Review of ‘Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables’

The class in room 12B has a new teacher, and nothing is ever going to be the same . . . 

The very best school based stories resonate with children and teachers alike and the ‘Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables’ series by Tim Harris (illustrated by James Hart) nail the genre.

These books have been amongst the favourites with students from Year Four – Six this year and word seems to be organically spreading amongst the ‘kids in the know’ as I’m having lots of conversations with students that go something like, ‘Mrs Daley? {insert random name here} said I’d really like Mr Bambuckles but they are all out again so can I put one on reserve?’. I’ve asked PudStar to review the series so far as she absolutely devoured the first book and then *impatiently* waited for the second in the series. From my perspective, they are a clever mix of old and new; the tried and true setting of a school, with a side serve of modern teaching techniques (app building and drone making) and a strong message to walk your own path and embrace difference and quirkiness.

Click on title links or cover images to purchase. 

Take it away Pud…

 “The fifteen students of room 12B straggled in after the bell to find their new teacher balancing on a unicycle, on top of a desk.”

‘Mr Bambuckle’s’ is a great book about a class in room 12B with an extra-ordinary teacher. He has a unique way of teaching his class which causes some problems between him and the headmaster. He is not magical but there is a weird mystery about him. The book is full of mini stories (narratives) with lots of problems and complications but in the end they all get solved, but in a rather clever way. The illustrations by James Hart are really funny and have lots of details. I have chosen three quotes from the first book which I like.

 “…too often we talk about ordinary things in school. So, I’ve decided we are not going to talk about ordinary things at all. We are going to talk about extraordinary things instead.”

I reckon this book is for ages 8+ because 7 year olds might not understand the language unless their teacher read it to them and explained it. Mummy told me that Tim Harris is a teacher and I don’t think he would’ve been able to write this book is he didn’t teach because it seems too real.

I think the message of this series is to be yourself, enjoy school and be a little crazy sometimes. The first book ends on a cliffhanger so make sure you have book two ready to start immediately.

 ‘…I have a dream that the children of today should find their true passions and follow them. Too often we teach children to think a certain way, when all along their minds are wired for something completely different.’ 

You can read more about Tim Harris here on his website and there are some some video interviews. There is also a really interesting interview here on James Hart and his illustrations. The images below is from this interview.

The James Hart process in action with Evie Nightingale.
Image Credit: http://www.timharrisbooks.com/meet-james-hart/