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The Other Facts of Life
There are some things Ben doesn't understand. His unwilling father is sent to explain the facts of life to him - only to find the questions Ben asks are far tougher than he expected, and he doesn't have the answers. Ben mounts an inspired crusade that is both deadly serious - and very funny.
144 pages, Paperback
First published March 8, 2004
3 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Morris Gleitzman
121 books976 followersMorris began his writing career as a screenwriter, and wrote his first children's novel in 1985. His brilliantly comic style has endeared him to children and adults alike, and he is now one of Australia's most successful authors, both internationally and at home. He was born in England in 1953 and emigrated to Australia in 1969 so he could escape from school and become a Very Famous Writer.
Before realising that dream, he had a colourful career as paperboy, bottle-shop shelf-stacker, department store Santa Claus, frozen chicken defroster, fashion-design assistant and sugar-mill employee. In between he managed to gain a degree in Professional Writing at the Canberra College of Advanced Education. Later he became sole writer for three award-winning and top-rating seasons with the TV comedy series The Norman Gunston Show.
Morris wrote a number of feature film and telemovie screenplays, including The Other Facts of Life and Second Childhood, both produced by The Australian Children's Television Foundation. The Other Facts of Life won an AWGIE Award for the Best Original Children's Film Script.
He also wrote live stage material for people such as Rolf Harris, Pamela Stephenson and the Governor General of Australia. Morris is well known to many people through his semi-autobiographical columns in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald magazine, Good Weekend, which he wrote for nine years.
But the majority of Morris' accolades are for his hugely popular children's books. One of his most successful books for young people is Two Weeks with the Queen, an international bestseller which was also adapted into a play by Mary Morris. The play had many successful seasons in Australia and was then produced at the National Theatre in London in 1995 directed by Alan Ayckbourn, and also in South Africa, Canada, Japan and the USA.
All his other books have been shortlisted for or have won numerous children's book prizes. These include The Other Facts of Life, Second Childhood, Misery Guts, Worry Warts, Puppy Fat, Blabber Mouth, Sticky Beak, Belly Flop, Water Wings, Bumface, Gift Of The Gab, Toad Rage, Wicked! and Deadly!, two six-part novels written in collaboration with Paul Jennings, Adults Only, Toad Heaven, Boy Overboard, Teacher's Pet, Toad Away, Girl Underground, Worm Story, Once, Aristotle's Nostril, Doubting Thomas, Give Peas A Chance, Then, Toad Surprise, Grace, Now, Too Small To Fail, and his latest book, Pizza Cake. Morris' children's books have been published in the UK, the USA, Germany, Italy, Japan, France, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Indonesia and Czechoslovakia, Russia and China.
Before realising that dream, he had a colourful career as paperboy, bottle-shop shelf-stacker, department store Santa Claus, frozen chicken defroster, fashion-design assistant and sugar-mill employee. In between he managed to gain a degree in Professional Writing at the Canberra College of Advanced Education. Later he became sole writer for three award-winning and top-rating seasons with the TV comedy series The Norman Gunston Show.
Morris wrote a number of feature film and telemovie screenplays, including The Other Facts of Life and Second Childhood, both produced by The Australian Children's Television Foundation. The Other Facts of Life won an AWGIE Award for the Best Original Children's Film Script.
He also wrote live stage material for people such as Rolf Harris, Pamela Stephenson and the Governor General of Australia. Morris is well known to many people through his semi-autobiographical columns in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald magazine, Good Weekend, which he wrote for nine years.
But the majority of Morris' accolades are for his hugely popular children's books. One of his most successful books for young people is Two Weeks with the Queen, an international bestseller which was also adapted into a play by Mary Morris. The play had many successful seasons in Australia and was then produced at the National Theatre in London in 1995 directed by Alan Ayckbourn, and also in South Africa, Canada, Japan and the USA.
All his other books have been shortlisted for or have won numerous children's book prizes. These include The Other Facts of Life, Second Childhood, Misery Guts, Worry Warts, Puppy Fat, Blabber Mouth, Sticky Beak, Belly Flop, Water Wings, Bumface, Gift Of The Gab, Toad Rage, Wicked! and Deadly!, two six-part novels written in collaboration with Paul Jennings, Adults Only, Toad Heaven, Boy Overboard, Teacher's Pet, Toad Away, Girl Underground, Worm Story, Once, Aristotle's Nostril, Doubting Thomas, Give Peas A Chance, Then, Toad Surprise, Grace, Now, Too Small To Fail, and his latest book, Pizza Cake. Morris' children's books have been published in the UK, the USA, Germany, Italy, Japan, France, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Indonesia and Czechoslovakia, Russia and China.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
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March 7, 2021This is an interesting (re)read for 2021. The Other Facts of Life was originally published in 1985, and the approach to middle grade literature has changed a lot since then.
