Monday 26 August 2019

"The Boy Who Knew Nothing" by James Thorp and Angus MacKinnon (Templar Publishing)

Imagine being Jon Snow as a boy...well OK that's a bit of a stretch, but in "The Boy Who Knew Nothing" by James Thorp and Angus Mackinnon you'll meet a young boy who truly doesn't know anything at all.

From the day he was born he was always told his head was an empty vessel, but when the boy meets a new friend living in his wardrobe, he's determined to find out just what his new friend is.

Not even his parents know (and right there is the real crux of what this book is really about, there's a rather nicely subtle moral about how much attention we - modern parents - are NOT giving to our kids) so the boy and his new pal both set out on a grand quest of discovery!

James and Angus work together so well, delivering a bouncy rhyming slice of surreality that feels like a 1960s trip-fest (we've previously likened their books to the animated Beatles "Yellow Submarine" movie), with superb character designs, a great little twisty tale, and of course a ton of originality and charm. Superb!!

Sum this book up in a sentence: A great story that reveals where knowledge truly comes from, and a nicely subtle kick in the pants for helicopter parenting!

"The Boy Who Knew Nothing" by James Thorp and Angus Mackinnon is out now, published by Templar (kindly supplied for review).