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Uncle Shawn and Bill #1

Uncle Shawn and Bill and the Almost Entirely Unplanned Adventure

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The first book in a hilarious, heart-warming series for children from Costa Award-winning author A. L. Kennedy, illustrated by Gemma Correll.

Badger Bill needs rescuing. He's been kidnapped by two nasty sisters who are about to make him fight a boxing match against three even nastier dogs. The four most depressed llamas in the history of llamas need rescuing too. They are about to be turned into llama pies. But never fear – Uncle Shawn is here! He loves rescuing things. He has a rescuing plan, which involves dancing, and a mole, and an electric fence. What could possibly go wrong?

192 pages, Hardcover

Published February 2, 2017

7 people are currently reading
104 people want to read

About the author

A.L. Kennedy

85 books295 followers
Alison Louise Kennedy is a Scottish writer of novels, short stories and non-fiction. She is known for a characteristically dark tone, a blending of realism and fantasy, and for her serious approach to her work. She occasionally contributes columns and reviews to UK and European newspapers including the fictional diary of her pet parrot named Charlie.

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5 stars
37 (26%)
4 stars
53 (37%)
3 stars
42 (29%)
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4 (2%)
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5 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
3,117 reviews3 followers
February 21, 2017
Bill the badger had found himself lost far from home. All of a sudden he was shoved into a stinky bag and thrown over someones shoulder, someone was kidnapping him. When he was finally set free he came to be standing in front of two very large women, women as tall as a bus, and with no necks. The women told him that he was going to become a fighter and that his first fight would be in two days. Oh, and he had to wear red shorts too.

Nearby four llama’s were wet, tired, hungry and nearly bald after they had been deceived into living on the best llama farm ever. Farmer McGloone only wanted the llama’s for their fur, but as they weren’t producing enough he had decided to kill them and make handbags, belts, and even pies out of them. This made the llama’s even more sad.

Walking nearby, Uncle Shawn, who happened to be an animal lover, noticed Bill’s paw prints, and from them he realised that Bill had been kidnapped. He decided to followed the human prints that were in the mud, to rescue him. He soon found himself on a farm, he decided he needed a plan to rescue Bill, then he noticed the llama’s and decided he needed a plan to save them too. Will Uncle Shawn’s plan work though?

Uncle Shawn and Bill and the Almost Entirely Unplanned Adventure, is a book that will have children laughing out loud, with it’s hilarious, strange plot, and the even funnier black and white illustrations.

A.L. Kennedy writes in such a way that kids will find themselves hooked on the book. His word choices are definitely aimed to impress the youngsters, especially with his funny antidotes, and descriptions of the nasty McGloone family.

I can see this being a real hit with the kids.

Reviewed by Stacey on www.whisperingstories.com
Profile Image for Bücherhörnchen.
348 reviews27 followers
February 19, 2017
*Mini Review*

I saw this at Waterstones and bought it without even knowing what it was about because of BADGERS.

It tells the story of a young badger named Bill, who gets kidnapped and of Uncle Shawn, who gets to know of this and decides to rescue Bill. He also rescues a few llamas on the way.
The story is fun, the writing is very easy to understand (as it is for children) and there are a lot of funny pictures. I'm not a fan of children's books normally, but I really enjoyed this one. Mostly because of the characters and the way everything was written/explained/drawn (you can actually see, if you look at the cover).
At one point the story got a little bit weird, but honestly- I don't know what kids read these days, and I'd give or read it to mine, if I had some.

My highlight was of course Bill, he's such a cutiepie.
I read their are more books to come, and I intend to read more about my little striped friend.
Profile Image for Katharine.
731 reviews11 followers
May 11, 2019
Had a lot of potential (great drawings!), but the character of Uncle Shawn spoiled it a bit for me. I loved Bill's character, and the llamas were also endearing, but Uncle Shawn's deus ex machina appearance is not what I needed. Maybe it would have been better if the animals had rescued themselves without him.
Profile Image for Sonia Donelli.
2,513 reviews112 followers
December 12, 2019
http://www.esmeraldaviaggielibri.it/b...

