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La Increíble Historia De... La Abuelita Gánster (2011)

by David Walliams(Favorite Author)

4.17 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

6073118562 (ISBN13: 9786073118569)

languge

English

genre

Humor

publisher

Montena México

review 1: Written in a similar style to Roald Dahl's many children's books, David Walliams has attempted to recreate the humour and imaginative story telling that is found in books like James and the Giant Peach and Matilda, but without reaching the same heights as Dahl. There are similar themes of a dysfunctional family and a main character that has few friends his own age who fails to fit in socially and goes on an adventure that makes him reevaluate and become more accepting of his situation. This isn't to say that Gangsta Granny is a poor book, it is funny in places and as it is set in modern surroundings, it could therefore be perceived as more relevant to children in comparison to most classic children's books. The main protagonist is an 11 year old boy called Ben. His parents... more are impervious towards him and dump him with his boring Granny every Friday night. He dreams of being a plumber but his parents are appalled by his choice of vocation and want him to be a dancer instead. He struggles to deal with all the adults in his life because they're always telling him off and not listening to him. However, everything changes when he discovers that his Granny is an international jewel thief. He no longer dreads having to stay with his 'boring' Granny every week as she tells him about all her exciting adventures and they plan one last job together: to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. Through their experience, Ben learns that his parents do actually care for him and that he should chase his dream to become a plumber and most importantly, that elderly people are interesting and should be treated with respect. This is undoubtedly aimed at upper KS2 students as the character Ben is 11 years old and he deals with many issues relevant to children of his age such as family problems. The text is large and the chapters short, which makes the book easily accessible and the illustrations are amusing and plentiful. The text could push students in places as there is vocabulary that 9-11 year olds may not be familiar with, such as hospice, prejudice and despondent. However, the new words are generally well placed and given a great deal of context, sometimes Walliams will even break the story as a narrator to explain what certain words mean. Due to its near 300 pages, I would use this book mainly for independent reading although I would also point out that a reasonable level of detail is given about the Tower of London so potentially that passage where they break into the Tower could be used if that topic arose in a history project.
review 2: I have to admit, I was a little disappointed in this book. Having seen David Walliams in Little Britain and enjoying his recent picture book, "the slightly annoying elephant", I thought I would give his children's novel a go, particularly since his writing is often touted as Dahl-esque. This is a story about a boy and his Granny, both of whom appear to be lumbered with each other every Friday night while the boy's ballroom dancing fanatic parents indulge in their interests. Granny is your stereotypical boring, cabbage smelling old Nanna and her Grandson, a pre-teen plumber aspiring kid, who doesn't want to spend time with his Granny, until he learns that she is an international jewel thief, and so the story goes, and together they concoct a plan to steal the ultimate prize - the Crown Jewels; a plan that ultimately draws them closer together.Sadly, it is not up to par with Dahl at all. There were some funny moments, but not enough. More importantly, there was not enough humanity in the story to make one care about the characters. On a side note, I don't think any of the claimed Dahl-esque authors have ever come close to the brilliance of the original. less

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