Brilliant World of Tom Gates

by Liz Pichon

Paperback, 2011

Status

Missing

Call number

823.92

Publication

Scholastic (2011), Edition: 1, 256 pages

Description

Tom Gates is the master of excuses for late homework: dog attacks, spilt water, lightening. Tom's exercise book is full of his doodles, cartoons and thoughts, as well as comments from his long-suffering teacher, Mr Fullerton. After gaining five merits for his 'Camping Sucks' holiday story, Tom's work starts to go downhill, which is a pity, as he's desperate to impress Amy Porter, who sits next to him.

User reviews

LibraryThing member mountie9

Jake's Review: A really funny book that is a lot like Diary of a Wimpy Kid except for the fact that Tom is a lot cooler of a kid. The beginning of the book was lame but it got a lot better after about 20 pages. It is a really easy book to read so kids like Brian who don't like to read will actually

like to read a book. The pictures make it fun to look at too. I didn't understand some of the words, but after mom showed me the glossary at the end, I could figure them out. I really think it would be a better idea for the glossary to be at the beginning though. I hope there are going to be more books in this series since I have already read all The Wimpy Kid books. Could have been longer too.

Jake's Rating: 9.5/10

Mom's Review: Perfect book for the reluctant reader and also for fans of The Diary of A Wimpy Kids, Dork Diaries and The Loser List. The story is delightful and the artwork just adds to its charm. This is one that both middle school boys AND girls will enjoy. Tom is a character that everyone can relate to and the language and situations are very realistic. Really enjoyed the relationship between Tom and his sister Delia & its one that anyone with a sibling can relate to. I will definitely be recommending this one to any of my customers with kids who really don't like to read. Hope to see more from this author. Enjoyed the glossary at the end which gives the reader explanations into the English terms (Published 2011 in the UK)

Mom's Rating: 9/10

We received this from Scholastic in exchange for an honest review

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LibraryThing member oceanna

It was very funny and i enjoyed it a lot. I thought it was funny for my age and for little kids to. I love their song Delias A Weirdo

LibraryThing member michelle666

It was AMAZING! i loved it, Liz Pichon is an awesome author. This book gets 5 stars for sure !

LibraryThing member KelseyF

This is a great book. I got the book for my daughter as she loved the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. She loved this book even more and wants to know when the next one will be out. I read this myself and thoroughly enjoyed it. I must say it was slow starting, but definitely worth the wait.

LibraryThing member paula-childrenslib

work starts to go downhill, which is a pity, as he's desperate to impress Amy Porter, who sits next to him.

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LibraryThing member NatalieSW

Fun middle-grade book from the UK. Reminds me (in a good way!) of Mad Magazine's "Planet Tad." Simple illustrations throughout are a plus.

LibraryThing member weisser4

I think my elementary students would love this. The boys because the main character is a boy who is a bit goofy, like they are, and doodles. My students are enamored with graphic novels and Diary of a Wimpy Kid-style genres. Girls will like it because there is a bit of nerdy elementary romance. I

would probably buy it for my students.

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LibraryThing member NatalieSW

Middle grade, lots of fun, with lively, simple illustrations.

LibraryThing member sweetiegherkin

Tom loves to doodle in his notebook during school, play guitar in his band with his best mate, and dream up new ways to harass his teen-aged sister, Delia. This book contains his diary over one year of his (mis)adventures doing all of the above plus more.

I decided to pick up this book after reading

a glowing review of it in a journal on international children's literature. The review compared it to Diary of a Wimpy Kid (a comparison that I usually find suspect though) and noted how it covers "everyday" type of kids' problems rather than the "big" problem novels (e.g., death of a loved one, childhood abuse, etc.).

Well, the comparison between this book and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is actually pretty spot on. The pen-and-ink drawings are similar (although I would argue there were a few too many here -- showing Tom's doodles for band logos = great use of this idea; including a pair of eyes every time Tom uses the phrases "looked at me" = unnecessarily excessive) as are the age range of the characters and the everyday family/school/friendship problems. This book has likewise spawned sequels. I could easily see a fan of the Wimpy Kid books becoming a fan of these.

While the book does concern itself mostly with small issues (like forgotten homework, having a schoolyard crush, hoping to get tickets for a concert featuring a favorite band), I find it a bit difficult to wholeheartedly recommend this book because there is zero growth in the main character. He never learns from his mistakes and continues to make the same ones over and over again. Tom also is cruel to a schoolmate for essentially no reason; it is tantamount to bullying. It would be ideal to give kids a slightly more positive role model than that. I'm not saying Tom needs to become a saint over night, but a couple of actual realizations and/or fixing of mistakes would be nice instead of him skating free once again by lucky chance.

The Brilliant World of Tom Gates is from a British author and contains a number of British slang terms, which are then defined at the back of the book. I think this book is a fantastic (and easy) way to start getting kids to think globally in their reading choices and to see how while there may be small differences between cultures, there are certainly universal feelings and situations.

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