Billy Zampacorta e la rocambolesca fuga dalla fattoria degli orrori di A.L. Kennedy, illustrato da Gemma Correll, libro per bambini pubblicato da Terre di Mezzo il 31 ottobre.

Ma esistevano libri del genere quando ero bambina? No perché la mia passione per la lettura sarebbe sbocciata molto prima se mi fossi imbattuta in qualcosa di così spassoso e divertente. Come sempre devo fare i complimenti a questa piccola CE per la cura che mette in ciò che pubblica, ad oggi non ho ancora trovato nessun errore, nemmeno di battitura, sinonimo di grande impegno e dedizione al lavoro.

Le illustrazioni di Gemma Correll permettono anche ai più piccoli, che ancora non sanno leggere, di capire perfettamente tutto ciò che succede a Billy e ai quattro lama più depressi del mondo.

Ogni capitolo si apre con un riassunto di ciò che si andrà leggendo e la scelta mi sembra un ottimo esercizio per i giovani lettori. A.L. Kennedy ha ideato una storia surreale in cui ci sono degli animali in difficoltà, dei cattivi davvero cattivi, degli animali che sono cattivi perché obbligati a esserlo e un tenero zio che da solo riesce a redimere l’intera razza umana presente nella storia.

Billy Zampacorta è il protagonista insieme a zio Shawn infatti nella versione originale sono entrambi presenti nel titolo. Zio Shawn è davvero buffo, alto, dinoccolato, vestito in modo molto trasandato, con dei capelli da pazzo, ma ha un amore incredibile per gli animali e, conoscendo le condizioni in cui vertono quelli della fattoria McGloone, studia un piano infallibile per liberarli dalle angherie che subiscono.

Billy è stato catturato dalle terribili sorelle McGloone che vogliono farlo combattere contro i tre cani più feroci dell’universo, imbattuti da sempre e amanti dei tassi. Per loro non c’è niente di meglio di un tasso per cena. Billy è un tasso molto pacifico, non ha mai lottato in vita sua e ha una paura pazzesca dei cani che dovrà affrontare, certo di finire stecchito nel giro di pochi secondi.

Di pari passo alle vicende di Billy si svolgono quelle riguardanti Ginevra, Carlos, Ginalollobrigida e Brian, i quattro lama depressi dal clima scozzese, attirati con l’inganno dai McGloone che promettevano sole tutti i giorni e un clima ideale per queste povere bestioline. In realtà i McGloone utilizzano la lana dei lama per produrre delle calze molto pregiate ma, accorgendosi del costo esorbitante per mantenerli, ormai hanno deciso che diventeranno dei pasticci di carne!!!

L’unico che ha a cuore tutti questi poveri animali è zio Shawn ed escogiterà un piano molto complesso e sicuramente fallibile per liberarli tutti e sbarazzarsi per sempre dell’orribile famiglia McGloone, torturatori di animali per eccellenza.

Ci sarà redenzione per qualcuno, ma non aspettatevi che i puzzolenti McGloone facciano un passo indietro, loro resteranno orribili dall’inizio alla fine e…avranno la fine che si meritano!!!

Billy Zampacorta e la rocambolesca fuga dalla fattoria degli orrori è un libro davvero esilarante e, se avete figli dai 6 agli 8 anni, sarà un perfetto regalo di Natale. Io vi consiglierei di correre ad acquistarlo e lasciare ai vostri bimbi la gioia di sfogliarlo.
Profile Image for Laura.
359 reviews27 followers
July 28, 2021
Read this with my 11YO, and sometimes 5YO, and kept laughing out loud. Readers will either appreciate the humor, or not. Here's the kind of sentence that would crack me up:

This was the kind of dog who would only fetch you horrible things and try to bite you for fun and lie all the way along your furniture and not let you sit on even a tiny bit of it.

Or this:

"It's not much use starting to be someone's friend if you've only got part of a Saturday left before you're made into pies. He'll look silly holding a pie and telling people it's his best friend."

