Eleven-year-old Willy Waggledagger is on the road with his troupe of players, including the gruff, rotund and hairy Yorick, when the King of the Faeries stops the caravan in its tracks, demanding help to re-capture the famed gold belt supposedly snaffled from the King by Queen Elizabeth. By another amazing coincidence, the King is actually the brother of Yorick (only possibly hairier).
Tricked into helping this wing-wearing nutbag reclaim the golden belt, the King offers them some love potion to help smooth the way, and the troupe enters the palace under the guise of performing their latest play.
But reclaiming the belt doth not goeth smoothly. When the love potion is mistakenly gulped down by the Queen, Yorick, page boys and all manner of hangers-on, you can only imagine the amorous chaos that ensues.
Clever, witty, funny and totally bonkers, this story will attract both boys and girls - and also the odd parent or 678, for its riotous attempt at making sense of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Illustrations by Brisbane native Rogers, beautifully round out this fun series of books. Any excuse to expose kids to Shakespeare, I say - even if it is via the stylings of a bumbling eleven-year-old boy in pantaloons.
Title: Willy Waggledagger: A Belt Around My Bum
Author: Martin Chatterton
Illustrator: Gregory Rogers
Publisher: Little Hare, A$14.99RRP
Publication Date: November 2009
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781921272981
For ages: 7 - 12
Type: Junior Fiction
Also in this series:
By the Picking of My Nose
Coming soon: To Chew or Not to Chew
This book is available online
