Tom Gates: Excellent Excuses (and Other Good Stuff) (Hardcover)
Middle-school comedian, homework dodger, rock-star wannabe, master doodler—Tom Gates is back with two more episodes full of visual humor and kid appeal.
No school for two whole weeks! Now Tom has plenty of time for the good stuff, like finding new ways (so many!) to annoy his big sister, Delia. Or watching TV and eating caramel candy. Or most important, band practice for DOGZOMBIES in his best friend Derek’s garage (while not encouraging Derek’s ’60s-music-crazed dad). All that stands between this band and rock greatness is, well, a song (besides “Delia’s a Weirdo”). And finding a drummer. And landing a gig. Will Tom let a killer toothache and pesky overdue homework get in his way?
No school for two whole weeks! Now Tom has plenty of time for the good stuff, like finding new ways (so many!) to annoy his big sister, Delia. Or watching TV and eating caramel candy. Or most important, band practice for DOGZOMBIES in his best friend Derek’s garage (while not encouraging Derek’s ’60s-music-crazed dad). All that stands between this band and rock greatness is, well, a song (besides “Delia’s a Weirdo”). And finding a drummer. And landing a gig. Will Tom let a killer toothache and pesky overdue homework get in his way?
L. Pichon says that when she was little, she loved to draw, and her mom said she was very good at making a mess (this is still true today). She kept drawing, went to art school, became a designer and art director in the music industry, and began to write and illustrate children’s books. After its publication in the U.K., The Brilliant World of Tom Gates won several prestigious awards. L. Pichon lives in Brighton, England, with her family.
Tom's doodles are appealing … particularly the unsmiling, sunglasses-clad face of sister Delia, repeated whenever her name appears throughout
—Kirkus Reviews
Middle grade readers looking for more books with “Wimpy-appeal” should find a lot to enjoy in this UK import.
—School Library Journal
Pichon hits the elementary-school-boy sweet spot by blending humor and tween embarrassments (parents, having to wear teddy bear swimming trunks) with Tom’s hilarious doodles and insights...Ample white space and illustrations make this perfect for reluctant readers or those not quite ready for Tom Angleberger’s Origami Yoda series.
—Booklist
Fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid are a natural audience for this British import, the second in a series that will surely please budding Anglophiles; an illustrated glossary of Britishisms is included.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
—Kirkus Reviews
Middle grade readers looking for more books with “Wimpy-appeal” should find a lot to enjoy in this UK import.
—School Library Journal
Pichon hits the elementary-school-boy sweet spot by blending humor and tween embarrassments (parents, having to wear teddy bear swimming trunks) with Tom’s hilarious doodles and insights...Ample white space and illustrations make this perfect for reluctant readers or those not quite ready for Tom Angleberger’s Origami Yoda series.
—Booklist
Fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid are a natural audience for this British import, the second in a series that will surely please budding Anglophiles; an illustrated glossary of Britishisms is included.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books