By Guy Bass (author) , Steve May (illustrator)
"Wild and very funny adventures out west"
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March 2019 Book of the Month | Interest Age 8+ Reading Age 8
Guy Bass comes out all guns blazing in his latest comic adventure which features some typically wonderful characters – I particularly like Tad Tipsy the bartender and Precious Little the gold prospector. Centre stage is sheriff’s daughter Laura Norder and her arch enemy Duncan Disorderly, motto ‘No rules!’. In a spontaneous gesture he comes to regret, Laura’s dad makes her sheriff, but absolute power is no good for anyone and Laura’s obsession with imposing strict rules quickly makes her very unpopular with the townspeople of Butts Canyon.
It’s very funny indeed, but there are lessons for us all and a sly bit of political satire too. Yee haw!
Laura Norder lives her life by the Golden Rules and so should everybody else. But being Sheriff of Butts Canyon at the age of ten is a big job to handle, and when a no-good rule-breaking bandit causes chaos in the town, enough is enough! It's time for Laura to step up to the plate and catch the masked mischief-maker before he breaks any more of her rules!
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Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 8+
Guy Bass grew up dreaming of being a superhero – he even had a Spider-Man costume. The costume doesn't fit anymore, so Guy now contents himself with writing and drawing the occasional picture. He writes the Gormy Ruckles series for Scholastic UK, as well as the popular Dinkin Dings series for Stripes. In 2010, Dinkin Dings and the Frightening Things won a CBBC Blue Peter Book Award in the "Most Fun Story with Pictures" category. Guy lives in London with his wife.
A Q&A with the Author
Where did the idea for the Stitch Head series come from? I wanted to write a gothic monster / mad professor story. The initial idea was about two leftover body parts from the professor’s experiments - an arm and leg - which were alive, and understandably resented their lot! As it turns out, living limbs are considered a bit much for children’s fiction, and I was rightly asked to think again. Then I started to wonder how this mad professor got started. Maybe his first creation wasn’t all that monstrous or scary or impressive; maybe it had been forgotten, like an old toy, and longed to be remembered. I did a sketch of a little creature with stitches all over his face and things started to fall into place.
Apart from Stitch Head, who have been your favourite characters in the series? Arabella is fun to write. She became a major character almost by accident. She’s everything Stitch Head isn’t – rash, brash, and recklessly bold – and she approaches every problem by kicking it in the nose. The Creature is great when I want to give Stitch Head something to worry about. It always turns up at the right moment and does the wrong thing – the perfect storm of good intentions and terrible execution.
When you started the series did you know how many you would be writing? It was initially a one-book contract so I did sort of think that was that. I crammed so much into that first story, but ended up having to trim a lot. What I took out became the basis of the second book, and by the time I’d written that I had book three plotted, and so on.
Stitch Head has recently been voted by kids as one of the best Children’s books, how did this make you feel? Gobsmacked, incredulous and humbled, in that order. Everybody involved in Stitch Head put in heaps of work into it, so I’m so chuffed people like it. That vote meant a lot, especially as there was no shortlist. Bonkers. Plus, it was good to know all those bribes paid off.
Sadly this is the last book in the Stitch Head series, but do you have any other books coming? I don’t know how to spell a drum-roll, but I’m making the sound... my new series is called SPYnosaur. I’m really excited about it. It’s your classic secret-agent-gets-his-brainwaves-put-into-the-body-of-a-dinosaur-and-teams-up-with-his-daughter-to-battle-international-criminal-masterminds. With added monkeys.
1. Can you describe Noah Scape Can't Stop Repeating Himself in 5 words?
When Noah doubles there's trouble. When Noah doubles there's trouble. When Noah doubles there's trouble. When Noah doubles there's trouble. When Noah doubles there's trouble.