The plot of a Scottish countryside badger needing to be rescued before being made into pies is a thin excuse for such literary masterpieces as the above sentences being written.

The villains reminded me of Roald Dahl's The Twits, if they'd had extended family. But even their dehumanized characters didn't stop me from being low-key horrified at their comeuppance, particularly as it was inflicted intentionally on the part of the protagonists. Regardless of what Uncle Shawn says, the punishment didn't fit the crime. But as the whole story was ridiculous and fantastical, and my kids seemed not at all disturbed by it, I'll let it pass.
Profile Image for Wonderlake.
114 reviews
January 11, 2021
Picked this up because of the Gemma Correll illustrations. Didn't realise that it was no.1 in the series, so lucky us I guess
I found the story quite dark? SPOILER: it starts with Bill getting kidnapped and goes into detail about how horrible this is. Maybe I was sensitive about this after just reading The Silence of the Lambs (Thomas Harris)
So for a kids book I found it a bit much, or that it wasn't particularly leavened with silliness /humour. The characters in it are grotesques instead (I suppose Roald Dahl did this)
At one point Shawn & Bill taunt their tormentors, calling them names - my 9 year old pointed out that shouldn't the moral of the story be to be the better person?
I can't say that we'll be actively seeking out the other books, although I love that in Germany they've been translated as "Onkel Stan und Dan"
Oh and another thing - I found the chapters quite unbalanced. Some were like 30 (illustrated) pages long
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ricki.
1,758 reviews70 followers
March 4, 2018
Good reluctant reader book, but some of the humor is too Scottish and I still have no clue whose uncle Shawn is.
Profile Image for Katy Kelly.
2,520 reviews105 followers
March 18, 2017
Short, silly and full of fun

A sweet badger who only wants a nice quiet life, the four llamas who just want some good food and a nice holiday, the wretchedly horrible villains who do their best to make them suffer - and a quirky man passing through who decides to help... and that's the cast.

The McGroones are nicely nasty, no reasons or characterisation - they are just flat-out meanies. Luring the llamas to their farm on false pretences, intending to steal their wool, they also kidnap little Bill the badger for dog fighting.

Good thing Uncle Shawn, luckily passing through is at hand! With his dancing feet and a plan, can he save everyone and make the baddies pay?

What do you think? It's a perfect story for class reads and bedtimes, with black and white pictures on every page for early readers or young listeners. Very short chapters and I love the old fashioned summaries under each chapter heading, a nice touch.

Nice sense of humour, very silly and pitched nicely at a primary audience.

Simply drawn characters, it's a quick tale of black and white good vs evil, in a familiar setting.

There could be further adventures with the group, and it would be nice to see more of the llamas' characters.

One for ages 5-9 in particular.

With thanks to Walker Books for the advance reading copy.
Profile Image for Chrissy Sneddon.
106 reviews1 follower
February 17, 2024
I read this as part of an excellent scheme at school to encourage reading. The teachers have all been given a mystery children's book. We are to read it, then pass it onto a pupil in our class. Once they've read it they write a short review and hand it into the school library.

