RRP £12.95 Lowest New Price £8.81

Phaidon Press Ltd Number of pages: 160 Language: English (Original Language) Language: English (Unknown)

RRP: £12.95
Hooray for Nicholas
Review date: 2008-04-12 Rating: 10 out of 10

I first read the Nicholas books when I was at school. I really wanted to read them to my own children but they were out of print until very recently when Phaidon have done a fine job of publishing the whole series in some beautiful hardback editions. They are not cheap, but they are absolutely worth every penny.

Nicholas is a naughty French school boy who tells stories of his life with his friends both in and out of school. He is a marvellous mix of innocence with a pinch of gravitas that is just hilarious. He is always totally amazed when he gets into trouble, like the time he pours ink over his mother's brand new carpet and can't understand why she is so cross. I have just finished reading the book with my daughters 8 and 4, both of whom love the stories as much as I remember doing. We particularly liked Playing Cowboys, Playing with Cuthbert and Mr Bainbridge and the Fine Weather.

The cast of characters is wonderful, Alec the fat friend who is always eating something, Eddie the boy who likes to punch his friends on the nose, and our favourite, Cuthbert, the swot who nobody is allowed to hit as much as they want because he wears glasses!

The story telling is sharp and as funny and rewarding for adults as it is for children, the tales, though somewhat old fashioned, do not really date and maintain their charm and humour, and the illustrations are superb.