It seems that a young couple went to Africa on their honeymoon. They decided to take a dip in a pond, so took off their clothes and jumped in. Unfortunately, a hungry crocodile came by and ate them. A pair of hyenas came by. They thought it might be fun to go to England. They already knew how to speak English by listening to the various visitors on safari who had passed by. So, they put on the clothes of the honeymooners—being sure to keep their tales tucked out of site, and their furry ears covered with hats—, took their passports, and headed off to adventures in England.

Obviously, this is a kids' book, complete with very many adorable illustrations. The Bolds have to work hard to fit in, but do manage to do so. They have a pair of children who mostly manage to go to English schools without causing too much alarm. Their main problem is the crabby neighbor who spies on them at all hours of the day and night. Mr. Bold gets a job writing jokes, which then go into Christmas crackers, so the book is full of truly pathetic, corny jokes. Well, hyenas laugh a lot, so of course they like jokes—the good, bad, and the ugly—even after hearing them several dozen times.

Well, I won't give the plot away, but it's quite a fun book. I think it might be most popular with 8- to 10-year old boys because it also contains lots of mild, scatological humor. Anyway, many adults will also find this a very fun read, especially those of us who find themselves sitting in a doctor's office waiting for skin-cancer surgery, and need a great escape from reality.

Thoroughly enjoyed - I read this while giggling with a huge smile on my face. This *might* be a children’s book, but between the illustrations and the story, this book brought me so much joy - definitely my sense of humor.

Aug 2019 - read The Bolds to 6-year-old Violet before we saw Julian Clary and David Roberts at Book Festival. This time I had someone else to giggle with me! Such a satisfying story in the way it comes together. I’m excited to share the rest of the series with her.

Some of the tropes are a little tired, but overall, a delightfully fun and silly book I needed right now.

My kids would probably give this 5 stars. I'm gonna go with 4. Fun and original, if a tad ridiculous at times.

Hmm a tad boring but also i think kids will love it, just a tad too much for me.

Etätyökirja, luettu töitä varten.

Edelleen 2. luokan vinkkikirjoja luen. Tämä oli aika pitkähkö, eli vaatii jo hyvän lukutaidon ja keskittymiskykyä. Mutta sen verran höpsö ja kuvilla höystetty, että sopii kyllä 2.-3. luokkalaisille hyvin.

Tarina on ihan hauska - miten ihmisiä esittävät hyeenat selviävät elämästään Lontoossa? Naapurin äreä ukko tuntuu olevan vähän liian utelias ja perheen lapsille sattuu kaikenlaisia kömmähdyksiä koulussa, kun he yrittävät olla ihmisiksi. Ihmisenä oleminen ei ole niin helppoa.

Paljon huumoria, mutta myös sekaan ujutettu ajatus erilaisuudesta ja erilaisuuden hyväksymisestä.

Itseäni kuitenkin korpesi, kun kirjassa hyeenat olivat Afrikasta, jota kuvailtiin koko ajan kuin se olisi yksi maa. Tässä kirjassa yhdistetään villieläimet Afrikkaan ja villieläimet, jotka yrittävät Lontoossa elää kuten muut. En oikein pitänyt tästä mielleyhtymästä. Ja tosiaan, kirjassa siis puhutaan Afrikasta ja Lontoosta rinnakkain näin: "Lontoossa ei niin kuuma kuin Afrikassa". Vaatisin vähän enemmän lastenkirjalta, vaikka tarinan pointti onkin muualta, niin tässä kutistetaan Afrikka ja afrikkalaisuus juuri niin, kun on vuosia tehty. Argh.

En itse ottaisi välttämättä vinkkikirjaksi, mutta helpohko tätä varmaan on vinkata. Afrikka-juttua laskematta kelpo kirja.

Rather decent book for kids. The premise is absolutely silly, but should work well with the kids. There's some hidden point to the book about immigration and living paperless, but it's all well hidden underneath the crazy stuff the Bolds do. With all the jokes and butts and whatnot, I expect the kids to like this a lot.

Julian Clary gives us the Bolds a story about a pair of hyenas masquerading as humans in the UK. Complete with numerous dad jokes and somewhat awkward and yet hilarious jokes and set ups, this is the first in a series, of course, and takes Clary into a new path in his career, perhaps he was getting too old for flamboyance so he put it all into a book!!