I did like the good characters in this, and the illustrations added a lot, and it did have some Roald Dahl type humour, but I felt the 'bad' characters were overdone. I've passed it on as requested so hopefully that pupil will enjoy it.
Profile Image for Brandon.
239 reviews1 follower
June 30, 2018
This is a very silly and quite enjoyable book. A poor badger and four unlucky llamas find themselves at the mercy of the horrible McGloone family. The author relates the tale with a steady pen and there are many delightful details and moments. (I particularly enjoyed the fierce dogs Ripper, Snapper, and Cracker.) Also, Gemma Correll's illustrations are a lot of fun.
Profile Image for Beth.
487 reviews7 followers
July 2, 2018
Read as part of the 2018 Hull children’s book awards. I did not like this book at all. I know it’s a children’s book and I’m not the target audience by a long shot, but I’ve enjoyed all the other nominees. This one was just annoying. The story seemed to escalate and end very quickly whilst at the same time felt like nothing was really happening. And it was overly silly.
Profile Image for Emma Radford.
484 reviews8 followers
April 3, 2018
We laughed, we gasped, we cheered. A really unusual and original book with great illustrations to make you giggle.
Profile Image for Nancy.
120 reviews6 followers
June 5, 2022
Kayley got this from the school library and the humor is a bit dark for my taste, but Kayley loved it.
Profile Image for Dilan.
11 reviews
January 6, 2023
Ein leichtes und witziges Buch zum Lesen. Hat mich an manchmal Stellen wirklich zum Lachen gebracht. Die Illustrationen sind einzigartig.
Profile Image for Anna.
61 reviews3 followers
April 11, 2018
Badger Bill is a quiet, retiring badger who exists in his own lonely world. One day his routine is shattered when he is kidnapped by two cruel sisters - Ethel and Maude - who rename him "Battling Badger Bob". They keep him caged and tell him they will be putting him in the fighting ring in a couple of days with their three mad dogs.

Nearby four Llamas who have been conned into coming to Scotland and are now imprisoned by the evil sister's brother Farmer McGloone and his family, are beneath their own clouds of rain. Depressed they can see no hope for escape and are stuck behind electric fences.

Between these two sad stories the bumbling hero emerges - Uncle Shawn. He is a strange, kindly man who is friends with many animals. Recognising the signs that Bill has been kidnapped and spotting the sad Llamas he sets out to plan a rescue! So the adventure begins but the clock is ticking. Will Uncle Shawn get organised and remember in time to perform these multiple rescues?

This is a zany adventure of strange, lonely characters who must come together to rescue themselves and each other. All the characters are written with cartoonish glee that exaggerates both their shortcomings and good traits equally. This is most noticeable when Ms Kennedy describes the humans of the story - good or bad - with language that brings to mind a Spongebob or Tom and Jerry cartoon.

Scattered with Ms Correll's whimsical simple black-and -white drawings catch the cartoonish nature of Ms Kennedy’s characters perfectly, the novel was a pleasure to read. I would particularly recommend it for children who love reading about the slight naughtiness of bodily functions, such as picking noses. This would appeal to young readers of six and upwards, particularly those who love animals and silent farts! A nice read that does not challenge but is entertaining nonetheless.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Francesca Mae Ica.
5 reviews1 follower
August 11, 2021
the book is nice, my sister borrowed it from the library and we both read it

my ratiing is:☆☆☆☆☆
Profile Image for Cat Strawberry.
838 reviews22 followers
April 24, 2017
This is a very silly and funny story which kids and I'm sure many adults will like. The story starts with Badger Bill, introducing his character and what's happened to him. The whole way the book is formatted is very fun and it's easy to get into the story and the humour right away.

Each chapter is called a Section and there's a kind of summary at the start of each Section which explains what's going to happen in the chapter. It's done in a light-hearted way which can make you laugh with the way some events are described. As the story progresses we are introduced to Badger Bill, who's having a very bad day as he's been kidnapped. We're also introduced to some very sad llamas who've been tricked into coming to Scotland and are now going to be made into pies, Uncle Shawn who's the very silly and odd looking hero of the book, and the very nasty McGloone family who are the baddies of the book and who are the ones who've kidnapped and tricked the animals.

It's a simple and yet really silly story which just makes you smile and laugh. The humour can only be described as extremely daft but something I know appeals to a lot of kids. There are pictures that accompany every double page of the book and I think the pictures are what really make the story even better. They are well drawn and simple yet full of humour like the writing itself. Most of the illustrations shown have a word or two description which somehow makes then even funnier.

I don't really want to give away the story but it has a predictably good ending. Even as an adult I've laughed at some of the jokes in the book and I think it will really appeal to the kids it's marketed at. It's definitely a book I'd recommend and something that cheered me up when I read it.
-Thanks to Walker Books for providing a free copy.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews

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