The Brilliant World of Tom Gates
2011
- comic
- boys
- juvenile fiction
- families
- school children
- fiction
- children's fiction
- boys, fiction
- humorous stories
- excuses
The story
“Tom Gates can easily be seen as a British cousin to Jeff Kinney’s Greg Heffley.” —Publishers Weekly Meet Tom Gates. When his teachers don’t have their beady eyes on him, he likes to draw pictures and write about stuff. Tom’s teachers think he is easily distracted and “lacks focus,” but that’s a bit harsh—can he help it if his grumpy big sister, Delia, made him late for school (again), or that last night’s homework had to be sacrificed to stave off a vicious dog attack? Master of excuses, creative storyteller, and middle-school comedian extraordinaire, Tom Gates is guaranteed to get kids turning the pages—and keep them laughing.
What it’s like
Bright, scruffy and hand-made on every page: the book is a jumble of doodles, lists, notes and cartoon sketches in blue biro and pencil, with wobbly hand lettering that spills around the margins like a notebook someone has been filling under the desk. The voice is first-person and chatty, a schoolboy's running commentary that keeps swerving into excuses, asides and small invented triumphs, so reading it feels like peeking over the shoulder of a restless, funny kid. Its mood is warm, cheeky and low-stakes, with the comic bounce of a school-day rewind rather than any real anxiety. Pages are short and quick, easy to dip into during a lunch break, on a long car ride, or on a rainy afternoon when attention is scattered. The family and classroom scenes carry a gentle, familiar irritation (a bossy older sister, teachers who misread him) that lands as affectionate teasing. Entirely gentle, with no violence or darkness beyond a comic threat. Suited to young readers who like funny, visual, chapter-free books, and to adults who enjoy a light, reluctant-reader-friendly laugh.
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