The Bolds

I saw this book and the cover immediately pulled me in (I am a cover lover after all), after checking the blurb, I knew I just had to get this book, and I did.And I am so happy I did, because this book was amazing, it was funny, it was a bit sad at times, at times I was frustrated with a certain character, but generally I just laughed my butt off at the silliness, the bad jokes, the whole family (especially the dad). I won't tell you their secret, though I guess, you could guess from just lookin [...]

I wasn't looking forward to reading this, it was one of the #BASH2017 books but year five chose it, so read it I did! It was fine, the children loved the funny parts, particularly the Christmas cracker jokes that Mr Bold writes for a living! The undercover hyenas were characters that the children warmed to, maybe not so much for me.

Aidosti hauska ja vähän syvällinenkin tarina hyeenoista, jotka ottivat tilaisuudesta vaarin ja muuttivat Lontooseen. Juttu on välillä koskettava, välillä jännittävä ja sisältää sopivasti peppuhuumoriakin.Kakkosvinkkaukseen mukaan niille, jotka kestää vähän enemmän niin juonen, pituuden kuin ajattelunkin kannalta.

3.5 / 5 stars

Sue and Spot are hyenas who love laughing. The plain where they lived was becoming a tourist attraction for those wanting to go on a safari. Not only were there more humans in the area, it was a fight to eat etc. When two humans, Fred and Amelia Bold, get eaten by crocodiles, Sue and Spot come up with an idea. They practised standing on two legs and even talking like humans. They decided they would take the clothing, money passports and airline tickets from the Bolds tent and head to England. Wh [...]

Sopivasti pöhkö tarina siitä, miten hyeenaperhe elää ihmisten keskuudessa. Ärsyttävä hulvattomuushan sopii täydellisesti hyeenoille, joten siitä ei voi nyt kirjaa moittia. Aikuislukijana en paikoin voinut olla rinnastamatta eläinpäähenkilöiden tuntemuksia maahanmuuttoon ja jopa paperittomana elämiseen, mutta meno ei ollut mitenkään osoittelevaa. Kuvitus oli useimmiten taitettu ihan mahtavasti! Tekstiä sen verran paljon, että tämä ilahduttaa lähinnä sujuvasti ja kohtalaisen [...]

I saw this book on a recent wander through a London bookstore and thought it was something my class might enjoy. The fact that it was written by Julian Clary, whose comedy I've enjoyed for years, was a deciding factor for me. My students loved it, so it's a win for them. A hyena "couple" assume the lives of a British couple devoured on safari and move to England, living and raising their children as humans. Much zaniness ensues.

How could I not buy this? Julian Clary and David Roberts. Like all first-in-a-series, there's a certain amount of adjustment as we warm up to the characters, the setting the world according to The Bolds. But it's a little gem. And it will entertain a certain age group mightily with all the bum jokes! Truly awesome David Roberts illustrations. I'm glad it wasn't me who was asked to make a baby hyena look endearing. Roberts obviously found it no challenge at all

Julian Clary has finally found his vocation - as a writer of children's fiction! Honestly, though, this was really really good. I read it to my son for his bedtime story and we both loved it. Lots of laughs, and a thoroughly entertaining, engaging story. Both of us couldn't wait to read the next chapter (we might have had a few later bedtimes reading "just a bit more"!).

This book definitely has an English humor. The premise is totally ridiculous (like much English humor) a family of hyenas discovers the clothes of English tourists fit so they decide to take on their lives by returning on the flight and occupying their home and all aspects of their lives. I do think students will LOVE this - there are jokes sparkled throughout and most 8 or 9 year old readers happily accept what the author/narrator is presenting as actual. Will share this initial text as part of [...]

Rather decent book for kids. The premise is absolutely silly, but should work well with the kids. There's some hidden point to the book about immigration and living paperless, but it's all well hidden underneath the crazy stuff the Bolds do. With all the jokes and butts and whatnot, I expect the kids to like this a lot.

I tried to like this one! As a Children's librarian, I read a lot of silly books. But this one is one of the silliest. I was bored because even with a crazy story line (wild hyenas from Africa decide to come to England and impersonate people), I wasn't really laughing or even giggling. It was a chore to read it.

Interesting concept. My children liked the gags. If he wasn't a celebrity it would have had a stiff edit, which it needs. Lots of telling to the point that you lose connection with the lovely, quirky characters he's created, which is real shame. This had potential to be really good. The illustrations are fantastic.

My son read this too me every night,he is 10 and really enjoyed it.

it was a really funny and silly book.

Ok

Cute and funny. Perfect for 8 to 11 years old!

Some of the tropes are a little tired, but overall, a delightfully fun and silly book I needed right now.

I enjoyed the humour of this. It was different, however my son (9 years) felt it was a bit young. I liked the layout of the book, this should be appealing to reluctant readers.

A very British children's book. Don't be concerned; my last name is Bolds, but I'm not secretly a hyena.

Read this with my daughter but it didn’t really capture us and after reading 50 pages we gave up.

Mainio, lämminhenkinen tarina ihmisiä esittävän hilpeän hyeenaperheen kommelluksista.

The story and the illustrations work so well together. I love the dad's jokes!

Unexpectedly funny and clever and suspenseful.

Synopsis from the Andersen Press websiteMr and Mrs Bold are just like you and me: they live in a nice house (in Teddington), they have jobs (like writing Christmas cracker jokes) and they love to have a bit of a giggle. One slight difference: they’re hyenas. Yes, that’s right – they’re covered in fur, have tails tucked into their trousers, and they really, really like to laugh.So far, the Bolds have managed to keep things under wraps, even when their children Bobby and Betty were born. B [...]

Heeeeeee hee hee! That's a hyena laughing, in case you were wondering. I loved this. Clary is a natural children's story-writer, and doesn't try too hard to make himself funny, instead putting the humour directly into the situation and characters, making it an entertaining read.I've had lots of requests for this since mentioning it to library customers, and my book group (ages 7-10) think it's a winner. I'm included to agree.A pair of hyenas hijack a human couple's passports and clothes (after a [...]

I love this book, the combination of David Roberts expressive human dressed hyenas, and Julian Clary's very clever and usually laughing hyena family, is spot on! The story begins with the transformation of two wild hyenas, Sue and Spot from Africa. They become gentrified British folk posing as humans, living and working in Middlesex, England. It all occurs because of a hair rising incident. Two honeymooners unwittingly go swimming in an African safari camp, yet as a full page illustration depict [...]

After two hyenas witness a newlywed couple be devoured while on safari, they decide being a person sounds like fun, and they've picked up a fair amount of English listening to tourists all these years, so why not? They quickly dress in the newly vacant clothes and POOF they're taken for humans.What a fun premise! And what a disappointment. The story arc didn't quite feel finished, and there were all sorts of opportunities built right into the plot for the author to heighten the stakes but Clary [...]

Sue and Spot love laughing – well they’re hyenas after all. They noticed that their safari plain was getting more and more tourists so they began to listen and learn from these strange creatures called humans. They practised standing on two legs and even talking like humans. So one day when they discovered clothing, money, air tickets and passports left beside a watering hole (full of crocodiles), they decided to become Fred and Amelia Bold – the couple who had just gone for a swim (and be [...]

I've only ever read a short part of one of Clary's books ages ago on the Kindle, which was shockingly rude, so this being a children's book and because I liked his recent nature programmes, I thought I'd give it a whirl.At first glance, this looks as though it might fall between two stools. 250 odd pages is long for a children's book, even one in large print with pictures everywhere. The illustrations are very nicely drawn, but would surely be more attractive in a wide-format, colour book. That [...]