Bumface

The anxiety of an over-responsible boy is perfectly captured in Morris Gleitzman's brisk reading of this sensitive story. Neither in the reading nor the writing does he allow wallowing in emotions. The plot speaks for itself with the alternating humour and pathos that is Gleitzman's hallmark. Angus dreams of being Bumface the pirate, the hero of his private adventures. Instead he is his screen-star mum's Mr Dependable, trailing his younger brother and sister back and forth from school and nursery. Angus can just about cope with the complicated life he already leads but what if his mother has another baby? How Angus sets out to prevent that happening is hilarious and ridiculous without detracting from the serious underlying message about how children - boys as well as girls - cope with the burdens of responsibility.