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The Clockwork Friend

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This title will be released on 11/09/2025. Pre-order now.

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The Clockwork Friend Synopsis

Sometimes being unusual is awesome! The people of Middleditch have been keeping a suspicious eye on the Garlics. Marguerite Garlic is an ex-opera singer from the big city, her father, Percival, is a jazz musician, and her son, Archibald, is... is... different. When Archibald inherits a dented old trumpet, a love of music is born in the unusual boy. He discovers that when he plays, he can see the music. Each note has a colour and a pattern, kaleidoscopic in its beauty. But complaints come from all over the town about Archibald's incessant trumpeting. It's too jazzy! I'ts too noisy! It's too TRUMPETY! Seeking a place to practice his trumpet in peace, Archibald sneaks into the town clocktower and builds himself a den. It is here that he builds his masterpiece... A one-man band to wear on his back. It's perfect! But a twist of fate comes when a lightning storm rumbles-up over Middleditch and Archibald's clocktower is struck by lightning and... and... the one-man band he'd been intending to wear on his back, comes to life. Cogs... From the author of The Nothing To See Here Hotel series and Humbug: The Elf Who Saved Christmas - Steven Butler is one of our best loved storytellers.  Perfect for fans of Wall-E and The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh.  A gentle nod to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.  A story about friendship, othering and synaesthesia.

About This Edition

ISBN: 9780702316081
Publication date: 11th September 2025
Author: Steven Butler
Publisher: Scholastic
Format: Paperback
Pagination: 224 pages
Genres: Children’s / Teenage general interest: Humour and jokes
Children’s / Teenage fiction: Friendship stories
Children’s / Teenage: General interest