Author | David Baddiel |
---|---|
Illustrator | Jim Field |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Genre | Fantasy, Humour, Adventure |
Publisher | HarperCollins Children's Books |
Publication date | 9 October 2014 |
Pages | 383 pp |
ISBN | 978-0-007-55449-2 |
The Parent Agency is a children's fiction novel written by David Baddiel and illustrated by Jim Field. It was published on 9 October 2014 [1] by HarperCollins Children's Books. The book follows a 9-year-old boy named Barry Bennett, who gets transported to an alternate universe where children choose their parents. A film adaptation is currently in the works. [2]
James Bond and FC Barcelona fan Barry Bennett gets transported to 'United Kid-dom' in an alternate universe where kids choose their parents, after Barry wished he had better parents. He encounters his friends Jake, Lucas and Taj (with different names) working at 'The Parent Agency' in 'Youngdon', where he discovers that everyone has to find parents before their tenth birthday. With his in 5 days time, Barry is assigned to 5 different sets of parents (one on each day), before deciding he prefers his original parents, being transported back to them on his tenth birthday.
Baddiel was inspired to write the book after a conversation with his nine-year-old son, Ezra. After visiting a Harry Potter exhibition, Ezra asked his father 'Dad, why didn’t Harry run away from the Dursleys and go and find some better parents?' [3] [4] This inspired Baddiel to write the book.
The Parent Agency received positive praise from editorials such as The Guardian [5] and HuffPost UK , [6] while The Independent critiqued it, saying that '[Baddiel] just tries too hard to be funny'. [3]
In 2016, Deadline reported that Fox 2000 Pictures had acquired the film rights to The Parent Agency, to be produced by Snowed-In Productions. [2]
Year | Body | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Laugh Out Loud Awards (The Lollies) | Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 9-13 year olds | Won |
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