Friday, 6 July 2018
ReadItDaddy's Chapter Book of the Week - Week Ending 6th July 2018: "The Accidental President" by Tom McLaughlin (OUP / Oxford Children's Books)
Labels:
Chapter Book of the Week 2018,
OUP / Oxford Children's Books,
The Accidental President,
Tom McLaughlin
...so they'll be delighted to see it hitting the book stores at it was released yesterday, and slides with ease into our winning slot.
"The Accidental President" by Tom McLaughlin is the latest in Tom's utterly rib-tickling "Accidental" series, following on from "The Accidental Millionaire".
C did a perfect bit of promotional work for these books when she first encountered them, urging kids in her class to read and pick up their own copies of various titles - to the point where her class are complete fanatics for all things Tom writes. We'll assume the cheque's in the post :)
Tom turns his razor-sharp wit onto a subject that, well let's face it, is almost self-parodying. That of the US presidency.
Though the cover ironically describes young Ajay as "The First Kid President" you could probably argue that point on the basis of what's going on with the real POTUS. But let's delve back into the book rather than get too distracted with real-world politics.
12-year-old Ajay is on a visit to the U S of A when, completely at random and totally by accident, he is sworn in as the new president.
CATASTROPHE!
Well, perhaps not - as no one can imagine that a 12 year old kid could possibly do a worse job than Trumpety-Trump. But Ajay soon discovers the dark side of power. It can go to your head more quickly than you can possibly imagine, and when you've got a whole collection of lackeys to do your every bidding it's very easy to go a bit crazy.
Needless to say this is exactly what happens to Ajay who begins to make some pretty odd decisions, even dressing in a sparkly cape (because why can't presidents also be superheroes?)
There's a sinister plot unfolding though, a plot to oust Ajay and seize control. Will the kid pres spot it in time?
There are so many utterly brilliant tongue in cheek moments that seem to indicate this was something of a dream gig for Tom, a book that practically writes itself as he expertly and hilariously documents what just might happen if a kid took the reins over the pond and stepped into the White House.
Perfect. This is bound to become another huge hit with C's class, she's already waving it around under their noses.
"The Accidental President" by Tom McLaughlin is out now, published by OUP / Oxford Children's Books (kindly supplied for review).
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