Today is my turn on the OBRT for The Beastly Baron of Beaux Bottom, written by Jeremy Hullah and illustrated by Zsuzsa. I love reading children's stories and this one especially caught my eye because it reminded me of the fairy tales I'd read when I was young - only this book sounded much funnier! I love the names of the characters, such as The Warty Witch and The Greedy Goat of the Glen. Judging by the cover alone, this book is wonderfully illustrated too. So, now for my review...
AUTHOR BIO
Jeremy Hullah grew up in the rural Midlands, where he spent a lot of time dreaming about being a pianist or a writer, or something equally unattainable without the required level of effort. After proving beyond all doubt that education was not something that came naturally, he moved to London where he worked on building sites for a few years before retraining in IT. Now, many years later, he works for a bank in the city, writing books on the train to and from his home in East Sussex, where he spends whatever time is left cycling around the countryside, dreaming up ideas for new books to keep his two boys entertained.
BOOK BLURB
A cautionary tale about the importance of keeping promises.
Follow the Baron as his day goes from bad to worse. Meet the Warty Witch of the Wild Western Woods, whose attempts to teach the Baron a lesson go very wrong. Marvel at the never-ending appetite of the Greedy Goat of the Glen as she bites off rather more than she can stomach. And cheer on Greta as she struggles to find a way to save her brother Hal from the sticky clutches of the Gossamer Green Ghost.
The Beastly Baron is not a nice man. He shouts too much and doesn't keep his promises. When he breaks his word to the Warty Witch though, things go very badly for him.
Then they get much, much worse!
MY REVIEW
This is a book that reminds me of so many fairy tales but with an additional ingredient - fun. Each page made me chuckle, from the grouchy baron to the gluttonous goat. The Baron, unlike his predecessors, is an unpleasant fellow, known to spend his time shouting at people and being generally unpleasant. He seems to love food and little else. However, he gets his comeuppance tenfold in this fabulously funny book. I love the characters. There's dashing Major Mountjoy. The Warty Witch of the Western Wood. The Greedy Goat of the Glen. And The Gossamer Green Ghost. Jeremy has a fantastic imagination. He takes the reader into a world of fairy tales, with the classic witch, a dashing soldier, a magical wood and ... a few new additions that create a story full of fun, adventure and also a few lessons such as, don't break a promise - or else!
The illustrations are beautiful. There are pretty black-and-white illustrations of wildflowers and toadstools running along the footer throughout the book and also stunning full-page coloured artwork all created by Zsuzsa.
Thank you LiterallyPR and Jeremy Hullah for my copy of The Beastly Baron of Beaux Bottom in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this book so much!
Jeremy Hullah
@jeremyhullah
Literally PR -
Twitter - @literallypr
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