A classic tale of the triumph of fooling-around fun over humourless no-nonsense adult disapproval! Tom loves to fool around. He fools around with dropping things from bridges into rivers and he fools around with barrels in alleys. He fools around so much that his maiden aunt, Miss Fidget Wonkham-Strong (who wears an iron hat and takes no nonsense from anyone), sends for Captain Najork and his hired sportsmen to teach Tom a lesson. "Captain Najork," says Aunt Fidget Wonkham-Strong, "is seven feet tall, with eyes like fire and a voice like thunder. He teaches fooling-around boys the lesson they so badly need, and it is not one that they soon forget." Captain Najork lays down a challenge: they will play womble, muck and speedball - in that order. And it turns out not to be Tom who gets taught a lesson after all!
This book is the winner of numerous awards
This book features in the following series: Captain Najork, Flippers Series, Little Greats, Picture Puffins, Red Fox, Red Fox Picture Books .
There are 40 pages in this book. This book was published in 2014 by Walker Books Ltd .
QUENTIN BLAKE is Britain's leading illustrator, and was chosen as the first Children's Laureate. Russell Hoban was born in Pennsylvania in 1925. He went to art school before serving in World War II and was a freelance illustrator eight years before taking up full-time writing. His many works of fiction and poetry for both adults and children have won him many awards. The Mouse and his Child has been hailed as one of the great children's classics of the twentieth century.
This book contains the following story:
How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen
Tom loves to fool around. He fools around with dropping things from bridges into rivers and he fools around with barrels in alleys. He fools around so much that his maiden aunt, Miss Fidget Wonkham-Strong (who wears an iron hat and takes no nonsense from anyone), sends for Captain Najork and his hired sportsmen to teach Tom a lesson. 'Captain Najork,' says Aunt Fidget Wonkham-Strong, 'is seven feet tall, with eyes like fire and a voice like thunder. He teaches fooling-around boys the lesson they so badly need, and it is not one that they soon forget.' Captain Najork lays down a challenge: they will play womble, muck and speedball - in that order. And it turns out not to be Tom who gets taught a lesson after all!
This book is in the following series:
Flippers Series
Red Fox Picture Books
Little Greats
Captain Najork
Captain Najork is seven feet tall, with eyes like fire and a voice like thunder. He teaches fooling-around boys the lesson they so badly need, and it is not one that they soon forget.
Red Fox
Picture Puffins
The "Picture Puffins" series is a collection of beautifully illustrated childrens picture books published by Puffin Books, a well-known imprint of Penguin Random House. This series is aimed primarily at children aged 3 to 7 years and encompasses a wide range of stories, including fairy tales, fables, original tales, and adaptations of classic literature. One of the standout features of the series is the vibrant and engaging illustrations that accompany the text. Many books in the series promote educational themes, such as friendship, kindness, sharing, and problem-solving. The narratives often carry moral lessons, making them suitable for both entertainment and educational purposes. The stories are typically written in simple, rhythmic language that is easy for children to understand and enjoyable to read aloud.
This book has been nominated for the following award:
Whitbread Book Award
This book was recognised by the Whitbread Book Award.
In this ebullient classic...Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake champion children and their powers of self-determination. -- Julia Eccleshare * The Guardian *
Zany and anarchic * The School Librarian *
Some picture book pairings are inspired and Quentin Blake/Russell Hoban definitely fall into that category. Tom likes to fool around - so much that his maiden aunt, Miss Fidget Wonkham-Strong, threatens to send for Captain Najork and his hired sportsmen to teach Tom a lesson. But even that doesn't stop Tom's foolery (did you notice that too?) so along comes Captain Najork. He challenges Tom to womble, muck and speedball but Tom turns the tables in this endlessly imaginative quirky story with its amazing use of vocabulary * Parents in Touch *
