Find out what Mumsnetters' children thought of The Bolds on Holiday by Julian Clary

My husband and 7 year old daughter have read the other Bold books together and were very excited to get started with this one. They were not disappointed. My daughters favourite part was Mr Bold's jokes and found them hilarious. Fab bright cover which draws the eye when on the book shelf. Looking forward to the next one now.

A funny, easy to read book, enjoyed by my 11 and 9 year olds and me. It would probably appeal to younger children too. The front cover is bright and colourful and there are plenty of great illustrations by David Roberts, who illustrates the Dirty Bertie books. Lots of silly but funny jokes made it a great read for the summer holidays. We would definitely be interested in reading the other books in the series.

Both DC (DD 12; DS 9) read the book and found it hilarious. They particularly appreciated the humour, especially the humour that comes from misidentification of animals and having to pretend to be something you are not. there was the right mix of downright ridiculous and corny jokes and much more elaborate humour. It is written in a jolly style and the DCs could not put it down, once they started. They both love the little jokes that pepper the writing and the older one thought that there were a lot of jokes that were a bit more subtle and grown-up and that the author had a lot of fun writing it. . The humour is reinforced well by the illustrations and by the lively way that the font changes and helps direct the reading. It was a good development on from the first book, and could stand alone, but probably better to read the first one for background, or just because that is very good too.

Thank you for the book. My little boy has mild autism so it has taken us a while to get through the book . I was a bit worried about Julian Clary as he is famous for smutty innuendos. However while this book is silly and naughty it is all done in a very innocent childlike way. Somehow Mr Clary manages to get on the the level of a child and transport them into a world of silliness and fun.
My son laughed all they way through this book. He loved the comic style pictures it is very reader friendly inside and perfect for children who find reading difficult. My boy is 8 and doesn't have a sophisticated mature sense of honour so this was right up his street . Some times my five year old joined in listening but i don't think he fully understood it. My little lad took ages to get through the book. His 10 year old sister read all it last night she was it was very similar to David Walliams style of books and she is a massive fan of his.

All in all I would say this book was a hit and i would certainly look for more in this series . Julian Clary has certainly gone up in my option of him as a writer. Thank you for a very enjoyable time spend with my son reading and taking about this book.

I read this book to my 7 year old son. We both really enjoyed it. We haven't read the other "Bolds" books but it doesn't matter, the story stands on its own. My son particularly liked Miranda the monkey and the funny things she said. Some of the content went right over his head but he found it funny and enjoyed it all the same. I thought it was very well written and made really good use of language (it really exceeded my expectations!) The pace was just right for 1 chapter a night for my son. The illustrations were nice and use of different fonts, interesting. We will definitely be looking out for other Julian Clary books in the library!

Thank you so much for the complimentary copy of 'The Bolds' - my daughter was very excited when I told her a copy was on the way (she loved the first two books). It's more of the same mixture of comedy and mishaps in the latest installment, with Julian Clary's array of humourous characters holidaying in Cornwall. The latest title in the series employs a more back-to-basics approach, following the last book that introduced a plethora of new characters. It's essentially the same characters from the first book, plus a few new ones (such as the puffin with the west country accent), and my daughter and I have enjoyed reading about their latest adventures...plus of course the jokes that are peppered throughout (some very funny, some cringeworthy!)

I was fortunate to win this for my grandaughter - this was her response.

This book is hilarious and a page turner,also one of the main characters is a comedian.
I would recommend it 8 and over.

Another amazing book by Julien Clary!

In this book the Bolds go on holiday,but one of them goes missing!
Will they be able to find him or not? Read this book to see what happens.

A What do you get if you cross an elephant and a fish ?
B Swimming trunks!

From Isabella

I thought this book was great and am now rereading it to my class of 9 year olds and they love it too. The story is about a family of hyenas who disguise themselves as humans and have different adventures, including having one of their children dog napped. The evil Villain is a fantastic creation (along the lines of a Roald Dahl or David Walliams type baddie). I love the way the font changes for certain words as it can give children clues about where to emphasise certain words for humour and effect when reading aloud (it also helps me!) The illustrations are detailed and a good size, we all particularly liked the hat designed for sports day. I would definitely read another book in this series as it feels like a fresh and original idea.

Didn't get a copy from the giveaway but my DS10 loves 'The Bolds' and has all the books in the series. He read through the latest very quickly indeed but it's such a joy to see him enjoy a book so much and hear him laugh out loud whilst reading.

