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Billionaire Boy by David Walliams with illustrations by Tony Ross

Joe has a lot of reasons to be happy; in fact he has about a billion of them. His dad is rich and buys Joe anything he wants. But Joe isn’t happy. He might be rich in terms of money but poor in terms of friends, in fact where friends are concerned he is bankrupt.

He might be rich, but because he comes from new money, and his father gets it from selling toilet paper, even the other rich kids look down on him and bully him. He decides that rather than going to his posh school (St Cuthbert’s) he wants to attend the local comprehensive as he feels he will have more luck making friends there.

It doesn’t take him long to make a new friend, as on his first day he meets Bob, a boy who is made fun of because of his weight and sees Joe as someone like himself. How long can Joe keep his wealth hidden though, and what will happen to their friendship if Bob finds out? Joe also finds out that bullies can exist even in a poor school. The comp school’s bullies are the Grubb twins and they are always picking on his new friend. Joe comes up with a plan to get the twins off the boy’s back and that will mean he and Bob will be best friends.

This hilarious book shows that some things are more important than money, like friendship. It also shows that money can’t buy happiness and that the more you have, the harder you are to please.

Also Joe's father shows the difference between having money and having class. He does things just because he thinks it is what rich people do, even though he doesn’t like it. He shows off his money but has no class. The result is a very entertaining tale for those aged nine and older, which shows that money isn’t everything and you can have all the wealth in the world and be not just unhappy but lonely as well.

RRP $24.99
Published and distributed by HarperCollins Publishers

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