Soot was an interesting character, though I knew what he was, his role and everything else, from the start. It was just so obvious that it would be odd had it been something else entirely. He was a good friend to Stella, though I felt sorry for the idea that she would lose him so soon. His accent was a bit annoying and it took me some time to get through the parts that featured him talking.

Awful Auntie by David Walliams, Tony Ross | Waterstones

A very amusing butler in the ancient Gibbon, muddling up everything nicely. Even though he is underused. Aunt Alberta is in a mission of seeking an inheritance of the Great Saxby Hall, corners her cousin Stella and tortures her. Stella lost her parents in an accident, she was in a state of futile. “Soot” a Chimney ghost comes in, to aid her. Stella was a great character, it wasn't her fault. She was the reason why I gave the book 2 stars at all. Even though her life is turned upside down, even with the loss she has suffered, she keeps on fighting. But she also shows emotion, we can see that she is terribly sad, and afraid. Yet, with the help of Soot, she continues her fight against her auntie and her auntie's evil plan. Even though she grew up in this big house, she wasn't that spoiled. Maybe it had to do with the fact her parents were practically poor, thanks to the awful auntie. Still it was refreshing to see a girl in a big mansion not being a total princess about everything.Thank yous I would like to thank the following people. Charlie Redmayne, the big boss at HarperCollins. Ann-Janine Murtagh, who is the head of children’s books there. Ruth Alltimes, my brilliant editor. The great Tony Ross, who has once again brought the story alive with the most magical illustrations. Kate Clarke, the cover designer. Elorine Grant, who designed the inside of the book. Geraldine Stroud and Sam White, who are in charge of publicity. Paul Stevens, my literary agent at Independent. Tanya Brennand-Roper, who produces the audio versions of my books. Finally, of course, a huge thank you to Mrs Barbara Stoat, who writes all my books for me. I do hope you enjoy this one. I haven’t read it myself so I have absolutely no clue as to what it’s about. David Walliams But there’s even more. You can watch Grandpa's Great Escape, Mr Stink, Gangsta Granny and The Boy in the Dress on DVD. And have you listened to all of the books on audio too - hilariously read by David Walliams himself! And not forgetting that Ratburger, Demon Dentist and Awful Auntie have all won the National Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year. Not only that, but The Ice Monster won ‘Children’s Fiction Book of the Year for 2018’ at the British Book Awards! As if all that wasn’t enough, lots of bigwig reviewers have compared him to Mr Funny Books himself, Roald Dahl. Make sure you don’t miss David’s newest book… MEGA MONSTER!!

Awful Auntie by David Walliams | Open Library

infant day and night for weeks, but no trace of him was ever found. Alberta was twelve when her baby brother disappeared. Nothing in the house was ever the same again. It was not just that little Herbert was gone, it was the not knowing what had happened to him that hurt his parents the most. Of course they still had Chester (Stella’s father), but the pain of losing their beautiful baby boy never left them. The case became one of the great unsolved mysteries of the age. Wild theories swirled around the baby’s disappearance. The young Alberta swore she had heard howling outside on the lawn that night. The girl was convinced a wolf had taken her baby brother in the dead of night. However, no wolves were found within a hundred miles of Saxby Hall. Soon this theory became just one of many. Some supposed that a visiting circus troupe had kidnapped Herbert, and disguised him as a clown. Others believed that the infant had somehow climbed out of his cot and crawled out of the house. Most unlikely of all was the suspicion some had that the boy had been spirited away by a gang of evil elves. None of this wild speculation helped bring Herbert home. Years passed. Life went on, though not for Herbert’s mother and father. The night of the Peg him to the washing line and let him dangle there all afternoon. – Chop down a tree while he was climbing it. The ending was just a bit too dramatic and too much for me. I had hoped for something else, but instead even the ending had to be silly and weird like the rest of the book. It was also a bit disgusting.

Choose a background theme

Iron the plants. – Water the sofa. – Bang a gong in the middle of the night to announce, “Dinner is served.” Someone bought Celyn this book in hardcover. It looks to be if not a fat book then at least not slender. Inside along with a font large enough to be seen from space, and frequent illustrations (no bad thing, though Celyn can't see them) there is one tactic used over and over to pad the thing out. or light, and an old Rolls Royce they could barely afford to run. Through his considerable charm Chester, now Lord Saxby, just managed to keep the angry bank manager in London at bay. When Stella was born he was determined that his daughter would one day inherit this great house, as he had from his father. Of course his sister Alberta had shown she couldn’t be trusted with Saxby Hall, so Chester made sure his wishes were crystal clear in his will. The Will of Lord Saxby of Saxby Hall. I, Lord Chester Mandrake Saxby, do hereby leave the family home, Saxby Hall, to my daughter Stella Amber Saxby. In the event of Stella’s untimely passing, the house should be sold and all the money given to the poor. It is my express wish that my sister, Alberta Hettie Dorothea Pansy Colin Saxby, should not inherit the house, as she will only gamble it away playing tiddlywinks. To ensure this does not happen, the deeds of ownership to Saxby Hall have been concealed in the house, somewhere my sister Alberta will never ever find them. Signed the day of Monday 1st of January 1921 Lord Chester Mandrake Saxby Despite all this Chester was always kind to his sister. When Lord and Lady Saxby died and he eventually inherited Saxby Hall from his parents, he was determined to look after the old place as best he could. The new Lord Saxby loved the house as much as his parents always had. But because Chester was by nature such a generous man he gave the family’s huge treasure trove of silver and jewels to his sister Alberta. Altogether it was worth thousands and thousands of pounds. However, within a short while, the woman had lost it all. That’s because Alberta had a dangerous obsession. Tiddlywinks. It was a very popular game at the time. Tiddlywinks was played with a pot and different sized discs or ‘winks’.