Status
Checked out
Due 16 Mar 2024
Call number
Publication
Rowohlt Taschenbuch (2019), Edition: 13., 272 pages
Description
Ben is bored beyond belief after he is made to stay at his grandma's house. She's the boringest grandma ever: all she wants to do is to play Scrabble, and eat cabbage soup. But there are two things Ben doesn't know about his grandma. 1) She was once an international jewel thief. 2) All her life, she has been plotting to steal the Crown Jewels, and now she needs Ben's help.
User reviews
LibraryThing member TimCTaylor
An enjoyable bout of sillyness but with some real emotional backbone. My copy says 9+ and I think that's right. The ending is tinged with sadness.
LibraryThing member celerydog
Fabulously plotted crime caper with grandma and grandson protagonists. Doesn't shy away from the issues of aging and death. 9+
LibraryThing member ap.09.foxton
gangsta granny is so funny
LibraryThing member Amelia_Smith
This was really a pretty good book. The kids enjoyed it for a while, but we lost our momentum with the nightly reading toward the end. I thought it was well done, but it veered a little too silly at times. The kids' verdicts at the end.
7-year-old girl: "That was really kind of sad."
4-year-old boy:
I think it deserves slightly higher marks than they gave it, but they're closer to the target audience than I am, so there you go.
7-year-old girl: "That was really kind of sad."
4-year-old boy:
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"Sad and BORING." I think it deserves slightly higher marks than they gave it, but they're closer to the target audience than I am, so there you go.
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LibraryThing member fingerpost
Ben is stuck every Friday night with his boring Granny, while is dance obsessed parents go off on their own for date nights. Ben finds Granny unbearably boring... until he discovers that she used to be an international jewel thief. Suddenly she is significantly more interesting. She begins telling
11 year old Bed develops a plan for doing just that, and presents it to his Granny. Eventually she agrees to his plan.
A genuinely funny book, with a real heart to it as well.
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him tales of her career, and her one regret: that she never stole the crown jewels from the Tower of London.11 year old Bed develops a plan for doing just that, and presents it to his Granny. Eventually she agrees to his plan.
A genuinely funny book, with a real heart to it as well.
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LibraryThing member 1D1BOOKS
AWESOME BOOK!
LibraryThing member LaviniaRossetti
Ben’s parents loved ballroom dancing. They loved it so much that sometimes the little boy began to think that they preferred dancing to him. Every Friday, it was a show night, where a show was performed on stage. This show was called ‘Strictly Stars Dancing’, where a load of dancers were
Most people think that every granny is dull and boring. But this particular granny was the most dull and the most boring. She reeked of cabbage, and kept blowing off humongous bursts of the yucky vegetable. All she wanted to do was play Scrabble, and whenever Ben came down to tea, it was always cabbage soup followed by cabbage pie followed by cabbage tart. Poor Granny! She had absolutely no idea that Ben found her so unbelievably boring.
Well, not until one eerie Friday night. Her grandson had just gone to bed, but he did not sleep - that was boring. He waited until he heard Granny’s snores, and then he tiptoed out of his bedroom and released the phone from its set on the landing. Then he dialled his mum, and said to her plainly: “Mum, please, come and get me! Granny’s asleep - but she’s so dull and boring! To eat at dinner time is the same as every Friday! She’s so awfully boring!” but the only reply was the phone being hung up, because neither Mum nor Dad liked Granny either.
But when he hopelessly put down the phone, he heard that Granny’s snores had stopped.
Had she heard everything? Was she deeply upset and offended?
She had to come up with something to make her grandson like her. So the next day, she thought up a brilliant plan; she told Ben that she was a gangster. She made up stories about how, when she was a little girl, she stole rubies and rings, and diamonds and pearls. But she knew full well that there was no way of getting the overwhelming Crown Jewels. Ben, however, thought he did. He had no use of ballroom dancing; he wanted to be a plumber. He had plenty of magazines, all new issues, called ‘Plumbing Weekly’. In one of these it talked about a giant pipe that ran up through the Tower of London. Together, they made up a plan that they would steal the jewels. Up the pipe they would go, swim through the Thames, get the guards drunk, and so on. But who should come along but the Queen!
Find out more by reading this brilliant book...
