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Willy
Willy the Champ
Anthony Browne’s ever-popular Willy the chimp is back - in two laugh-out-loud stories about unexpected success.
With typical tongue-in-cheek humor and crisp, polished artwork, Anthony Browne’s whimsical books about Willy the chimp remind us that heroes are found in all shapes, sizes, athletic abilities - and cultural tastes!
WILLY THE CHAMP finds the laid-back chimp enjoying music, reading, and walks in the park - but failing miserably at athletic chimplike endeavors. Then he manages to deck Buster the bully - by accident - and wins cheers from the big chimps who jeered at him.
With typical tongue-in-cheek humor and crisp, polished artwork, Anthony Browne’s whimsical books about Willy the chimp remind us that heroes are found in all shapes, sizes, athletic abilities - and cultural tastes!
WILLY THE CHAMP finds the laid-back chimp enjoying music, reading, and walks in the park - but failing miserably at athletic chimplike endeavors. Then he manages to deck Buster the bully - by accident - and wins cheers from the big chimps who jeered at him.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
4 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Browne
160 books315 followersAnthony Browne, a Hans Christian Andersen Medalist, is the author-illustrator of many acclaimed books for children, including Silly Billy and Little Beauty. He lives in Kent, England.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 12, 2011
Willy the champ by Anthony Browne
ISBN 9780744543568 Published by Julia Macrae Books 1985
This book is about Willy (a chimp), who is very individual and is quite a geek. He can’t seem to do what others are able to do although he tries ever so hard to fit in. He is often ridiculed by others because he is so different.
Willy attempts a number of activities throughout the book and fails miserably. Then a situation arises and out of sheer luck Willy (the chimp) is branded Will the Champ! Willy finally gains respect and admiration from his peers.
This book has fabulous illustrations, full of colour and character, making it a very easy read for children. It is great for children who are just starting to read too, as the illustrations do tell the story very well. Children will find the book funny and I think it’s a great book to discuss Willy’s feelings throughout the story with children. It is ok to be different, and this book illustrates it beautifully.
ISBN 9780744543568 Published by Julia Macrae Books 1985
This book is about Willy (a chimp), who is very individual and is quite a geek. He can’t seem to do what others are able to do although he tries ever so hard to fit in. He is often ridiculed by others because he is so different.
Willy attempts a number of activities throughout the book and fails miserably. Then a situation arises and out of sheer luck Willy (the chimp) is branded Will the Champ! Willy finally gains respect and admiration from his peers.
This book has fabulous illustrations, full of colour and character, making it a very easy read for children. It is great for children who are just starting to read too, as the illustrations do tell the story very well. Children will find the book funny and I think it’s a great book to discuss Willy’s feelings throughout the story with children. It is ok to be different, and this book illustrates it beautifully.
December 14, 2011
Willy is good at some things like reading and listening to music. But he's not so good at other things like soccer and playing an instrument. He really truly tries. And sometimes he gets laughed at. But Willy really comes through when it counts.
Not a good storytime story as a lot of the story is in the pictures.
Not a good storytime story as a lot of the story is in the pictures.
April 17, 2018
I’m not sure what to think of this book. I’m not a massive fan of the Willy the Chimp books although I’ve come to enjoy quite a few of them. ‘Willy the Champ’ is a story which seems a bit similar to ‘Willy the Wimp’. The paperback is quite small, around A4 in it’s width (if you hold an A4 sized paper upright) although shorter than A4 in height. It’s filled with thick and glossy pages which themselves have lots of very colourful images.
The story starts by showing us what Willy likes to do, listen to music, read and visit the park with his friend Millie. But Willy isn’t really good at anything that the gorillas are good at. He tries to be sporty, like them, and do what they are good at such as bike racing and football but Willy isn’t like the others. Plenty of kids could easily relate to Willy’s character in this book, I certainly wasn’t the sporty type at school and I can instantly recognise that feeling of not being good at anything the other kids are good at. The story is very short and it seems like Willy won’t be good at anything until he faces a bully called Buster Nose.
The way Willy deals with Buster Nose is funny and it’s an okay ending to the book, but this just didn’t seem as good a story as other Willy books I’ve read. Any message of standing up to a bully and managing to overcome them in this way seems to be lost a little in this tale and I’m not sure a lot of kids would understand any message the book has, instead enjoying the basic story and pictures more.
I like the illustrations. There are funny and many of the pages have a surreal feel to them such as a gorilla in the park taking a banana for a walk! I do like all the pictures though the way that some of the gorillas look in the pool or Buster Nose himself are a bit strange. The book was originally printed in the 80s though and some of the strange outfits of the gorillas in the books might be due to that.
Although I like the illustrations, I just didn’t like this story as much as the other Willy books I’ve read and I’m not sure all kids would enjoy this book.
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy (as part of the Anthony Browne Collection).
The story starts by showing us what Willy likes to do, listen to music, read and visit the park with his friend Millie. But Willy isn’t really good at anything that the gorillas are good at. He tries to be sporty, like them, and do what they are good at such as bike racing and football but Willy isn’t like the others. Plenty of kids could easily relate to Willy’s character in this book, I certainly wasn’t the sporty type at school and I can instantly recognise that feeling of not being good at anything the other kids are good at. The story is very short and it seems like Willy won’t be good at anything until he faces a bully called Buster Nose.
The way Willy deals with Buster Nose is funny and it’s an okay ending to the book, but this just didn’t seem as good a story as other Willy books I’ve read. Any message of standing up to a bully and managing to overcome them in this way seems to be lost a little in this tale and I’m not sure a lot of kids would understand any message the book has, instead enjoying the basic story and pictures more.
