The Brilliant World of Tom Gates (Tom Gates Series #1)

by L Pichon, L Pichon (Illustrator)

Overview

“Tom Gates can easily be seen as a British cousin to Jeff Kinney’s Greg Heffley.” —Publishers Weekly

Meet Tom Gates. When his teachers don’t have their beady eyes on him, he likes to draw pictures and write about stuff. Tom’s teachers think he is easily distracted and “lacks focus,” but that’s a bit harsh—can he help it if his grumpy big sister, Delia, made him late for school (again), or that last night’s homework had to be sacrificed to stave off a vicious dog attack? Master of excuses, creative storyteller, and middle-school comedian extraordinaire, Tom Gates is guaranteed to get kids turning the pages—and keep them laughing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763680688
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	08/04/2015
Series:	Tom Gates , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	650L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

 

Editorial Reviews

The diary-style, comic novel gets a UK makeover with this look at Tom Gates’ fifth-grade year, documenting with hilarious detail every mishap (like forgetting about class-picture day) and success (like hiding his older sister’s sunglasses in some bagged salad). The handwritten font and cartoon drawings bring Tom’s experiences to life, making his struggles and dreams immensely relatable. ... Tom’s upbeat outlook and everyday trials will have readers laughing out loud and eager for this series’ next installment.
—Booklist Online

How Tom makes peace with his teacher, Marcus Meldrow, and his sister and still gets to go to the Dude 3 concert will keep readers chuckling. Readers of Wimpy Kid books will love this series with a UK twist written by an award-winning British author.
—Library Media Connection

Will be enjoyed by those who can’t get enough of Jeff Kinney’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” books. The engaging illustrations are plentiful and will delight avid and reluctant readers alike.
—School Library Journal

Tom Gates can easily be seen as a British cousin to Jeff Kinney’s Greg Heffley. ... The book is typeset in a handwritten-looking font, accompanied by Tom’s doodles and text that he’s embellished for emphasis. ... [R]eaders who like their fiction heavily illustrated and their heroes mischievous should find it diverting.
—Publishers Weekly

We like Tom and the exuberant way he illustrates his account of himself with little drawings and embellishments, and we sympathize with his efforts to conjure a dynamic logo for DogZombies, the band he has formed with his friend Derek. ... Life occasionally doles out difficulty to Tom Gates. ... Our hero may be mortified, but readers ages 9 to 12 won't mind a bit.
—The Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

2014-08-27
The winner of the 2011 Roald Dahl Funny Prize for readers ages 7 to 11 makes its way across the pond. In this British contribution to the Wimpy Kid bandwagon, Tom doodles his school days away, fails to do his homework, schemes to get the upper hand on twit Marcus Meldrew, tries to attract the attention of lovely Amy Porter, jockeys for tickets to the Dude3 concert, designs logos for his band, DogZombies, and annoys his older sister, Delia. His account is set in a typeface named for the author (generated from her handwriting, perhaps?) and is liberally illustrated with Tom's cartoons and doodles. Some of his artistic tics are pretty funny: When he refers to his teacher's gaze, he adds two little eyeballs as visual punctuation; goth Delia's expression hardly ever changes, even when she's feeling "jolly"; particularly embarrassing moments are labeled "shame" with little arrows. The book has been unevenly Americanized, leaching from it some of its potential distinctiveness. Most insultingly, "Mum" is now "Mom," but some terms found in the glossary such as "biscuit" and "jumper" have been translated in the text as "cookie" and "sweater," rendering those entries rather baffling. Although Tom's account is diarylike, it is undated, making it feel like the book's action is much shorter than the school term it evidently spans. Tom may be brilliant, but he's unlikely to unseat Greg Heffley in American hearts. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-11)

Kirkus Reviews