William—the Explorer

Just William #32

by Richmal Crompton, Thomas Henry (-Illustrator)

This is the 32nd William book and features more adventures of the 11-year-old in which Jumble, William's dog, finds himself being trained by William to be a police dog. Douglas - of the Outlaws - is ordered to commit a crime so that Jumble can respond.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Humor, Classics

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Richmal Crompton Lamburn was initially trained as a schoolmistress but later became a popular English writer, best known for her Just William series of books, humorous short stories, and to a lesser extent adult fiction books.

Crompton's fiction centres around family and social life, dwelling on the constraints that they place on individuals while also nurturing them. This is best seen in her depiction of children as puzzled onlookers of society's ways. Nevertheless, the children, particularly William and his Outlaws, almost always emerge triumphant.

Reviews

[Martyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable collection of William stories, in many respects typical, classic, William. Jumble seemed to have more of a personality in some of these stories - we got to see a little of what was going on inside his head, which was rather fun and engaging. It might have been quite nice to have a whole book written from Jumble's point of view. He has a personality of his own.

A few things in the story did feel a little incongruous to me, after being so used to stories from the days when the Brown family always had domestic help to assist with all the household chores. It seemed odd to picture Mr. Brown putting a kettle on to boil - from the earlier books one would imagine that he had never made a cup of tea in his life and wouldn't have a clue how to do so. And to hear of Mrs. Brown rummaging through a cupboard under the sink for a floor cloth again felt out of keeping with the dignity of the refined middle-class lady. But William remained the same as ever.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another terrific collection of William stories. I found them to be very funny, but a couple just didn't entertain me in the same way.

My favourite stories were:

'William The Explorer'
'William and the Nature Ramble'
'William and the Paying Guest'
'William Gets His Fairing'
'William and the Television Invention'

[Ahtims · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another of my childhood favorites. I love reading books from my childhood as they transport me to my childhood home and years filled with warmth and joy.
William is as naughty as ever, his parents and elder siblings as resigned and ever. Each story was a masterpiece- the antics only William and his gang can muster up, the consequences as varied and unexpected as ever.
I would recommend this to all tweens and people who have tweenish souls hidden in their ageing bodies.