Hilarious and bawdy, slightly reminiscent of Roald Dahl but a bit ruder and more grown-up. Binge drinking, retail addiction and recreational drug use are just a few of the vices that James Landale touches upon. Deliciously wicked humour, I absolutely loved it. You certainly don't need to be a regular poetry reader to appreciate this collection.
Meet Gloria, a young shopaholic who learns the value of money the hard way (Moral: "If you shop until you drop / One day the trust fund will stop"); or Jonathan, who picks more than his nose (Moral: "Orificial exploration / Is but good in moderation").
In the tradition of Hilaire Belloc, James Landale presents a gallery of awful children doing beastly - but very modern - things. The perils of video games, text messaging and retail therapy are all laid before the reader, with appropriately unsettling illustrations.
James Landale is an experienced journalist who is currently the Chief Political Correspondent for BBC News 24. Before joining the BBC in January 2003, he spent ten years working at The Times, most recently as Assistant Foreign Editor. He lives in London.
