"A fun-filled adventure story full of charm"
August 2023 Debut of the Month
Jamie Oliver’s debut children’s book is a fun-filled (occasionally fart-filled) adventure story in which a gang of happy children discover a magical world in the woods that border their village.
Making friends with the playful Sprites that live there, they discover that both worlds are being affected by the poisoning of the local river and in the tradition of such adventure stories, discover who is responsible and put things right. Grown-ups won’t be surprised to learn that the villain is a plant making turkey twizzlers.
The story is full of other signature Oliver passions too – Billy enjoys the most delicious meals, hand made by his pub landlord parents, and the descriptions are virtually mini recipes. With a focus on outdoor adventure, friendship and magical creatures, it’s familiar in theme but full of charm and will make enjoyable bedtime reading for families (though I might skip the interludes in which the narrator’s family recap the story for us and exclaim at how much they’re enjoying it). Illustrator Mónica Armiňo brings the magical, human and natural worlds to life with equal skill.
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I really enjoyed reading Billy and the Giant Adventure. It was a funny and magical story with beautiful illustrations.
Billy and the Giant Adventure is a magical fairytale-style story that deals with environmental issues, how vital nature is and the importance of being compassionate towards children with learning difficulties. I particularly liked the chapters with the Boonas – they were very amusing! I also liked how the story was passed down to Billy’s children – like a magical heirloom to be preserved. The illustrations were very detailed as they really brought the story to life!... Read Full Review
I loved reading this book.
I loved reading this Book.
Twins August and Jesse asked their Dad to make up a story one night.
Dad decides to tell a story from his childhood.
A child named Billy who enjoyed making things, he hung around at weekends with Anna, Andy, and Jimmy.
They liked to explore the forest but an old man tells them to stay away from it.
Inside the forest they find a fairytale creature call Basil.
It’s a magical story with action excitement monsters and funny humour.
I couldn’t put the book down. I got into the book and it was really good. My imagination was running wild.... Read Full Review
I loved this adventure book. It was full of mythical creatures and it has a message about saving the environment. The pictures are great too. I couldn't put it down- I would definitely recommend it!
I really enjoyed this book. I found it was easy to read even though it was quite long. The story really hooked me in and I couldn't stop reading because I wanted to find out what happened next to Billy. In the book Billy's telling the story of when he was a kid. He finds some sprites in the wood which are a bit like fairies. They need some help to fix the rhythm. This is a bit like the beat of nature that helps all living things survive. They need to save it so they discover the source of the problem and they have lots of adventures along the way as they try to save the world. There is a lot of mythical creatures like giants, sprites and boonas.... Read Full Review