I’ve been rediscovering how talented an author Morris Gleitzman is, and he has some great variety in his books.
What makes this book different is that quite a lot of it is from the points of view of the parents. While this works for me now, as an adult, I’m thinking that some of the “adult problems” and “parent problems” dealt with in in the story aren’t going to work well for the 8-12s.
I can’t imagine there are many MG books with adult POVs anymore!
Still, the writing is fun. And the “issues” mostly hold up decades later – even if the technology does not!
I’ve been rediscovering how talented an author Morris Gleitzman is, and he has some great variety in his books.
What makes this book different is that quite a lot of it is from the points of view of the parents. While this works for me now, as an adult, I’m thinking that some of the “adult problems” and “parent problems” dealt with in in the story aren’t going to work well for the 8-12s.
I can’t imagine there are many MG books with adult POVs anymore!
Still, the writing is fun. And the “issues” mostly hold up decades later – even if the technology does not!
November 6, 2019
An interesting story.. I found this novel relatively funny at times but at other times it seemed extremely boring, going on and on about the same thing. Although I do like the point that the author is trying to get along and how he is trying to get the message across that we should help famine.
May 9, 2020
Light. Teenaged angst at the extreme.
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March 30, 2016I think that Morris Gleitzman has written the book, The Other Facts of Life, really well. I liked this book because there was quite a lot of humourous writing, which of course, I enjoyed to read. I was quite amazed when I found out that this was the first book that Morris Gleitzman had written as I found, when I was reading it, that it seemed like it had been written by an experienced author.
This book was about an interesting topic, but included real life opinions, like when not many people seemed to care about starving millions. The main character, Ben Guthrie, gets yourself thinking about the questions and problems that he is trying to solve that are based around world problems such as starvation and poverty. Throughout the book it also talks about the type of life style that Ben has which affects the way he and others think about his opinions.
I thought that some parts of the story were a little bit random, like when he went to free all of the caged chickens with Esme. It sort of jumped into that part out of nowhere. Some parts also were a bit strange, and those parts were some of Ben's reactions, where I didn't fully understand where he was getting to. They included when he pretended to drown himself, and also when he was swimming in the pool with his mum and her friends. But I guess those parts were sort of part of Ben's personality, and just how the story went.
As a book, this definitely wouldn't be the first thing that I would pick up. From the start I knew that it was aimed probably to younger readers, and I have to say, I did think that it would be a book that I would just read because I had to and forget straight away. But it actually contained some meaningful stuff in there, and I did find it very easy to just pick up and read, because it was very easy to follow, and there wasn't any barriers with the words.
The book didn't bore me at all, but I feel that it didn't link into the chapters in the best way possible. But overall, I found that this book was much better than I thought it would be. I wouldn't necessarily read this book again, but I might recommend it to someone else if I happened to come across it again.
So if you are looking for a funny, well written, easy-read book that has some meaning to it, then The Other Facts of Life would be a pretty good choice.
This book was about an interesting topic, but included real life opinions, like when not many people seemed to care about starving millions. The main character, Ben Guthrie, gets yourself thinking about the questions and problems that he is trying to solve that are based around world problems such as starvation and poverty. Throughout the book it also talks about the type of life style that Ben has which affects the way he and others think about his opinions.
I thought that some parts of the story were a little bit random, like when he went to free all of the caged chickens with Esme. It sort of jumped into that part out of nowhere. Some parts also were a bit strange, and those parts were some of Ben's reactions, where I didn't fully understand where he was getting to. They included when he pretended to drown himself, and also when he was swimming in the pool with his mum and her friends. But I guess those parts were sort of part of Ben's personality, and just how the story went.
As a book, this definitely wouldn't be the first thing that I would pick up. From the start I knew that it was aimed probably to younger readers, and I have to say, I did think that it would be a book that I would just read because I had to and forget straight away. But it actually contained some meaningful stuff in there, and I did find it very easy to just pick up and read, because it was very easy to follow, and there wasn't any barriers with the words.
The book didn't bore me at all, but I feel that it didn't link into the chapters in the best way possible. But overall, I found that this book was much better than I thought it would be. I wouldn't necessarily read this book again, but I might recommend it to someone else if I happened to come across it again.
So if you are looking for a funny, well written, easy-read book that has some meaning to it, then The Other Facts of Life would be a pretty good choice.
March 23, 2016
This Morris Gleitzman book- The Other Facts of Life was an interesting read. Although this book covers several good aspects, I believe that it wasn't extremely well written. The plot had many potential, but I feel that it didn't really manage to keep me hooked throughout the book. But maybe this could also be because it is not my type of book and i feel like it should be aimed at an audience slightly younger then me.
Despite the bad things, this book also had a lot of good stuff in it too. It makes me think about family matters and how we react to different situations. Another thing that was great the book touched on was environmental/world issues. The main character Ben was a huge activist in this area. Morris Gleitzman had explained that very well and made the main idea of the book very clear since the start of the novel.
Ben was a interesting main protagonist in the story, he was always doing something new and full of surprises. Although some people may not have gone through the same problems Ben had faced, this book would be probably found pretty relate-able.
I gave this book a two star rating, mainly because I don't really feel a connection with this book, nor is it something extremely different from other books in the same category. Also some parts of the book weren't explained thoroughly enough. But then again it isn't too bad and has a few good key points in the book. It's not really I'd recommend for others though, simply because Morris Gleitzman have written plenty more interesting books that were a bit better than "The Other Facts of Life." I have a feeling that the main reason I'm let down by this book, is because I had my expectations pretty high on Morris Gleitzman.
But overall, if you feel like this is the book for you, go for it! You'll certainly learn a couple of new things.
Despite the bad things, this book also had a lot of good stuff in it too. It makes me think about family matters and how we react to different situations. Another thing that was great the book touched on was environmental/world issues. The main character Ben was a huge activist in this area. Morris Gleitzman had explained that very well and made the main idea of the book very clear since the start of the novel.
Ben was a interesting main protagonist in the story, he was always doing something new and full of surprises. Although some people may not have gone through the same problems Ben had faced, this book would be probably found pretty relate-able.
I gave this book a two star rating, mainly because I don't really feel a connection with this book, nor is it something extremely different from other books in the same category. Also some parts of the book weren't explained thoroughly enough. But then again it isn't too bad and has a few good key points in the book. It's not really I'd recommend for others though, simply because Morris Gleitzman have written plenty more interesting books that were a bit better than "The Other Facts of Life." I have a feeling that the main reason I'm let down by this book, is because I had my expectations pretty high on Morris Gleitzman.
But overall, if you feel like this is the book for you, go for it! You'll certainly learn a couple of new things.
March 23, 2016
The Other Facts Of Life
By Morris Gleitzman
The other facts of life by Morris Gleitzman is a book about a boy named Ben (who lives in Sydney, Australia), who struggles to adapt in this ever changing world. He is going through the 'awkward phase' in life. When the realisation of third world hunger hits him, his is committed to solving this. While his parents Ron and Di are committed, committed to helping Ben.
This plot is very good but his social life is lacking because he has very few friends and if he had a very active social life the plot would thicken way more than it originally has. Also another problem in the book is that Ron the father of Ben, owns a massive butcher company which contradicts with Ben's new found belief.
The genre of the book would be a short story but it would be good if Morris Gleitzman did a re print and turned it into a full book because it has a lot of potential. There is a subtle hint in the book daughter and them trying to parent Ben the way they did with their daughter e.g. "to ignore him".
Even this is a fiction book, in the back of my mind when I was reading this is that something similar like this could happen to any teenager going through that "awkward phase" in life. It is just a matter of the right time and place.
In a calm "bush suburb" neighbourhood in sunny Australia, a young boy is focused on solving the huge topic of starving people in third world countries. His parents Ron and Di are in his way though. What lengths will Ben go to to solve his problem. Will Ben die or will he live? You'll have to read it in The Other Facts Of Life!
By Morris Gleitzman
The other facts of life by Morris Gleitzman is a book about a boy named Ben (who lives in Sydney, Australia), who struggles to adapt in this ever changing world. He is going through the 'awkward phase' in life. When the realisation of third world hunger hits him, his is committed to solving this. While his parents Ron and Di are committed, committed to helping Ben.
This plot is very good but his social life is lacking because he has very few friends and if he had a very active social life the plot would thicken way more than it originally has. Also another problem in the book is that Ron the father of Ben, owns a massive butcher company which contradicts with Ben's new found belief.
The genre of the book would be a short story but it would be good if Morris Gleitzman did a re print and turned it into a full book because it has a lot of potential. There is a subtle hint in the book daughter and them trying to parent Ben the way they did with their daughter e.g. "to ignore him".
Even this is a fiction book, in the back of my mind when I was reading this is that something similar like this could happen to any teenager going through that "awkward phase" in life. It is just a matter of the right time and place.
In a calm "bush suburb" neighbourhood in sunny Australia, a young boy is focused on solving the huge topic of starving people in third world countries. His parents Ron and Di are in his way though. What lengths will Ben go to to solve his problem. Will Ben die or will he live? You'll have to read it in The Other Facts Of Life!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 23, 2016
The other facts of life
By Morris Gleitzman
Review By Beth Baker
I’m not one for liking non fiction books but this book really stood out to me. Ben is always finding himself locked in his room with questions stacking up in his brain, His dad, no to busy, His sister, Has enough problems and his Mum just doesn't care, even though the situations are different i found myself relating to a few things in the book like ‘Is that what you got this for? She said in amazement’ not in the same turns but when your parents constantly ask you the same question to find the truth when you are clearly telling it.
At the start i didn't find myself liking it but towards to the middle i found their clever wording very interesting and making some relatable comments, the ending was also very cleverly scripted, he made a good job finding solutions to the problems and ended it with a very clear, twist you could call it.
His main character Ben is not one you will be finding yourself too attached to like you most likely would in your favorite book, but he is also a very relatable character just in a different way, His appearance starts with scruffy short black hair, rounded glasses and pink plump skin, towards the middle he has a shiny bald dome, tanned skin and is normally wearing a robe, In the end he starts to grow his hair back and is now wearing normal clothing choices.
This story may not seem to take your liking but i highly recommend it to you just so you can read Morris Gleitzman’s clever wording/planning and structuring. So give it a go and read Ben’s story and see if you find yourself relating to his problems in your own way.
By Morris Gleitzman
Review By Beth Baker
I’m not one for liking non fiction books but this book really stood out to me. Ben is always finding himself locked in his room with questions stacking up in his brain, His dad, no to busy, His sister, Has enough problems and his Mum just doesn't care, even though the situations are different i found myself relating to a few things in the book like ‘Is that what you got this for? She said in amazement’ not in the same turns but when your parents constantly ask you the same question to find the truth when you are clearly telling it.
At the start i didn't find myself liking it but towards to the middle i found their clever wording very interesting and making some relatable comments, the ending was also very cleverly scripted, he made a good job finding solutions to the problems and ended it with a very clear, twist you could call it.
His main character Ben is not one you will be finding yourself too attached to like you most likely would in your favorite book, but he is also a very relatable character just in a different way, His appearance starts with scruffy short black hair, rounded glasses and pink plump skin, towards the middle he has a shiny bald dome, tanned skin and is normally wearing a robe, In the end he starts to grow his hair back and is now wearing normal clothing choices.
This story may not seem to take your liking but i highly recommend it to you just so you can read Morris Gleitzman’s clever wording/planning and structuring. So give it a go and read Ben’s story and see if you find yourself relating to his problems in your own way.
October 14, 2016
In the book "The Other Facts Of Life", Morris Gleitzman shows you what it is like to be socially conscious throughout the life of Ben, a young twelve year old boy who is determined to make his parents share the same concern. Although it didn't really hook me in, it was a very relatable and witty read.
This book got me thinking about world common issues and how we're dealing with them - something I haven't really thought about in the past. I loved how the characters' reactions weren't exaggerated, they were very realistic and I found myself relating to a few scenes. Although, I'm not quite sure about Ben's actions as they were really crazy, stupid and persistent, I guess that's how you act when you're eager to make a change.
The plot is clear and quite interesting because you get to see the development of each character. Even though the topic may sound serious and seem like a hard read, it is actually really easy to understand because of Morris's clever and humorous writing - which I liked. He slips in little witty jokes making this book even more enjoyable.
Even though overall it was a good book, it did sometimes get boring for me because there weren't many surprises and some parts just dragged on for a while, also following with some parts that just popped out and were rushed. In the start, I would never have picked this book out anyway as it isn't my average fiction read. But in the end it was way better than I thought it would be - never judge a book by its cover!
Saying that, you should really give this book a go! You will find yourself making relatable comments and laughing at the jokes in this book. Hope you enjoy!
This book got me thinking about world common issues and how we're dealing with them - something I haven't really thought about in the past. I loved how the characters' reactions weren't exaggerated, they were very realistic and I found myself relating to a few scenes. Although, I'm not quite sure about Ben's actions as they were really crazy, stupid and persistent, I guess that's how you act when you're eager to make a change.
