Cover Image: Birthday Boy

Birthday Boy

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Member Reviews

Great story. Very funny and lots of great characters. Very easy to read and was sad to finish. Would be great for reluctant readers

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Another brilliant Baddiel title. Funny, relatable and hard to put down. Suitable for children aged 9+

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Another winner from the David Baddiel stable!

I absolutely love his brand of humour and, for me, he is a much better writer that David Walliams (whose books get a bit samey after a while).
This is a great book for kids and will be finding its way onto our library shelves soon!

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My nine-year-old loved this funny, quirky novel and whizzed through it. She's now asked for more David Baddiel books for Christmas! A great, funny read for younger readers.

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This is my first time reading a David Baddiel book aimed at younger readers but having enjoyed his other novels, I decided to give this a go. I was not disappointed and the Groundhog Day style story of a boy who gets what he wished for, a birthday everyday, is funny, humorous and enjoyable.

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My 12yo son and I both read this book. It was his fourth Baddiel book and my first. He enjoyed it, although not so much as the previous novels. As for myself? I felt it was okay. Not awful, but not wow either. The characters didn’t feel very well rounded and could have been better developed. And it comes to something when the most interesting character is a guinea pig who doesn’t speak.
There were some amusing moments, but it just didn’t hit the mark for me.

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Sam makes a wish to have his birthday every day and on seeing a shooting star it actually happens!
A lovely easy read that children in years 5 and 6 will love.
Baddiel's humour is spot on and children love his books.

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This is the 2nd book by David Baddiel my Daughter (9) has read and she found it slightly less enjoyable than The Parent Agency. The humour was still there but she didn't find it quite as amusing. This was mostly due to the fact that she enjoyed the fantasy type aspect of the other book and the message it gave at the end. We'll still be reading more from DB though, without a doubt.

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A whimsical and heartfelt story about the thing every kid wishes for: to have their birthday everyday! Entertainig and bundles of fun, I'd highly recommend this to any young child!

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Another excellent 'what if...?' wish fulfilment story for KS2

Not a weak book yet, Mr Baddiel - bravo. We've had children swapping parents, turning into animals, using a games controller to manipulate others' actions - this time Sam enjoys his birthday so much, he makes a wish that it would be his birthday every day.

And so it is. Every. Day. He gets a special breakfast, presents, parties, special treatment - nobody is able to resist wishing him well and offering their congratulations.

Just how long will Sam continue to enjoy sucking his parents dry? How many special breakfasts can he eat?

As you would expect, and as Baddiel has explored before, it is up to the main character to see past the surface pleasures of his wish to the deeper effect it has on those around him. Here Sam is a boy you lose sympathy with after a while as his 'birthday' goes on and on, and his sensible, younger, smarter sister becomes the voice of reason.

I enjoyed his guinea pig (a sentient and clever little guy who seems aware and responsive to his owner) and grandparents, funny minor characters. There is also a skateboarding girl with a barely-developed story I'd like to have seen more of.

Just as engaging as previous books, this gives a good idea what it might be like for you to get what you (think you!) want every day.

A little old for my 6-year-old, this is ideal for an 8-11 year old, with a few illustrations by Baddiel's usual collaborator that suit the style and story.

With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

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Birthday Boy is a cracking read for kids aged seven and up. Funny and compelling, the narrative rolls the reader along in that 'I'll just read another chapter' mode until you find you've finished it in one sitting. It takes traditional tropes of children's fiction and gives them a revamp for the modern reader. What would happen if your wish for your birthday to be every day actually came true? Read on and find out. The moral of the story isn't laboured and the denouement is exciting and possibly more fun that the whole every day is a birthday thing for many readers. I certainly started eyeing up the possibility of what to do with my children's skateboards afterwards.

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My 10 year old read this book and wrote her review:

Excellent book.

I've read several other David Baddiel books and they are all great. Some people may think that he's a bit repetitive, but I like that. I loved seeing small things from other books. Like:

1) The Parent agency. It had the pupils Barry, Lucas and Taj in it.
2) The imagination box. The character has something great and gets a bit selfish.
3) The boy who could do what he liked. The character gets told he can have something amazing and shouts something really loud and it happens.

I loved finding all these details, and I think other people should read the book.

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Birthday Boy is a fun and entertaining read that will appeal to children aged 8 plus. It was divided into short chapters so is very easy to read and Baddiel's style reminded me of David Walliams.

Sam's wish of having his birthday every day comes true and he must live with the consequences. There are some interesting dilemmas raised in this book about always having everything you ask for.

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