I like the illustrations. There are funny and many of the pages have a surreal feel to them such as a gorilla in the park taking a banana for a walk! I do like all the pictures though the way that some of the gorillas look in the pool or Buster Nose himself are a bit strange. The book was originally printed in the 80s though and some of the strange outfits of the gorillas in the books might be due to that.
Although I like the illustrations, I just didn’t like this story as much as the other Willy books I’ve read and I’m not sure all kids would enjoy this book.
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy (as part of the Anthony Browne Collection).
September 4, 2017
Little readers can find an unsuspecting hero in Willy the chimpanzee. This particular story sees Willy facing off against Buster Nose, a bigger, bolder and butt-uglier monkey that throws a punch at Willy. But sometimes being the smartest opponent is more important than being the burliest!
This picture book is full of colour, relatively mature narrative for its audience and cleverly introduces some new themes for adults to discuss with children such as bullying, being different and so on. A really important book for any young readers collection.
Plus Willy is easily one of the more likeable children's picture book stars!
ARC provided free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This picture book is full of colour, relatively mature narrative for its audience and cleverly introduces some new themes for adults to discuss with children such as bullying, being different and so on. A really important book for any young readers collection.
Plus Willy is easily one of the more likeable children's picture book stars!
ARC provided free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
May 16, 2019
Willie love reading, listening to music and walking in the park with friends. Sports don't seem to be his thing although he has tried. It just doesn't seem to go well. It seems no matter what he does people laugh at him. Now that is not acceptable, but very real. But one day by sheer luck he conquers a bully by doing the most natural of things, duck and weave. That day his friends called him a hero.
April 4, 2019
Strange and felt it was pointless
December 1, 2020
its beautiful
Want to read
December 1, 2020awesome
December 11, 2020
Not his best, but still pretty good.
December 3, 2021
me gusto
May 9, 2023
It educational
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2025
Me han gustado más otras historias de Anthony, luego le daré otra oportunidad.:)
April 27, 2014
I am now a big fan of Anthony Browne as his illustrations are fantastic! I read the Spanish translation of this book called Willy El Campeón. The story is about Willy the gorilla who thinks he is no good at anything. Willy likes to do a lot of things like listening to music and reading. He tries very hard to be good at things like football and swimming although he doesn’t succeed and the other gorillas laugh at him. One day, a situation happens with the scary Buster and Willy accidentally ends up becoming labelled Willy the champ!
Although there is not much writing or a detailed story, I really enjoyed this book because of the illustrations which are incredibly realistic. As a foreign language book, it would be very useful to use with any class in Key Stage 2. There are lots of words that are cognates and the pictures are so detailed that it is easy to guess what is happening. Also as Willy is a popular series, the children might have encountered Willy in English too. As an English book, I would read it with a reception or year 1 class. The story has a good moral background as Willy doesn’t give up trying and eventually, his persistence pays off.
Although there is not much writing or a detailed story, I really enjoyed this book because of the illustrations which are incredibly realistic. As a foreign language book, it would be very useful to use with any class in Key Stage 2. There are lots of words that are cognates and the pictures are so detailed that it is easy to guess what is happening. Also as Willy is a popular series, the children might have encountered Willy in English too. As an English book, I would read it with a reception or year 1 class. The story has a good moral background as Willy doesn’t give up trying and eventually, his persistence pays off.
September 3, 2014
Willy is a young ape trying to find his place in the world. He desperately seeks out something that he can really be great at. he knows what he likes to do and what his abilities are but he yeans for something that he can do and do well. Throughout Willy's endeavors he can't escape the taunting and cruelty of the older, bigger apes. he is constantly being bullied, laughed at and ridiculed for who is. Willy, however upset by this, doesn't seem to want to stand up for himself. He thinks that by finding something he can be great in will make the other apes like him and respect him more.
the background of the cartoon illustrations are just one color. While the background doesn't have much detail and color, the characters do. This draws the readers attention more to the characters and allows the reader to be able to focus in what is happening to the characters in the story. While reading about Willy searching for something he can be great at, it can remind that this is something every child goes through while growing up. Every child has to search for they like and want and find out for themselves who they are and what they can and want to do.
the background of the cartoon illustrations are just one color. While the background doesn't have much detail and color, the characters do. This draws the readers attention more to the characters and allows the reader to be able to focus in what is happening to the characters in the story. While reading about Willy searching for something he can be great at, it can remind that this is something every child goes through while growing up. Every child has to search for they like and want and find out for themselves who they are and what they can and want to do.
July 6, 2015
Adorable illustrations! Addresses a very valid issue - that nerds are cool in their own way. I loved it mainly for the beautiful pictures and simple text.
March 31, 2016
I'm not as much a fan of the Willy series as of Anthony Browne's other books, but they're still enjoyable.
August 16, 2016
I think it wold be a good book for kids become it has a monkeys in it
April 27, 2017
Story about a gorilla that did not feel he was good at anything. The book shows his efforts, but also how he is always failing at the end. There one day came a huge bully, Buster Nose. However, because Willy was so much smaller than the bully, he ducked before he got punched and Buster Nose smashed his hand into brick. After that, Willy was known as “Willy The Champ” because he defeated Buster Nose.Because Willy does not fill into male stereotypes, he was bullied but showed that facing the bully does not always have to be physical.
I would recommend this book. It has great meaning and great photos. The photos have life and vibrance. Also, the story is about a kairotic moment because bullying is big in the world, especially at young ages.
I would recommend this book. It has great meaning and great photos. The photos have life and vibrance. Also, the story is about a kairotic moment because bullying is big in the world, especially at young ages.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews