The Boyhood of Burglar Bill - Softcover

Ahlberg, Allan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141321423 ISBN 13: 9780141321424

Publisher: Puffin, 2008

Synopsis

Allan Ahlberg's The Boyhood of Burglar Bill is a nostalgic, autobiographical story about football, schooldays and growing-up in the '50s. Allan Ahlberg is the internationally bestselling author of children's classics that include Peepo! and Each Peach, Pear Plum, illustrated by Janet Ahlberg.

Archie was a wonder dog in all our eyes. Nearly a year ago he had got run over. They found his foot in the street but the rest of him ran off. Mr Purnell mourned for a while; Mrs Purnell offered to beat the motorcyclist up or at least wreck his bike. Then, lo and behold, a fortnight later back came Archie.

Coronation year, 1953. The boys from the bottom pitch - a great soup of boys - play football. When the 'Coronation Cup' is proposed, they put their heads together, pool their pocket money and get a team up. There's no chance they'll win of course. They're just the odds and sods in Mr Cork's opinion. Besides, he'd go berserk if they did; menace them with his one good arm and pulverise their desks with his cricket stump. They'd be better off losing.

The Boyhood of Burglar Bill is the second in a sequence of stories in which Allan Ahlberg explores his own childhood. My Brother's Ghost, shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, was the first.
Allan Ahlberg has published books for children of all ages from the picture books Peepo!, Each Peach, Pear, Plum, The Jolly Postman and the Funnybones series - illustrated by Janet Ahlberg - to his books for older readers including Woof! and his books of verse: Please Mrs. Butler and Heard it in the Playground.

About this title

Review:

An exceptional piece of writing . . . comic, poignant and true. Anyone will be enriched by reading it (Sunday Times)

Affectionately downbeat . . . this artfully informal story has something for everyone (Nicholas Tucker Independent)

This is simply great writing, for boys or anyone else (Brandon Robshaw Independent)

Synopsis:

Coronation Year, 1953, and in Oldbury a Coronation football competition is organized. The boys from the bottom pitch get a team up, but there's no chance they'll win, of course. They're just the odds and sods - one of them is even a girl - but they're all football crazy and ready and eager to beat off the opposition. A funny and moving story of football and friendship in a world when the streets were full of kids and empty of cars. Not only for boys - and girls - of 9+, there's a real pull of nostalgia for adults as well. And, of course, for all lovers of football, whether on the pitch or in the park.

About this edition

• Publisher: Puffin
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0141321423
• ISBN 13: 9780141321424
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192