More please!

My 10 year old son Joshua thoroughly enjoyed this book,he found it extremely funny. It came in very handy as an exciting read for him during the school holidays.

Thanks for our copy. The book is really attractive and thick (love a big book!). We haven't come across The Bolds before and love the concept of hyenas in disguise. The illustrations are fab. DD aged 7 is happy to have this as a bedtime story or read by herself. We will seek out more by Julian Clary.

Thank you so much for our copy. Both children (age 6 and 8) enjoyed the story - and the silly jokes!

They enjoyed the story and the pictures, which broke up the text nicely. The story was quirky and they enjoyed reading something lighthearted and funny.

We will definitely be hunting out the other books in the series too.

My eight year old grandson loves comics, and has been reading them, and old comic annuals, all summer. When I was sent a copy of Julian C's book, I gave it to him, and he read it from cover to cover in two days, to his parent's delight! He was bereft when he finished it, so they bought him the first Bolds book, which he loved as well. Lovely to see him reading books, and not just comics.

My daughter is 10 and I think she found the Bolds on Holiday a little on the young side for her, but she did find some of the jokes very funny.

The drawings really add to the story.

Dd recommends that children read the first book before any subsequent books.

Thank you for the free copy!

Received my copy and will share it with my grandchildren. The cover is bright and colourful and there are lots of illustrations.

The Bolds on Holiday by Julian Clary. At first dismissed by Tom 9 and Francesca 11 as too young for them, both later had a change of heart. They loved the jokes and the fun way it was written but it was the more astute Francesca who said its use of words and hidden meanings made it suitable for older readers. Not that she had heard of Julian Clary but she could see more than the obvious. It was a hit after reading the jokes !

Thanks for including us in this giveaway. We found the story great fun and the illustrations added to the fun. This is a great book to read aloud together or independently. The changing fonts of key words help to show where to emphasise words for humour and effect when reading aloud. 5 stars awarded in our house.

Thank you for sending out this book, my 8 year old DS has enjoyed it so far and has liked the "silly parts". The language is pitched at a level he can comfortably read himself and is his favourite bedtime reading now.

I've been reading this book to my children (aged 8 & 7) and we have all thoroughly enjoyed it. Not quite finished it yet, but have loved what we have read so far. We listened to The Bolds audiobook at the start of Summer and thought the narration by Julian Clary was fantastic, but whilst reading the book aloud I could hear his voice reading it (if that makes any sense!) The illustrations and the different fonts used for the words make it a visually appealing book to read. My boys have particularly enjoyed the jokes which pop up on many of the pages. Thanks for sending us this book, we would definitely recommend it to others with similarly aged children.

This is a book review written by my 10 year old DS.

My book review on "The Bolds on holiday".

The Bolds are an ordinary looking family with one abnormally secret to hide...

The story is about Bobby who hurts his leg at sports day on the long jump. So they have to go to the vets. They go to the seaside for there holiday. Uncle Tony and Miranda go surfing and they are pros at it. Something fishy is going on. Bobby gets stolen by a mysterious woman can they save Bobby before time runs out or is it to late.
The main characters are Bobby, Mr and Mrs Bold, Uncle Tony and The mysterious dognapper.

My favourite character is Bobby as he is very funny even though Mr. bold writes jokes for a living

My least favourite character is the evil dognapper as she is very cruel to the dogs.
I think that this book is very good nothing wrong about it
The best thing about this book is the jokes as they are hilarious
I would give this book a rating of 5 star out of 5

Tester: When I gave the book to my son his first impressions were "a really cool cover which felt nice". He said the "illustrations and colour of the book enticed him to want to read it". On opening the book my son couldn't put it down and wanted to keep reading. He said it was "really interesting, the characters were silly and the drawings helped bring the story to life. The best bit was when he had to go to the vet and had to pretend to be a dog but wasn't very good at it".

Oh this book has caused such misery! The children love it and keep stealing it off each other to read. It is apparently really funny, a good development on from the first one and unputdownable. Will update more later.

6 year old DD enjoyed this very much. It is light and funny and she has asked for other similar ones. The illustrations and fonts are great.

My 9 year old found it really funny. Even though she had other books on the go for the library summer reading challenge she put those aside to read this - high praise from my daughter who often reads several books at once!