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Hamish and the PDF #5
Hamish 5
'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! Things are afoot in Starkley... again! Out in the ocean something's on the move ... something BIG ... something that might change everything ... While most of Starkley's inhabitants have fled or gone into lockdown, Hamish and his pals in the PDF are coming up with a plan, because if they don't save the world then who will! But this time they’re not alone. Luckily, the top-secret Monster Patrol is on hand to help … even if that ‘help’ is in the form of a strange new kid, a bizarre-looking fish monster and a bonkers old lady…
269 pages, Paperback
Published April 18, 2019
10 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Danny Wallace
61 books640 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 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 30, 2024
This book has my name on the front cover and it was very good. It shifted between boring and intriguing and made my mind ready to keep reading. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟
May 3, 2019
A brand-new Hamish adventure this time with even more monsters, a Chosen One, and more revelations about Belasko and another organisation, the Monster Patrol!
I just LOVE the Hamish books, while it is a bit monster of the week in style (as each book has a new monster threatening the world/Starkley), there are enough twists and turns, new characters, and new revelations, each book keeps you on the edge of your seat. What would happen next? What kind of new things will we learn in this new book?
This one does require one to read the 3 short stories released not that long ago. In one of the stories we learn of Alice's grandmother and that monsters are truly real. That there are people hunting/protecting them. This one continues that story because in this book Hamish and Alice (and the new character Kit) are going on a quest to find Alice's grandma. She may be the only one who knows how to save the world/Starkley from a monster that is coming slowly from the sea.
But before that all happens we meet a new Starkley, a Starkley that is in full-protective/combat mode. People are leaving, barriers are made, sometimes supplies of food come in... sadly, mostly boring and bland stuff, there is a curfew, there is a big honking clock/alarm-system, and more. There is a monster coming and Belasko is in full battle/ready mode.
Each chapter we get, often full of humour, told how many days are still left before the monster arrives. Eventually I was looking forward to each new chapter as I had to know what way we would be told about the days this time.
I loved the parts taking place in the Amazon, to see that monsters are real and magic apparently too (though I am still not entirely convinced), to meet a new group named the Monster Patrol. I do hope that the MP is able to grow a bit more than just 2, or now 3, people/monsters. I had such a laugh when Hamish got caught up with a unicorn and that apparently cactuscubes are its favourite.
Meeting Lydia at last, it was wonderful, though I did think it was a bit hilarious on the hows and whats of her capture. It is quite surprising that she is still alive, but then again with her spirit she would survive for much longer. For an older lady she got a ton of spirit and power.
What the monster was and how things went when it finally came to a battle? It wasn't entirely what I expected, and I was a bit disappointed, but still I had fun reading about the battle.
The ending made me smile and I was delighted that Hamish finally had the courage to tell his friends and that he learned to trust them a bit more. I hope he can learn a bit more from his dreams, it seems he has yet another talent.
Scarmash also makes his appearance, because why not, he is the big villain of the story. I just hope that one day Hamish, his dad, and Belasko can capture him or put him out of the monster business.
And just like every other book this one is delightfully illustrated!
All in all, I can't wait to see what the next book will be about. What monsters will pop up and what kind of plans will Scarmash make/prepare. I would recommend this fun, unicorns are real though they don't pop cupcakes or glitter, prawn-filled book to everyone.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I just LOVE the Hamish books, while it is a bit monster of the week in style (as each book has a new monster threatening the world/Starkley), there are enough twists and turns, new characters, and new revelations, each book keeps you on the edge of your seat. What would happen next? What kind of new things will we learn in this new book?
This one does require one to read the 3 short stories released not that long ago. In one of the stories we learn of Alice's grandmother and that monsters are truly real. That there are people hunting/protecting them. This one continues that story because in this book Hamish and Alice (and the new character Kit) are going on a quest to find Alice's grandma. She may be the only one who knows how to save the world/Starkley from a monster that is coming slowly from the sea.
But before that all happens we meet a new Starkley, a Starkley that is in full-protective/combat mode. People are leaving, barriers are made, sometimes supplies of food come in... sadly, mostly boring and bland stuff, there is a curfew, there is a big honking clock/alarm-system, and more. There is a monster coming and Belasko is in full battle/ready mode.
Each chapter we get, often full of humour, told how many days are still left before the monster arrives. Eventually I was looking forward to each new chapter as I had to know what way we would be told about the days this time.
I loved the parts taking place in the Amazon, to see that monsters are real and magic apparently too (though I am still not entirely convinced), to meet a new group named the Monster Patrol. I do hope that the MP is able to grow a bit more than just 2, or now 3, people/monsters. I had such a laugh when Hamish got caught up with a unicorn and that apparently cactuscubes are its favourite.
Meeting Lydia at last, it was wonderful, though I did think it was a bit hilarious on the hows and whats of her capture. It is quite surprising that she is still alive, but then again with her spirit she would survive for much longer. For an older lady she got a ton of spirit and power.
What the monster was and how things went when it finally came to a battle? It wasn't entirely what I expected, and I was a bit disappointed, but still I had fun reading about the battle.
The ending made me smile and I was delighted that Hamish finally had the courage to tell his friends and that he learned to trust them a bit more. I hope he can learn a bit more from his dreams, it seems he has yet another talent.
Scarmash also makes his appearance, because why not, he is the big villain of the story. I just hope that one day Hamish, his dad, and Belasko can capture him or put him out of the monster business.
And just like every other book this one is delightfully illustrated!
All in all, I can't wait to see what the next book will be about. What monsters will pop up and what kind of plans will Scarmash make/prepare. I would recommend this fun, unicorns are real though they don't pop cupcakes or glitter, prawn-filled book to everyone.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
September 13, 2022
Ich mag Hamish einfach. Der Magic Part war nicht ganz so mein Ding, aber generell war das Buch wieder ziemlich cool. Ich liebe es, dass nicht alle Monster einfach böse sind, sondern dass sie wählen können, genau wie die Menschen. Hoffentlich kommen irgendwann noch mehr Bände!
November 18, 2020
Yet again Danny Wallace writes a compelling children's story with great characters and creatures
Wit great messages and truly heart warming, the Hamish series continues to be a great read
Wit great messages and truly heart warming, the Hamish series continues to be a great read
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews