How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen

By Russell Hoban

Illustrated by Quentin Blake

A classic tale of the triumph of fooling-around fun over humourless no-nonsense adult disapproval!

Tom loves to fool around. He fools around with dropping things from bridges into rivers and he fools around with barrels in alleys. He fools around so much that his maiden aunt, Miss Fidget Wonkham-Strong (who wears an iron hat and takes no nonsense from anyone), sends for Captain Najork and his hired sportsmen to teach Tom a lesson. "Captain Najork," says Aunt Fidget Wonkham-Strong, "is seven feet tall, with eyes like fire and a voice like thunder. He teaches fooling-around boys the lesson they so badly need, and it is not one that they soon forget." Captain Najork lays down a challenge: they will play womble, muck and speedball – in that order. And it turns out not to be Tom who gets taught a lesson after all!

Categories: Picture Books

For readers aged: 5+

Publication details:
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 9781406343830
Published: 07 Nov 2013
Price: £12.99

Size: 280 x 210 mm
Pages: 32

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Customer reviews

Reviews

'The partnership between author and illustrator is almost perfect, their resourcefulness in making such absurdity so natural almost the equal of the boy Tom in his creation of the two-seater, jam-powered frog.' The Times

'A perfect combination of words and illustration, it’s everything a picture book should be.' Irish Times

'Rarely has a reissue been more timely than this reminder that learning comes in many forms, and that childhood play is never a waste of time.' The Guardian

'A triumph from an unerringly eccentric double act.' The New Review (The Observer)

'The duo’s 1975 riotous tribute to the triumphs of 'fooling around'' Daily Telegraph

'The trademark tremulous contour lines of Quentin Blake’s colourful illustrations inject energy and excitement into this madcap adventure.' Children’s Books Ireland Recommended Read

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Hardback
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