The Parent Agency

by David Baddiel Narrated by David Baddiel

Overview

A boy travels to an alternate world where kids get to choose their own parents in this zany, internationally bestselling adventure, which combines the be-careful-what-you-wish-for humor of The Chocolate Touch with the classic appeal of Roald Dahl.

Barry Bennett is sick of his parents. They're boring, they're too strict, and it's their fault his name is Barry. So he makes a wish for better ones-and is whisked away to the Parent Agency, where kids get to pick out their perfect parents.

For Barry, this seems like a dream come true. But as he's about to discover, choosing a new mom and dad isn't as simple as it sounds...

The Parent Agency is the first children's book by British author and comedian David Baddiel.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This best-selling British import is a hilarious, fast-paced read perfect for middle-graders who like their stories on the silly side.” — ALA Booklist

“A good jumping-off point for chapter book readers who want to expand into full-length novels. Full of adventure.” — School Library Journal

ALA Booklist

This best-selling British import is a hilarious, fast-paced read perfect for middle-graders who like their stories on the silly side.

Kirkus Reviews

2016-02-17
The hazards of wish fulfillment come, as usual, home to roost when young Barry gets a chance to replace his parents with a new set. A week before his 10th birthday, Barry hits his head in a fall and wakes in Youngdon, capital of the United Kid-Dom, where grown-ups eagerly vie to be selected by onesie-wearing children. Working down a previously compiled list of grievances against his original parents, Barry opts to try out a different set each day—and so goes from the dizzyingly aristocratic Rader-Wellorffs to a celebrity couple dubbed "Vlassorina" and a succession of other couples who let him try out sports and do whatever he wants, as well as openly favoring him over younger sibs who bear strong resemblances to his own sisters. Predictably, all prove disappointments, and he wakes up at the end a wiser, more loving son. Baddiel crams his pointed allegory with jokes that not only will likely fly past American readers, but display questionable taste: Barry dubs his sisters "The Sisterly Entity" in imitation of the hostile Arabic term for Israel, a teammate's "Que pasa?" as he trots into Wobbly Stadium for a match with rival Boysnia-Herzogeweeny is dubbed "some kind of weird language," and for his birthday party at the end he's delighted to get a toy pistol. Personal development, Three Stooges style. (Fantasy. 10-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170124534
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	05/03/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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