Billy and the Beast

by Nadia Shireen

'It's a great story for everyone, especially those not used to seeing themselves centre-stage'- The Guardian

From the author of Bumblebear, comes a new hero for our times. Introducing: Billy!

Whilst on a lovely walk in the woods, Billy and her trusty sidekick Fatcat hear a terrible rumble… a terrible rumble coming from a Terrible Beast…

He’s making a Terrible Soup out of all of Billy and Fatcat’s friends!

Luckily, our brave heroine Billy has a trick or two up her sleeve (or in her hair)…

Join Billy on her mission to defeat the Terrible Beast (and save those adorable little bunny rabbits too).

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Adventure, Humor, Animals, Monsters, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Nadia was always destined for a career in illustration—as a child, she would doodle on her exercise books, while as a student she would doodle on her law degree notes. Then, when working as a journalist in London for pop music bible Smash Hits, she would doodle all the time on anything. The good people at Smash Hits didn’t fire her for doodling furry animals - instead they let her leave early to go to evening classes in illustration.

This was followed by a MA at the prestigious Anglia Ruskin University. Drawing and writing for a living is very much Nadia’s dream come true and we expect great things from this promising new author and illustrator.

source: http://www.carolinesheldon.co.uk/illu...

Reviews

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Billy and her cat, appropriately named Fatcat, notice how all the little fluffy forest creatures are getting abducted by the sinisterly named Beast. The Beast has his eyes on putting together a nice soup, including little fluffy forest creatures, and also including Billy and Fatcat. Billy tricks the Beast, and no one dies, which is nice.

(Thanks to Kane Miller for providing me with a review copy through Edelweiss)

[Robin Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Billy and Fatcat - this is a fun, bold picture book that will become a firm favourite in any house. (1+)

*Please note: this review is meant as a recommendation only. If you use it in any marketing material, online or anywhere on a published book without asking permission from me first, I will ask you to remove that use immediately. Thank you!*

[Milton Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Billy and Fatcat go on a walk only for that walk to turn into a life-saving journey. Their friends have been taken by a horrible beast that plans to cook them all up into a stew. Not if clever Billy has a say in it! She effectively saves everyone with her wit and uncanny ability to have what she needs at the right time, thanks to her super hair! This book is a lot of fun, celebrates diversity, and brings kids (and adults, let's be honest) back to the joy and wonder of reading a captivating story. Highly recommend!

Find it in our SHARE Catalog today!

Ashley C. / Milton Public Library #CheckOutMPL

[Marsha Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this first Billy storybook, we meet Billy, Fatcat and all their woodland creature friends. Suddenly they are all in danger from the Beast. Can Billy think fast enough, be clever enough to save them all?

[Tim Roast · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book pits big-haired Billy against the terrible beast. Billy and Fatcat go on a stroll through the woods but get hungry so Billy pulls some doughnuts out of her hair because she has big hair and has all sorts of things in there, a little like Claude has all sorts of things under his beret in the Claude the Dog books. Then they walk home but all the forest animals have disappeared because a terrible beast wants to put them all in a soup. Luckily Billy has many alternative ingredients for the beast to have instead in her hair as she saves the animals and the beast is banished.

I think the story was not the best. The beast is too dimwitted to be believable and the alternative ingredients he is offered are not at all appetising, but he still accepts them to his downfall. So there is nothing clever about the story when there could have been. I don't mind that Billy has big hair with lots of things inside which is a bugbear of some other reviewers. My 8-year-old daughter has big hair and we don't mind joking about keeping things in there. She likes her big hair and the attention it gets. Apart from that the book is nicely illustrated though with good, bold colours so it is an okay book that is nothing special.

[Rumaisa Bilal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids are usually afraid of dark and some unseen monsters (𝑁𝑜𝑤 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝑘𝑖𝑑𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑜 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚 𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚).
😋
Billy and the beast written and illustrated by @nadiashireen and published by Penguin Kids is something that my daughter wasn't interested in reading because of not-so-friendly-monster but my boys were so we read it together.
🤪
Billy and fatcat were passing bushes when suddenly everything went dark. OH! they were caught somewhere and they weren't alone. Their friends hedgehog, fox, mice and adorable bunnies were also caught by monster to fill his yummy soup.
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Book that teaches young kids to be strong and not afraid of any monster in dark can help them feel strong. Billy is being shown a very strong character who not only escaped from the beast but also helped her friends to escape as well. My kids laughed at her bravery at the end. Hunger can make anyone angry help teach kids about self-realization I would say. To see someone strong and brave, full of creative ways to stand strong against a hungry beast helped my children to feel bold and strong.
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Just wished to see something from Islamic perspective.
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Overall good book and new addition in our monster books.

[Rose Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first thought when picking up this book was that I loved the fact the main character was of an ethnic minority, as it's genuinely shocking how many children's books are all-white characters. Other comments throughout such as 'Billy kept all sorts of stuff in her hair. It was very useful for stashing things in. Like doughnuts.' I really liked as it can be a nice relatable comment for students, introduces them to diversity and can give them a giggle.
The 'Stomped and crunched' parts have worked well when I've been reading with children before as it gives them a chance to act and join in.
I liked the illustration in this book - there were pages plunged into complete darkness with no text which definitely adds to the intensity of what's happening.
The main book this reminded me of was the Gruffalo, in that there's an innocent and un-threatening main character that proceeds to outsmart the big scary beast. However I was also reminded of 'We're going on a bear hunt' when they returned back home via the same journey, and of 'Hansel and Gretal' when they trapped the witch in the pot.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this due to several recommendations and to give my son's book collection more diversity of characters, but having it read it (before giving it to my son) I feel really uncomfortable with the story.

I imagined my son going out into the world and asking people with hair of this type what they are hiding in it... I mean... I'm really not sure that's the kind of image I want to put into his head. I have been trying to look for opinions of this book from people of colour and haven't been able to find any at all, so maybe this says something in itself.

I also have issues with the name "fatcat" as I really try and stay away from using the word 'fat' especially when related to body image.

There's also an issue around the normalisation of sugar based snacking when you're trying to teach a child about healthy lifestyles!

Not for us.

[Book Gannet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful, bright picture book with cute characters and an intrepid heroine who does away with a nasty monster. Billy is brave and smart and also black, which is great but isn't made into a big thing, which is even better. Her forest friends are cute and colourful, just as they should be in a book like this, and the Beast is a proper monster given a well-deserved end.

This isn't a tale about how everyone should all be friends, and how some people are misguided or misunderstood -- the Beast wants to eat Billy's friends, therefore she and her friends have to work together to stop it. In the true tradition of the original Grim tales or Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes, the Beast is given a proper send off and Billy and her friends save the day with clever tricks and quick thinking.

A joy to read aloud and share. I can't wait for Billy and Fat Cat's next adventure.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Billy and the Beast is a vibrant, humorous and wonderful picture book suitable for children aged 4-7 years. Billy and Fatcat are walking through a forest when a beast stumbles across them and tries to use them and Billy’s woodland creature friends and some other wild ingredients for a soup! A story about how Billy can outsmart the terrible Beast to save her friends. Lovely use of onomatopoeia– crunched, scrunched etc. – similar to that in The Bear Hunt. I also found it had similarities to the Gruffalo and The Three Little Pigs– with Billy being able to outsmart the beast like the mouse could outsmart the Gruffalo and the pigs outsmart the wolf. I noticed patterns such as the lists of three which creates pace, makes it catchy and more memorable. Extensive use of vocabularly too.

[Nanny Miss Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Billy and Fatcat are taking a trip through the forest. When they realize that the l cute woodland creatures there have suddenly disappeared, they too are captured by a large hungry monster. In “Billy and the Beast” (Kane Miller) Billy will have to think fast and use every tool in her bushy hair to free the animals and make sure Fatcat doesn't end up on the menu as well!

Author and illustrator Nadia Shireen has a true gift for creating stories with animals and diverse characters. The third in this terrific series, “Billy and the Beast” is humorous and heroic, full of wit, charm, and mystery. The bold colors and patterns which are hallmarks of Shireen's artistic style make her books very eye-catching and will keep your little one wanting more.

[Callum Whalley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very aesthetically pleasing book filled with bright, bold illustrations which children would love. I liked the way that the main character was female and furthermore liked the way that her persona was portrayed in a very kind, caring manner to save all of the forest creatures. I think that there is a strong underlying message here in the sense that we should always face our fears and we start doing that by talking. Billy was constantly speaking to the beast and getting him to change his minds from the bad decisions he was making. This will be a great book to use, probably within KS1/lower KS2 and can be used within a variety of cross curricular tasks.

[Amber Goss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be great for a KS1 class. Nice bold and bright colours, I really enjoyed the illustrations throughout this book, plenty opportunities to use reading theatre.
This is also a great book to ensure a wider diversity of ethnicities and races are brought into the classroom within the literature you introduce. I enjoyed the journey of the book, plenty of places within the book to stop possibly use in a class to speculate where the story is going and what may happen next i.e. exploring what the beast may look like.

[Dominic Fludger]

A fantastic book that I can see working wonderfully with early years. As a trainee Primary Teacher, I find myself noticing how useful books might be in lessons, and this book has excellent examples for use in English lessons (particularly onomatopoeia, with 'crunched, stomped, etc'. Lovely book.

My only observation is that, when reading it aloud, I was not sure whether or not to read the list of ingredients shown in the picture. I did and it was fine in the first instance, but in a later instance it confused the story.

[Katie Walker]

Lovely illustrations to engage the children - good for whole class reading. Funny storyline, not too dark or scary (e.g. she hides snacks in her hair, the Beast is made to look like a fool at the end). Simple story so young children can get involved - animals are called by what they are: 'hedgehog' and 'fox' etc. However, also appropriate for older children if they want to read it on their own, some words include 'suspicion' and 'impressive' - so not just sight words.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked this book ( my kids love it ages 3 and 5), but I didn’t love it compared to other books written by Nadia Shireen. The illustrations are cute and bold colored, the characters are fun, I do think there could have been one more twist. Fatcat’s last tummy grumble could have gone further (maybe he could have eaten the beast? Or the other characters?!) It didn’t really feel like there was a conclusion. It is, however, a cute book for little kids that captures there attention.

[Uma Yeoman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for young children that uses humour and beautiful illustrations to follow the story along of brave Billy who wanders through the forest with his cat companion. Great book for classroom reading with young children as it could allow for a lot of interaction between the children and the book throughout the story. Teacher lessons of being brave and not being afraid in the forest or scary monsters.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, funny and suspenseful. Lots of repetition.
Great pictures for children to interact with.
Possibilites to integrate this into lessons: make an ingredients list, write another page 'what happened to the beast?'

Struggled to find a good meaning to the story e.g. helping others? being kind?
But lots of grammar to focus on: tenses (inflection), repetition, clauses, adjectives and reported speech.

[Zaz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having a heroine of color was nice and the cat was cute. The story had a nice smart touch and was overall pleasant to follow, especially with the cute art. On another hand, the kid had stuff in her hair (it was a strange idea) and gave sugary food to her cat (I'm narrow minded with unhealthy foods and feeding very inappropriate things to pets).

[Sandra Ballance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the use of page colour and font type and font size to illustrate shocking moments. Billy stands up to a bully and refuses to stand by and let her friends meet a terrible end. She 'thinks fast' and comes up with ideas she is able to achieve, including her power of reading and writing. Her brain is stronger than the bully's brawn.

[Tess Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seemed similar to story plots I have read before, however wonderful pictures and does have some shock factor! I love how it is the adorable little bunny rabbits that slam the lid, didn't see that coming! Beast is a bit niave and gullable though. Would read again to others but not timeless. I really like the vocabulary however, introduces lots of new words to young children.

[Georgia Platts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for younger readers, I like how the text and images work with each other throughout the storyline- perfect for visualising certain words like 'splashed' or 'crunched'. I think younger readers will find the book exciting and funny, I can imagine reading the book out loud and hearing the laughter!

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

young girl called billy and sidechick cat and they go for a wonder in the woods when they get taken by a terrible beast

like:
“splashed, crunched, stomped”
contained a lot of verbs that the children will be able to recognise and use in their writing and gives them a clearer understanding on what the charcters are doing.

dislike:
maybe for brighter images to keep children engaged

[Claire Bobrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A kid outsmarting a beast? We've seen it before...but not like this! An excellent spin on a tale as old as time - there are RUMBLINGS and DANGER and TERRIBLE SOUP! What more could a reader ask for? Oh wait, maybe smelly feet! It's all here, plus so much more. Count me a member of the Nadia Shireen fan club!

[Chris Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the joys of buying second hand picture books is finding the pages kids have clearly enjoyed the most. And the one the previous owner of this adored is the double page spread of the Terrible Beast showing us his ingredients which underlines how much small children do love a properly nasty character in books like this. The ending is a bit of a cop out, but I enjoyed it very much

[Giselle Goddard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Modern/current
Really clever
Relatable for children they may not always be represented in literature/children's books
Funny
Illustrations help to tell the story and draw children in
Suspense - want to read on to find out what happens

[Liam Stamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was very similar to ‘The Gruffalo’. However, still very well written. Be careful on which group of children you read this to, as some of the children might be a bit sensitive to happens in the book!

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this- it's got a great story with just a little peril, Billy is a brilliant character and very resourceful. My 2.5 year old daughter loved this - we've got Billy and the Dragon, but would love to see more Billy adventures soon please!

[Eleanor Kerslake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very eye-catching and funny story. Really like there is a strong female main charcter in this book. I like that fact taht you could also use this book to encorager writing for fun and meaning in a class room with this book encorgaing to write thier own soup recipe.

[Sarah Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the images, and love the Gruffalo-style there-and-back-again story with animals and onomatopoeic sounds. The storing of stuff in her hair confused me a little..! But love that she has a non gender stereotypical name and the characterisation is diverse.