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

32 replies

SorchaMumsnet · 17/07/2017 11:42

Are your kids looking for a hilarious read this summer? The Bolds on Holiday - the wild new adventure from comedian and author Julian Clary - is for you.

In the latest book in The Bolds series, the hairiest family in Teddington decide to take a well-earned seaside break. But it's never long before trouble sniffs these hyenas out, and soon they have to track down one of their own who has been mistaken for a pup and snatched by an evil dognapper. But can they save the day, without letting the cat out of the bag…?

We ask all winners to share their child’s thoughts about the book on this discussion thread. Everyone who gives detailed feedback on The Bolds on Holiday by midday, Wednesday 20 September will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Love2shop voucher.

Buy the book on Amazon

This giveaway is sponsored by Andersen Press

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Find out what Mumsnetters' children thought of The Bolds on Holiday by Julian Clary
OP posts:
WeatherMaker · 17/07/2017 16:13

I just bought a copy of this last week. My DC love The Bolds - have read the first and second. Perfect summer holiday reading for us :)

MerrilyWatkins · 20/07/2017 19:45

I read the first book to my Yr 3 class. They loved it!

barricade · 18/08/2017 22:42

Many thanks to Mumsnet / Andersen Press for a copy of this book, which arrived yesterday.

"The Bolds On Holiday" is a light, fun & humorous read. The book is presented in an appealing way, with a brightly illustrated, embossed-titled cover, and crisp, cartoon illustrations by David Roberts. The book uses other gimmicks like changing text fonts and black page backgrounds for night-time adventures, as well as constant jokes throughout. Similar to books like "The Legend of Frog” and “Bear Grylls”, these design elements significantly enhance the reading experience.

The stories in this series take the tried-and-tested concept of the slightly odd family who constantly experience things going wrong and / or continually attract trouble. The difference in this case is that the family are actually animals - hyenas to be precise - who disguise and pass themselves off as human beings. In "The Bolds On Holiday", the family head off to Cornwall for Summer camping and seaside break. However, one of their party goes missing, and they eventually learn he’s possibly a kidnap victim. Can the remaining Bolds hatch and carry out an effective plan of rescue, without revealing their true identities?

The text itself is, at times, immature - but in a good way. After all, there's no doubt that this book is intended for adolescents, containing the sophomoric humour of modern-day kids. The third book in the series, the story is great for young readers of both genders.

Smile
countingdown · 19/08/2017 10:01

Thank you for sending this. We listened to, and enjoyed, the first Bolds book a few weeks ago during a very long car journey so I'm looking forward to reading it to my children.

catchyjem · 21/08/2017 15:11

Just received my copy, thanks. I'm going to read it with my 7 year old son. He likes the look of it so far, the cover is bright and colourful plus there are lots of little illustrations inside. We have also just been on holiday to the seaside so that has piqued his interest in it too.

cathisherwood · 22/08/2017 16:47

What a brilliant book. So surprised as I am not a Julian Clary fan. My young grandsons loved the corny jokes and the illustrations and the constantly changing formatting style kept them riveted throughout the whole story - love the black pages for the night time adventures. We will definitely be reading the books in the series that have passed us by and will look forward to the next episode in the Bold's family lfe

clopper · 24/08/2017 23:24

This is a great book for kids . It's really funny with an engaging storyline and I think it would be great fun to read aloud as a bedtime story. Lots of terrible jokes that DC love, probably most suited for ages 6 to 10. A good text to picture ratio which might engage more reluctant readers including a clever use of different fonts for words which makes it visually interesting, and I think would also help children to read aloud skilfully as it indicates where to emphasise words for effect.

NicHay · 27/08/2017 12:02

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!

busymummy0411 · 28/08/2017 14:44

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.

theresamustgo · 29/08/2017 15:20

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.

7flipper7 · 29/08/2017 19:39

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".

Starlight2345 · 04/09/2017 09:06

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

countingdown · 04/09/2017 17:03

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.

Lizard202 · 04/09/2017 20:49

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.

clopper · 04/09/2017 21:29

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.

cadizzy · 05/09/2017 11:10

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 !

GranAnn42 · 05/09/2017 11:21

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

Ladydepp · 06/09/2017 10:33

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!

Clawdy · 06/09/2017 16:45

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.

littleme96 · 07/09/2017 19:22

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.

Imfinehowareyou · 08/09/2017 09:38

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.

julie240967 · 09/09/2017 10:58

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.

CremeBrulee · 09/09/2017 11:05

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!

clopper · 12/09/2017 23:05

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.

jeapurs54 · 13/09/2017 11:45

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