Mr Stink

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The more Annabelle achieved, the more Chloe felt like a failure. Her parents spent most of their lives providing a chauffeur service for Annabelle’s-out-of school activities. Her schedule was exhausting even to look at. Monday 5 a.m. Swimming training 6 a.m. Clarinet lesson 7 a.m. Dance lesson: tap and contemporary jazz Mr Crumb: Chloe and Annabelle's father and Janet's husband. He fears his wife and is the only member of the Crumb family who is fond with Chloe at the start of the story

Walliams is a comical genius, as the book is not just an enjoyable read for young children but to be enjoyed by much older children like myself! I would definitely use this book during a Key Stage 2 literacy lesson. I would get children involved in a House of Commons type debate about homelessness on the streets of London and what they would do for homeless people if they were Prime Minister for the day. I had half a Lion bar earlier, you are welcome to make me an offer on the other half. I’ll take anything upwards of fifteen pence.” “I think I’ll just take a Crunchie, thanks, Raj.” “Buy seven Crunchie bars, you get an eighth Crunchie bar absolutely free!” “No thanks, Raj. I only want one.” She put the money down on the counter: thirty-five pence. Money well spent considering the nice feeling the chocolateThe new book by David Walliams is funny, thoughtful and quirkily written. Life for Chloe is pretty miserable thanks to her pretentious, controlling mother. To make matters worse her mother is completely preoccupied with her younger sister, Annabelle. Desperate to find someone who understands her, she befriends Mr Stink, the local tramp with a very questionable approach to hygiene! When Chloe invites him to live in her garden shed everyone’s life is changed forever. EDIT EDIT (2015) - Prince of Thorns has now also sold over 450,000 copies ... but probably still much fewer than Mr Stink :)

This book did get ridiculous but that's why I like David Walliams' books so much. His stories go in ridiculous directions but a good ridiculous, you know. It's unrealistic and far fetched, but undoubtedly entertaining and fun. His books are super entertaining to read and always have a bittersweet ending. Oh always with the bittersweet endings that makes my heart ache a little. 🥺 This is a similar read to Gangsta Granny, by the same author, which I preferred. Only this one is a tale about a girl, and instead of a relative she is spending time with a dirty old tramp. Mr Stink as everyone calls him, smells bad and has a small smelly dog, but is harmless and sits on the park bench every day. We see that the young girl's home life and school life is quite miserable, which is why she feels unwanted and friendless, much like the tramp in fact. This leads to some amusing adventures and even a visit to a TV studio. There is a warning not to talk to strangers or get into cars, but at the same time we see that homeless people are people who appreciate kindness and may have had bad fortune in life. The antiheroine of the tale is in fact the politically ambitious, social climbing mother, more so as she makes much of one daughter and forgets the other, while even her kind husband is reluctant to tell her about his problems. Imagine the telephone conversation between the Prime Minster and Mr. Stink. What might they say to each other?Chloe has lots of questions for Mr. Stink at the beginning of the story. Can you think of some more that you would like to ask him? It all starts when Chloe makes friends with Mr Stink, the local tramp. Yes, he smells a bit. But when it looks like he might be driven out of town, Chloe decides to hide him in the garden shed. Scratch ’n’ Sniff Mr. Stink stank. He also stunk. And if it is correct English to say he stinked, then he stinked as well. He was the stinkiest stinky stinker who ever lived. A stink is the worst type of smell. A stink is worse than a stench. And a stench is worse than a pong. And a pong is worse than a whiff. And a whiff can be enough to make your nose wrinkle. It wasn’t Mr. Stink’s fault that he stank. He was a tramp, after all. He didn’t have a home and so he never had the opportunity to have a proper wash like you and me. After a while the smell just got worse and worse. Here is a picture of Mr. Stink.

Think of some questions that you could ask the author about the story. Watch this short video clip from him: I could see this book being used the most within the KS2 age ranges (depending on reading ability). Just like Dahl's work, it would be great for imaginative/creative writing and also as individual reading development.

