Celebrate a decade of laughter and adventure with this awesome new edition of David Baddiel’s first kids’ book.

Barry Bennett hates being called Barry. In fact, it’s number 2 on the list of things he blames his parents for, along with 1) ‘being boring’ and 3) ‘always being tired’. 

In David Baddiel’s hilarious and heartwarming book The Parent Agency, Barry finds himself in a world where children are allowed to pick their perfect parents… but who will he choose? Find out in this special 10th anniversary edition, which includes a new introduction, two side-splitting new chapters and SONGS. Awesome! 

Available from all good bookshops and online retailers now!

Ask David!

NGK readers ask David Baddiel their burning questions…

What was your favourite book as a child? 

The Billy Bunter books, which I read avidly, despite them being very old. My mum was a collector of old books and used to give them to me. 

How many stars are there that we know of in the universe? 

Seventeen. I’m sure about this. 

How long did it take you to write The Parent Agency, and what was the hardest part of the book to write?

About a year. The hardest bit in any book is normally about halfway through when you think “How am I going to end this?” 

Which of your book characters were you most like as a child or as a grown-up now? 

I’m a bit like the central child, who is always a boy or a girl aged about ten or 11. In The Parent Agency that would of course be Barry. The reason I say this is that even though I am old, inside I still feel about ten or 11

What important advice would you give to someone who wants to become an author like you in the future? 

Read a lot, and then forget everything you’ve read and go with your own ideas

Are any of the characters in The Parent Agency based on people you know?

I don’t like to say. But yes.

Did your experience with your own parents inspire The Parent Agency? Are they anything like Barry’s real parents? 

A little bit, yes. I do remember as a kid sometimes wishing that I could live in other kids’ houses with their mums and dads – mainly because they always seemed to have nicer food than us.

What were you scared of as a child? 

Spiders. I still am. 

What is your favourite Jewish meal? 

Matzo brei. (For any non-Jews, matzos are the cracker-like unleavened flatbreads that Jews eat at passover. Cut up and fried with egg and onion, they’re matzo brei.) 

Thanks for answering our readers’ questions, David!

WIN FULL SET OF DAVID BADDIEL BOOKS
Click here to find out how to enter!

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COMMENTS

  • Tigereye42

    I love David Baddiel's books so much!

  • Melody

    I would love to read some of David baddiels books if I win I might even bring some into school so I can show my friends

  • Nora

    I think he blames his parents for being boring (letter B basically)❤️

  • Ami

    Love Baddiel

  • betenHix

    thanks, interesting read

  • Stevendwepe

    interesting post

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