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paired up with celebrities and made to move along with the beat. So the ignorant mum and dad, every Friday, would go to the show and watch, clapping excitedly. But they didn’t want Ben to be there - oh no! So they dropped him off at his granny’s, every week, just until Saturday. But Ben was remarkably angry with this. His granny, to him, was dull and boring.Most people think that every granny is dull and boring. But this particular granny was the most dull and the most boring. She reeked of cabbage, and kept blowing off humongous bursts of the yucky vegetable. All she wanted to do was play Scrabble, and whenever Ben came down to tea, it was always cabbage soup followed by cabbage pie followed by cabbage tart. Poor Granny! She had absolutely no idea that Ben found her so unbelievably boring.
Well, not until one eerie Friday night. Her grandson had just gone to bed, but he did not sleep - that was boring. He waited until he heard Granny’s snores, and then he tiptoed out of his bedroom and released the phone from its set on the landing. Then he dialled his mum, and said to her plainly: “Mum, please, come and get me! Granny’s asleep - but she’s so dull and boring! To eat at dinner time is the same as every Friday! She’s so awfully boring!” but the only reply was the phone being hung up, because neither Mum nor Dad liked Granny either.
But when he hopelessly put down the phone, he heard that Granny’s snores had stopped.
Had she heard everything? Was she deeply upset and offended?
She had to come up with something to make her grandson like her. So the next day, she thought up a brilliant plan; she told Ben that she was a gangster. She made up stories about how, when she was a little girl, she stole rubies and rings, and diamonds and pearls. But she knew full well that there was no way of getting the overwhelming Crown Jewels. Ben, however, thought he did. He had no use of ballroom dancing; he wanted to be a plumber. He had plenty of magazines, all new issues, called ‘Plumbing Weekly’. In one of these it talked about a giant pipe that ran up through the Tower of London. Together, they made up a plan that they would steal the jewels. Up the pipe they would go, swim through the Thames, get the guards drunk, and so on. But who should come along but the Queen!
Find out more by reading this brilliant book...
Show Less
LibraryThing member purplequeennl
I read this to my 10 year old and we both loved it! It's the best David Walliams book we've read so far (although only our third).
The development of the relationship between Ben and his Granny, and then with his parents too was a key part of this book and what made it engaging. It is sad,
It covers topics of life and death, reaching for your dreams, and particularly the idea that old people were once young too, something that the younger generation always struggle to understand until they reach that age. It also touches on topics of parental neglect and expectations. There are a lot of ideas that are covered in a way that children can absorb them.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fun, enjoyable and engaging read for either themselves or their child - or both.
The development of the relationship between Ben and his Granny, and then with his parents too was a key part of this book and what made it engaging. It is sad,
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heartwarming and hilarious in equal measures. And even though you knew it was all too good to be true, it was still a fun ride, and they got up to more than you thought they would. Old people really can get away with anything! I also loved how Walliams gently finished this book and tied it up nicely.It covers topics of life and death, reaching for your dreams, and particularly the idea that old people were once young too, something that the younger generation always struggle to understand until they reach that age. It also touches on topics of parental neglect and expectations. There are a lot of ideas that are covered in a way that children can absorb them.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fun, enjoyable and engaging read for either themselves or their child - or both.
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LibraryThing member Sheila1957
Granny tries to make her life more exciting for her grandson. Little does he know what he'll be getting involved in.
I howled at this book. When Ben finds out his grandmother was an international jewel thief, he looks at her with new eyes. Then when he gets involved in the biggest heist of all I
I howled at this book. When Ben finds out his grandmother was an international jewel thief, he looks at her with new eyes. Then when he gets involved in the biggest heist of all I
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lost it. Not only his he totally in with the greatest theft of all but poor Ben has raised his parents expectations of wanting to dance ballroom style which is their favorite thing to watch on TV. Ben and Granny are wild as they plan and execute those plans. They have no idea who they will meet and who will aid them with their heist. Then to be almost undone by a nosy neighbor. The narrator is very prevalent through the story with hints and asides that are as funny as the story. You will need a hanky at the end, so be prepared. You also meet Raj who is also in Demon Dentist. I love this author. I cannot wait to pick up another of his books and I know exactly to whom to give this book. Show Less