Mr Stink

The book was a recommendation from my 11 year old step son, who said that he thought the only books worth reading were written by David Walliams and I couldn’t argue with praise like that! Mr. Stink brushed his hands together. “Good riddance to bad rubbish,” he said. “Thanks,” murmured Chloe. “Not at all,” said Mr. Stink. “You mustn’t let bullies get you down.” “I’ll try,” said Chloe. “Nice to meet you Mr . . . . um . . . ” she began. Everyone called him Mr. Stink, but she didn’t know if he knew that. It felt rude to say it to his face. “Stink,” he said. “They call me Mr. Stink.” “Oh. Nice to meet you, Mr. Stink. I’m Chloe.” “Hello, Chloe,” said Mr. Stink. “You know, Mr. Stink,” said Chloe, “I still might go shopping. Do you need anything? Like a bar of soap or something?” “Thank you, my dear,” he replied. “But I have no use for soap. You see, I had a bath only last year. But I would love some sausages. I do adore a nice meaty sausage. . . .” Listen to the audiobook version of the story. Could you record your own version of the story, with expression, sound effects and music? Also, seeing the unlikely friendship between a child and a homeless person was unique and refreshing.

Annabelle Crumb: Chloe's 10-year-old sister who is a spiteful snob. Chloe's mother dotes on her. She is very athletic and musical. She wears her hair in bunches to bed. She takes part in many extra-curricular activities just to please her mother. Annabelle is also her mother's favorite. Now Chloe’s got to make sure no one finds out her secret. And speaking of secrets, there just might be more to Mr Stink than meets the eye- or the nose. Teaching Ideas and Resources: English But our little Chloe who is a sweet, caring, and sympathetic child, befriends Mr Stink and tries to help him. Chloe: an unhappy 12-year-old girl who has brown hair. She loves her father dearly but does not like her sister and mother. She is very lonely. She has no friends and dislikes Christmas. She doesn't like Mince pies, tinsel and that it never snows. The one thing Chloe loves is stories. Her only friend is Mr Stink. I think what makes the book quite special though, is that there are some quite serious morality issues within the book such as, prejudice and bullying. However they’re all written in such a way that children can easily understand and hopefully learn from.

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

We all went to see the show afterwards, and while it was a great performance (and for many the first time they'd ever been to the theatre), the book is of course a hundred times better! Thank you,” he said. “Unimaginable kindness, but I can’t take it, sorry.” Chloe was confused. “Why ever not?” she asked. “You are but a child. Five pounds? It’s too, too generous.” “I just thought—” “It’s really kind of you, but I’m afraid I can’t accept. Tell me, how old are you, young lady? Ten?” “TWELVE!” said Chloe loudly. She was a little short for her age, but liked to think she was grown-up in lots of other ways. “I’m twelve. Thirteen on January the ninth!” “Sorry, you’re twelve. Nearly thirteen. Go and buy yourself one of those new musical stereo discs. Don’t you worry about an old vagabond like me.” He smiled. There was a real twinkle in his eye when he smiled. “If it’s not too rude,” said Chloe, “can I ask you a question?” “Yes, of course you can.” “Well, I would love to know: Why do you live on a bench and not in a house like me?” Mr. Stink shuffled slightly and looked anxious. “It’s a long story, my dear,” he said. “Maybe I will tell you another day.” Chloe was disappointed. She wasn’t sure there would be another day. If her mother found out that she was even talking to this man, let alone offering him money, she would go stark raving mad. “Well, sorry for bothering you,” said Chloe. “Have a lovely day.” As the You might think that Chloe was worried because her math work wasn’t up to scratch. But that wasn’t quite it. The problem was, Chloe’s math book didn’t have any math in it! The book was supposed to be full of boring numbers and equations, but instead it was positively overflowing with colorful words and pictures. Spending so much time alone had turned Chloe’s imagination into a deep dark forest. It was a magical place to escape to, and so much more thrilling than real life. Chloe had used the exercise book to write a story about a girl who is sent to a school (loosely based on her own) where all the teachers are secretly vampires. She thought it was much more exciting than boring equations, but Mother clearly didn’t agree. “If it is your mathematics book, why does it contain this repulsive horror story?” said Mother. This was one of those questions to which you aren’t supposed to give an answer. “No wonder you did so poorly on your mathematics exam. I imagine you have spent the time in class writing this . . . this drivel. I am Use publishing software to create the leaflets / posters that Chloe’s mum uses to persuade people to vote for her as a Member of Parliament. Some of my kids asked if the parallels between Chloe's mother and Donald Trump were intentional, and while we all had a great laugh at the brilliance of that observation, I must admit we began to see the implications of each character's actions in a sometimes more serious light.