The plot is clear and quite interesting because you get to see the development of each character. Even though the topic may sound serious and seem like a hard read, it is actually really easy to understand because of Morris's clever and humorous writing - which I liked. He slips in little witty jokes making this book even more enjoyable.
Even though overall it was a good book, it did sometimes get boring for me because there weren't many surprises and some parts just dragged on for a while, also following with some parts that just popped out and were rushed. In the start, I would never have picked this book out anyway as it isn't my average fiction read. But in the end it was way better than I thought it would be - never judge a book by its cover!
Saying that, you should really give this book a go! You will find yourself making relatable comments and laughing at the jokes in this book. Hope you enjoy!
April 4, 2016
I've never really realised how many people were in poverty but in Morris Gleitzman book "The Other Facts Of Life" main character Ben is worried and needs some answers. The story of Ben who is going through a phase and his family can not help him.
The reason why I liked this book was because it was different to most of the other books I have read. Most of the books I read are adventures, but this book is about a real world problem. Another thing I liked about this book was how quickly the story could change, it kept the book interesting.
"The Other Facts Of Life" is filled with mysterious characters such as Mad Esme who had convinced Ben to free chickens. Later on Ben decided to live with her and described her house as "As Big As His Bedroom". Mad Esme wasnt the only weird character, of course Ben was as well, as his bald head and loin cloth justifies it.
In conclusion I think the book wasnt the best book I have read but it had alot of key points and what I have said above. I also think the book was aimed at younger readers and is a pretty good educational book. I think one of the main reasons people dont enjoy this book is because it lacks keeping the reader hooked eg. I read half of the book and was reluctant to read more.
The reason why I liked this book was because it was different to most of the other books I have read. Most of the books I read are adventures, but this book is about a real world problem. Another thing I liked about this book was how quickly the story could change, it kept the book interesting.
"The Other Facts Of Life" is filled with mysterious characters such as Mad Esme who had convinced Ben to free chickens. Later on Ben decided to live with her and described her house as "As Big As His Bedroom". Mad Esme wasnt the only weird character, of course Ben was as well, as his bald head and loin cloth justifies it.
In conclusion I think the book wasnt the best book I have read but it had alot of key points and what I have said above. I also think the book was aimed at younger readers and is a pretty good educational book. I think one of the main reasons people dont enjoy this book is because it lacks keeping the reader hooked eg. I read half of the book and was reluctant to read more.
March 31, 2016
I think that Morris Gleizmans book is an ok, but that's my opinion other might think its a amazing book. I think I didn't like this book because its not the kind of books I like. I did but didn't enjoy reading this book I enjoyed it because he shaved his head and other parts like, but I didn't enjoy this book because I don't like books like these I like fiction books this book, could be made up but I didn't enjoy it.I recommend this book to people who would like to view the aspects of human rights in a child’s view.
In this book Ben is a young slim boy with heaps of questions about his life that no one will answer for him, Also he comes from a rich family they own a yacht.
This book got me thinking about, animal rights and world common issues and how we deal with them.Some part in the book were more interesting than others because they had some real life thing in it like "animal rights and people not eating enough so like the world starving." Ben always has questions but no one is willing enough to answer them for him well his Dad is "busy", His sister already has enough problems, also his Mum doesn't really care, there are a lot of situations in this book.
I hope u enjoy reading this book if u read it!! Enjoy
In this book Ben is a young slim boy with heaps of questions about his life that no one will answer for him, Also he comes from a rich family they own a yacht.
This book got me thinking about, animal rights and world common issues and how we deal with them.Some part in the book were more interesting than others because they had some real life thing in it like "animal rights and people not eating enough so like the world starving." Ben always has questions but no one is willing enough to answer them for him well his Dad is "busy", His sister already has enough problems, also his Mum doesn't really care, there are a lot of situations in this book.
I hope u enjoy reading this book if u read it!! Enjoy
March 29, 2016
The other facts of life is a non-fiction novel and has an interesting storyline i enjoyed reading it, I found it to be quite an easy read, it didn’t take me very long.
I recommend ‘The other facts of life’ to people who would like to view the aspects of human rights in a child’s point of view. This book gave me the understanding of Ben’s perspective on human rights.
Ben was extremely aware of the problems the world faced at the time. When he discussed his concerns with his family they did not take him seriously and from then on he decided he would try his hardest to convince them it was important. The author Morris Gleitzman portrays Ben as a young philanthropist trying to convince people the importance of poverty, human injustice and starvation.
