Listen to a sample
The Book of Not Entirely Useful Advice
- Narrator
- A.F. Harrold
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Publish Date
- 3 September 2020
- Run Time
- 1 hour 48 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
Not available in your country
We don't have the rights to sell this audiobook where you are. If it's already in your library you can still listen to it in My Books.
What to expect
A riotous celebration of words and a modern take on cautionary tales – featuring advice on parrots, gravy, mathematics, castles (bouncy), spiders, vegetables (various), breakfast, cakes, and removing ducks from soup.
Advice comes in many shapes.
Poems come in many shapes.
And so, it follows, poems of advice come in many shapes too.
Sometimes they look you in the eye and say, ‘Do this! Don’t do that!’
Sometimes they sidle up beside you and whisper, ‘Have you ever thought about … ?’
Not everything in this book is necessarily good advice, and not all of it is sensible advice. (But if you take the bad or un-sensible advice and don’t follow it, then it may become useful advice in its own way.)
Packed with silly rhymes, witty wordplay and thought-provoking story poems, this collection will delight children of all ages.
Critics Review
-
Amusingly formal... vibrantly colored illustrations.
Horn Book Magazine
-
[A] generous poetry collection...Grey’s illustrations capture the freewheeling spirit of the poems
Booklist, starred review
-
This is young fiction of the very best quality, showcasing inspiration, inventiveness and an intoxicating passion for storytelling. The Imaginary has the potential to be a family favourite and a future classic
Booktrust on THE IMAGINARY
-
A lovely collection of poems that play with language […] The illustrations are integral to a lot of the poems, and are Mini Grey's usual wonderful, detailed and hilarious style.
NetGalley Reviewer
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
A hilariously daft, fantastically funny and beautifully illustrated book. This book of super silly poems (or very important advice depending on how you look at it) really brightened up our bedtime reading. [...] I’m sure this book would be a favourite of families who love to have a giggle and get silly!
NetGalley Reviewer
-
This beautifully bonkers book is a wonder to behold. Expertly crafted, dizzying in its imaginative range and deliciously absurd, The Book of Not Entirely Useful Advice is inspiring, uplifting, touching and very very very funny.
Kate Wakeling
-
The Book Of Not Entirely Useful Advice is proper fun; it’s not just slightly fun in some parts, all of it is about as much fun as it could possibly be. If there are any teachers left who think the point of poetry is to do children good, like broccoli, this is the book to change their mind … a comic tour de force which will be adored by children and, I would like to bet, very many grown ups.
Kate Milner
-
From singing lunchboxes to birthday surprises, A F Harrold’s collection is a delightfully eclectic cornucopia of wonderful, wacky weirdness
Joshua Siegal
-
Mix AF Harrold’s words
with Mini Grey’s illustrations,
and stand well back.
This book fizzes with inventiveness
and there’s nothing
you can do about it.Philip Ardagh
-
a wonder – funny, inspiring, full of surprises and a delight to share with young readers
Books for Keeps
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- A.F. Harrold, illustrated by Mini Grey
- Narrator
- A.F. Harrold
- Duration
- 1 hour 48 minutes
- Release Date
- 3 September 2020
- ISBN
- 9781526629869
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Genre
- Children’s / Teenage: Poetry / poems, Children’s / Teenage: Chapter books (transitional storybooks), Children’s / Teenage fiction: Humorous stories, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Life skills and choices, Children’s / Teenage: Gift and novelty books / items
Synopsis
Bloomsbury presents The Book of Not Entirely Useful Advice written and read by A.F. Harrold.A riotous celebration of words and a modern take on cautionary tales – featuring advice on parrots, gravy, mathematics, castles (bouncy), spiders, vegetables (various), breakfast, cakes, and removing ducks from soup.Advice comes in many shapes. Poems come in many shapes. And so, it follows, poems of advice come in many shapes too. Sometimes they look you in the eye and say, ‘Do this! Don’t do that!’ Sometimes they sidle up beside you and whisper, ‘Have you ever thought about … ?’Not everything in this book is necessarily good advice, and not all of it is sensible advice. (But if you take the bad or un-sensible advice and don’t follow it, then it may become useful advice in its own way.)Packed with silly rhymes, witty wordplay and thought-provoking story poems, this collection will delight children of all ages.
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.