entwickelt sich authentisch aus den vorherigen Büchern und wird damit überraschend durchdacht und fundiert begründet. Außerdem gab es wieder viel zu lachen, denn Starkleys Konflikt mit der Nachbarstadt Frinkley war ebenso amüsant wie die völlige Blindheit der Eltern dafür, welche Biester ihre Babys sind. Besonders gefallen hat mir, dass der bislang eher mitgelaufene Venk diesmal einen großen Auftritt hat, bei dem seine Freunde ihn unterstützen. „Hamish and the Baby Boom“ war eine witzige und unterhaltsame Fortsetzung und bekommt dafür vier Schreibfedern.
Rezension
Kann Spoiler bezüglich der ersten drei Teile enthalten!
Die Bücher rund um Hamish und seine Freunde haben mich bisher immer begeistert. So auch dieses Mal. Nachdem Starkley, Hamishs Heimatstadt, nun bis ins letzte Detail bekannt ist, wird die Welt in diesem Buch wieder ein wenig erweitert, indem Starkleys Nachbarstädte einbezogen werden, vor allem Frinkley. Starkley und Frinkley liegen so sehr im Clinch wie es zwei Nachbarstädten nur möglich ist. Ich fand es richtig lustig, wie Werbebanner, Zeitungen und Cartoons aus Frinkley sich über Starkley lustig machen. Auch die Beschwerden, die die Bewohner von Frinkley bei der Beschwerde-Behörde von Starkley hinterlassen, beispielsweise darüber, dass Starkleys Häuser gefälligst weiter von Frinkley entfernt werden sollen, waren einfach nur witzig.
Ganz besonders positiv aufgefallen ist mir in diesem Buch, dass der Autor nichts dem Zufall überlässt. Er setzt nicht einfach zufällige Ideen zu Geschichten um. Stattdessen gibt es Erklärungen, Hintergründe und Begründungen für alles. Beispielsweise wird noch ausführlicher als im vorherigen Teil erklärt, warum Scarmarsh es ausgerechnet auf Starkley, Hamish und seinen Vater abgesehen hat. Außerdem wird eine absolut nachvollziehbare Begründung dafür geliefert, warum ausgerechnet die Babys verrückt spielen. Es hat mich positiv überrascht, wie viele Überlegungen dahinter stecken und wie sich diese Katastrophe ganz natürlich aus den vorherigen Büchern herleiten lässt. Die Geschichte ist sehr gut durchdacht und das gefällt mir. Obwohl es Kinderbücher sind, muss nichts einfach als Fakt hingenommen werden.
Darüber hinaus mochte ich auch diesmal wieder die Geschichte, auch wenn es mehr die kleinen Dinge waren, an denen ich mich besonders erfreut habe. Richtig toll fand ich unter anderem, dass Venk, der in den vorherigen Büchern immer so ein bisschen der tollpatschige, eher nutzlose Mitläufer war, diesmal auch eine Sternstunde hatte. Ich mochte es auch sehr, dass explizit angesprochen wurde, dass Venk darunter leidet, dass er bei den bisherigen Ereignissen nicht viel beitragen konnte, dass die anderen aber sicher sind, dass sich irgendwann noch zeigen wird, worin sein Talent besteht, und dass sie ihn wertschätzen und unterstützen.
Außerdem fand ich neben dem Konflikt zwischen Frinkley und Starkley besonders witzig, wie die Erwachsenen einfach völlig blind waren für das Chaos und die Zerstörung, die ihre Kinder angerichtet haben. Ich habe mich köstlich darüber amüsiert, wie diese blinde Liebe und auch die Erschöpfung frischgebackener Eltern auf die Schippe genommen und für den Zweck der Geschichte uminterpretiert wurde.
Der einzige Aspekt, der mich nicht packen konnte, war eine Enthüllung am Ende des Buches. Die habe ich schon im zweiten Kapitel vorhergesehen, weil sie doch ziemlich offensichtlich war. Das war zwar ein wenig schade, machte mir im Grunde aber nichts aus, weil das Buch auch so sehr unterhaltsam war.
Fazit
Auch der vierte Band rund um Hamish und seine Freunde hat mich wieder überzeugt. Die Geschichte entwickelt sich authentisch aus den vorherigen Büchern und wird damit überraschend durchdacht und fundiert begründet. Außerdem gab es wieder viel zu lachen, denn Starkleys Konflikt mit der Nachbarstadt Frinkley war ebenso amüsant wie die völlige Blindheit der Eltern dafür, welche Biester ihre Babys sind. Besonders gefallen hat mir, dass der bislang eher mitgelaufene Venk diesmal einen großen Auftritt hat, bei dem seine Freunde ihn unterstützen. „Hamish and the Baby Boom“ war eine witzige und unterhaltsame Fortsetzung und bekommt dafür vier Schreibfedern.
March 22, 2018
A good quick read. I fear I was a little disappointed with this fourth book in the Hamish series. Mostly, to the lack of attention paid to characterization. All of the gang seemed to disappear into the background of the action. I felt it was overlong and the humour had been dialled down again. Although some quirky observations about the nature of babies helped. Fabulous illustrations by Jamie Littler once more. Hope book five, which is inevitable, lives up to the promise of book one.
May 9, 2023
Well where do I start. A fun book about babies peeing and being naughty.. all due to the villain axel scaramarsh! 33 chapters, a few funny characters that kids will laugh at especially boffo! Overall a story about discovering a group of misbehaving babies and why there were acting abnormal, what were the links, and could the pdf group figure it out... Although funny in places I felt the book was a bit long so my rating is around a 3.5/4 out of 5. Good in places but long..
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 3, 2018
In a world where every TV personality seems to think they can write a kids book, actual author Danny Wallace ones stand out by a country mile, fun storylines, great characters, good messages and all brought to life by Jamie Littler's characters
When I'm not waiting for Danny to write his adults books, I'll be waiting for another Hamish adventure
When I'm not waiting for Danny to write his adults books, I'll be waiting for another Hamish adventure
April 28, 2023
Funny hilarious 😁 😂 🤣 novel .... which apparently is a series of books centered around a group of kids called the PDF!!! Will definitely try to buy the other books and give them to my daughter for reading!
June 29, 2018
Danny Wallace can do no wrong in my eyes. Another great rollicking story about Hamish and his crew. A very funny read for anyone over 7. Loved it.
March 26, 2020
Fuuny and enjoyable as ever!
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February 3, 2019good
Read
February 3, 2019good
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews