Alone!

‘There once was a boy called Billy McGill who lived by himself on the top of a hill.’ He not only lives alone, but he prefers it. He doesn’t like the frantic pace of the town, and he loves peace and quiet, so…when a noise interrupts that peace, he doesn’t like it. A search produces a mouse, and he acquires a cat to get rid of the mouse. The cat likes the mouse and they play together, so then there must be a dog to chase the cat, only he doesn’t. Instead they all play happily. A bear and a tiger join the fray, and soon a vet (for the tiger) and a hairdresser to clip a sheep (who has appeared on the scene) come along too, a further problem being that the hairdresser brings a rather noisy baby! Chaos reigns supreme! Poor, cross Billy can’t stand all the noise and leaves his house on the hill to find another hill where he can be alone. He begins to think about all that has happened and decides to go home again, and when he gets there, chaos continues; but there is an answer for each of the problems, and soon everyone is able to leave. Billy is relieved and still loves to live on his hill all alone: ‘There’s hardly a whisper. There’s barely a sound! Except on a Tuesday when friends come around.’ I am particularly taken with the fact that Billy is still basically a happy loner, but has also learned that people and animals can be fun too – in carefully controlled circumstances! The rhymes and the clever and funny illustrations are wonderful entertainment, and the whole is an excellent romp.