2. What was the inspiration for writing the book?
The name was the starting point. I wanted to write a "be careful what you wish for" story, with Noah deliberately deciding to start doubling but it soon spirals out of control to become a situation he can't escape. There is something appealing about the idea of there being one more of you, or four of you, or eight, or a hundred ... but when everyone's the same, it's a sadder world. At the beginning of the story, Noah's so set in his ways that he rejects other people's ideas and opinions but the more he duplicates, the more he realises that difference makes life interesting. Difference and dinosaurs.
3. You could say that Noah is a bit of a difficult student... What were you like at school? Were you as demanding as Noah?
I wish I had been - demanding, not difficult. I was really quiet at school. So quiet that I'm pretty sure I could have turned invisible and I pretty sure no one would have noticed. Which is just one of the two hundred super powers I wished I'd had as a child. I spent every school assembly daydreaming about floating into the air and out of the window. My memory's hazy but i'm almost convinced it never actually happened.
4. We love Steve's artwork and he's said he just might have broken the record for drawing the same character again and again and again! What version of Noah is your favourite?
It's an impressive record! My favourite's one of the (many) Noahs on page 51. He's far off in the background, holding a balloon and looking strangely sinister. Thanks to horror films it's now impossible to hold a balloon and not look evil.
5. Noah loves nothing more than talking about dinosaurs and eating spaghetti with tomato sauce. What two things do you wish everyone loved as much as you do?
Comic books and cheese fondue.
6. Finally, we'd love to see the spot where all your characters come to life. Can you show us a picture of where you write?
I should point out that my main problem with writing books is the isolation. As you can see, I found a solution - you're never alone with a thousand lifeless painted eyes staring down at you. Oddly, the toys on my shelves seem to have doubled recently. Maybe that's where the real inspiration for Noah Scape came from.
Photo credit Elizabeth Gibson
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This book is really funny and it also teaches you a lesson. Great fun!
The front cover and the name of this book made me want to read it straight away. I love the name of the main character, Laura Norder, and the name of the place where she lives, Butts Canyon, they both made me laugh. Lots of the characters in the book also have really funny names as well, like Jen Errol, the owner of the general store. This book is about a 10 year old girl who ends up running a bad guy out of town and then becomes the sheriff. This is great until she introduces her golden rules, which seem very good at the time. But then she keeps adding more and more and punishing people if they don’t follow them.... Read Full Review
Even when placed on a table, the book is just beckoning you to read it and many will find that temptation very hard to resist and soon you will find yourself settling down and having a read.
The book Laura Norder, Sheriff of Butts Canyon is a great option for those children who are just getting into more complex books but also for those who are unwilling to pick up a book and read it. It suits those types of people because of the size of the font makes it less intimidating and all of the great illustrations, not forgetting the brilliant way that the author has worded the book: not too hard to understand but also still enough complexity that just pushes this book that much better than all of the others out there.
Not only does this book make a great read for the unwilling, but also the other book lovers out there that are hungry for a good book to lighten the day.... Read Full Review
Interesting book about the 10-year-old Sheriff of Butts Canyon.
This is a amazing book because it shows why you shouldn’t be rude to people because you never know how bad they can feel. My favourite character is Laura because no matter while all people of Butts Canyon were trying for no rules, she never gave up in implementing her rules. It is interesting how the author gave such a well imaginative character that young children would dream of, ruling the town.... Read Full Review
Laura Norder lives her life by the Golden Rules and so should everybody else. But being Sheriff of Butts Canyon at the age of ten is a big job to handle, and when a no-good rule-breaking bandit causes chaos in the town, enough is enough!
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Laura Norder, Sheriff of Butts Canyon and determined it is suitable for children aged 7-10 years old
Laura Norder, Sheriff of Butts Canyon features in the following genres: Books of the Month, Recommendations, Dyslexia Friendly Books for Interest age 9+, Featured Books for 7+ readers, Books Reviewed by our Reader Review Panels, Featured Books for 9+ readers
Ebook, Paperback. Not Available.
Laura Norder, Sheriff of Butts Canyon was written by Guy Bass and published by Barrington Stoke Ltd
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