I liked the way Morris Gleitzman really painted a picture of what he was describing ‘Sunlight filtered through the tall gums, bathing the big new houses in golden light’, I felt as if I could see what was happening in the story.
I liked that it was an easy read and it had an interesting storyline. I didn’t like that some of the main points were dragged out for a bit too long. Over all I thoroughly enjoyed this book I would highly recommend this to if you want to an entertaining read.
I recommend ‘The other facts of life’ to people who would like to view the aspects of human rights in a child’s point of view. This book gave me the understanding of Ben’s perspective on human rights.
Ben was extremely aware of the problems the world faced at the time. When he discussed his concerns with his family they did not take him seriously and from then on he decided he would try his hardest to convince them it was important. The author Morris Gleitzman portrays Ben as a young philanthropist trying to convince people the importance of poverty, human injustice and starvation.
I liked the way Morris Gleitzman really painted a picture of what he was describing ‘Sunlight filtered through the tall gums, bathing the big new houses in golden light’, I felt as if I could see what was happening in the story.
I liked that it was an easy read and it had an interesting storyline. I didn’t like that some of the main points were dragged out for a bit too long. Over all I thoroughly enjoyed this book I would highly recommend this to if you want to an entertaining read.
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March 23, 2016The Other Facts of Life is an action packed novel by Morris Gleitzman.
Ben (the main character) is obsessed with world problems and wants to make his family believe in them to. It made me realize at lot of world problems I never think about in my normal life but Ben's obsession world really annoy me if i was in his family, because we cant change it by shaving our hair off and tanning yourself and giving your dad a heart attack.
I found that his parents didn't do the right thing to help and support him, because Ben wasn't happy and nor where his parents, but lying and faking being ill, really didn't help at all. Having a child that puts everyone off there dinner and stays in his room all day, there is nothing good about that.
The book was a little boring and wasn't very good at explain some bits eg: when they broke into the chicken farm, it took me a while to realize what they had done because it was like only one page and it didn't really fit in the book right.
The book made me a little angry when Ben did really stupid things, I wished I was there, to say 'why are you drowning your self' which i guess in some ways it could be good, if you like that kind of book.
Ben (the main character) is obsessed with world problems and wants to make his family believe in them to. It made me realize at lot of world problems I never think about in my normal life but Ben's obsession world really annoy me if i was in his family, because we cant change it by shaving our hair off and tanning yourself and giving your dad a heart attack.
I found that his parents didn't do the right thing to help and support him, because Ben wasn't happy and nor where his parents, but lying and faking being ill, really didn't help at all. Having a child that puts everyone off there dinner and stays in his room all day, there is nothing good about that.
The book was a little boring and wasn't very good at explain some bits eg: when they broke into the chicken farm, it took me a while to realize what they had done because it was like only one page and it didn't really fit in the book right.
The book made me a little angry when Ben did really stupid things, I wished I was there, to say 'why are you drowning your self' which i guess in some ways it could be good, if you like that kind of book.
March 22, 2016
The other facts of life
by Morris Gleitzman
Review by Joel McKay
This book about the character Ben and how he is trying to understanding his feelings about poverty and human rights. It has shown me, and i'm sure a lot of people, a new way of looking at the world and the way we live.
This book is about a teenage boy called Ben who is trying to figure out his feelings and make other people see the world in the same way as him. His parents think he is going through a phase, and wants to make Ben stop pestering them about all the things he cares about.
This wasn't the most interesting book i've read, but it has some key points in it which makes it worth reading. Esme is a interesting part of the story because she is a key character to Bens feelings and beliefs by showing him a new way of thinking about the meat on his plate.
by Morris Gleitzman
Review by Joel McKay
This book about the character Ben and how he is trying to understanding his feelings about poverty and human rights. It has shown me, and i'm sure a lot of people, a new way of looking at the world and the way we live.
This book is about a teenage boy called Ben who is trying to figure out his feelings and make other people see the world in the same way as him. His parents think he is going through a phase, and wants to make Ben stop pestering them about all the things he cares about.
This wasn't the most interesting book i've read, but it has some key points in it which makes it worth reading. Esme is a interesting part of the story because she is a key character to Bens feelings and beliefs by showing him a new way of thinking about the meat on his plate.
April 29, 2009
I liked Misery Guts/Sticky Beak et al much better.
October 8, 2010
One of the most important books I read as a kid
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews