LoveReading4Kids Says
This is undoubtedly the perfect reading material for both boys and girls aged 7+ - plenty of humour, kids with superpowers (and we all know boys in particular wish they had superpowers) but most of all it has heart. The superpower characters really care for each other but together can they defeat the evil villains? Read it to find out. Perfect for fans of Andy Stanton, David Walliams and Roald Dahl and all those Wimpy Kid fans.
A Piece of Passion from the Editor:
The thing that really got me with this book is Slug Boy. A gang of best friends meet a crisp-addicted elf and get granted awesome superpowers. Well, three of them do. Gary becomes The Chimp and can swing through the trees with ease, Bel is a Nightingale, with the power to fly and a voice to shatter windows, Ruby, in her superhero identity is KangaRuby and she gets a magic pocket from which she can pull out all sorts of helpful (or not so helpful) objects. And Morris turns into a slug. His superpower is that he ‘doesn’t taste very nice’. Poor old Slug Boy trails around (literally) after the others trying to work out how on earth he can battle supervillains in his sluggy body and is even put under a plant pot to keep him safe on one of the gang’s first missions. For me, he is a shining (and slimey) example of Jason Beresford’s surreal and silly humour. But that’s not all there is to it. As any superhero fan will know, the characters that seem unremarkable and ordinary should not be underestimated. And if the Fabulous Four Fish Fingers are going to defeat the fearsome (and hilarious) duo of The Panteater (like an anteater, but eats pants) and Jumper Jack Flash (man-rabbit-pirate-thing who will tie you up in your own jumper) then they need to work as a team. Alongside the comedy and the superhero fun, there is a lot of heart and a message about teamwork and best friends.
LoveReading4Kids
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The Fabulous Four Fish Fingers Synopsis
When danger is near, Gary, Ruby, Bel and Morris become super heros. The Chimp can swing from the rooftops, Kanga-Ruby has a magical pocket, Nightgale’s voice can shatter glass and Slug Boy... Well, he’s a slug. And, let’s be honest, that’s not much use, is it? Oh well. But trouble is brewing in Tumchester. Evil villains Jumper Jack Flash (a man-rabbit-pirate thing who trusses people up in their own jumpers) and The Panteater (who will EAT YOUR PANTS!) are stealing all the sweets and running donutrings around the local police. It’s up to our heroes, the Fabulous Four Fish Fingers, to stop the villains and save the day - and the end of term disco. But they haven’t factored in the criminal mastermind behind the sweet robberies... and The Boss is not a man to be sherry-trifled with.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781846471681 |
| Publication date: |
1st August 2013 |
| Author: |
Jason Beresford |
| Illustrator: |
Vicky Barker |
| Publisher: |
Catnip Publishing Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
189 pages |
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About Jason Beresford
Jason Beresford is a primary school teacher because he believes in the power of education, not because it gives him a trapped audience of 8 year olds who have to laugh at his jokes or miss playtime. Before teaching, Jason spent 20 years trying to put the tee-hee into TV. As a news reporter he joined a Russian circus, abseiled off Durham Cathedral and interviewed a man who trained worms how to dance. As a TV producer, he reunited the last surviving Oompah Loompas, crossed Britain on a lawn mower with John Sergeant and filmed the party of the year at David Beckham’s house (but spent the whole night stuck in the kitchen).
Jason once toured Japan in a comedy show and has directed both Emmerdale and Coronation Street. He speaks Japanese and has two daughters. Although they both think he’s quite funny at the moment he isn’t sure how long this will last.
Q&A with Jason Beresford
When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?
About five years ago. But I didn’t wake up one morning and decide, “Right, I’ll be a writer!” I had an idea for a little scene where a boy meets an elf and gets the chance to be an animal superhero but ends up with the powers of a slug. The idea made me laugh and in my head I played out the conversation the boy might have with the elf. (“I can’t go home like this, my Mum will kill me!”) I wasn’t sure what to do with my idea but I was between jobs in TV at the time so I decided to try to write it up. The scene became a chapter. And then the chapter became a book. And then …
What were your favourite books as a child?
I loved Roald Dahl. I remember one of my primary school teachers reading Fantastic Mr Fox to our class when I was about 7 and that got me hooked. My favourite though was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I also loved Stig of the Dump, The Hobbit and – when I got a bit older – a book called A Kestrel for a Knave (or Kes) by Barry Hines.
Who are your current favourite authors and illustrators?
My favourite illustrator has to be Vicky Barker (because she illustrated my book!) but I also love Quentin Blake. This is partly because he did all my favourite Roald Dahl books so brilliantly, but also because I met him once and he was lovely to me. When I was a TV reporter I had to interview Mr Blake and he kindly drew my picture with a felt tip pen on the back of a poster. I still have it framed on my wall.
What is your favourite thing about being a writer?
Two things actually (if I am allowed to have two!) The first is the magic that happens when the characters you have invented do things that you don’t expect. They really do take on a life of their own and it is very weird and wonderful when it happens. My other favourite thing is reading my stories out loud to children and hearing them laugh.
Where and when do you do your writing?
Usually in the school holidays at the moment. Teaching full time means I struggle to squeeze my writing in to my working day. And at the weekend my fouryear old daughter keeps me very busy.
Do you have a favourite out of your gang of four schoolkids-turned-superheroes – The Chimp, Nightingale, KangaRuby and Slug Boy?
Too tricky to pick a favourite (and I am not sure it would be fair) although I have a soft spot for Morris because he was the first one I came up with. I like different bits in each of them: I like Gary’s cool, I like Ruby’s zest for life, I like Morris’s wit and I like Bel’s elegance and beauty. If I could choose to be one of them, I would be The Chimp I think. Like most boys, I like the idea of being able to climb up trees and drainpipes.
Which of your super-scary (and super-hairy) villains – The Panteater and Jumper Jack Flash – would you rather take on and why?
I would rather take on Jumper Jack Flash. I know he is nastier than the Panteater, more evil and more devious and I know it would be awful to get karate chopped then tied up in my own jumper. But I would prefer all of that ten times over to having my undies swallowed by The Panteater .
What tips do you have for young writers?
If you have an idea, get it down somewhere, somehow. Whether it is on paper or on a computer or on the back of your hand! You never know where it might lead. And the thing with writing is that the more you do it, the better you become. Honest.
If you could be any character from a book, who would you be?
Spider Man I think. I know he isn’t in a book technically – he is in a comic. But when I was a boy I really liked superhero comics and Spidey was my favourite. He had such great superpowers and he was funny too. And clever. And he even had a pretty girlfriend.
More About Jason Beresford
