The Boy with the Magic Numbers

Billy Pickles’ dad leaves home to live in New York, giving Billy a peculiar moneybox. Billy doesn’t know where to put the money or why his dad has left home.

Billy is invited to stay with his dad and travels, without his mum, to New York, where his Italian grandmother, Mighty Mama, meets him. He soon discovers the secret of his magic moneybox after obtaining a rare battery for it. Billy’s magical New York experience sees him winning a game show prize (a ride in a helicopter), cracking a safe for the New York police and discovering the unpleasant truth about his dad’s boss, Nathan Chance. Nathan not only turns out to be a fraudster but also is behind the kidnapping of a millionaire’s son. With the help of his moneybox, Billy locates the kidnappers. He also starts to get to know his dad and begins to accept why he left home to be with his new girlfriend, Trixie.

Returning home to England, Billy settles down to life at home with his mum again and working out the significance of the six numbers generated by the moneybox, goes out with his mum to buy the winning lottery ticket.

The frenetic pace makes this story readable in one session. The book is part of the ‘Magical Children’ series. Other titles in the series by the same author include The Invisible Boy, The Smallest Girl Ever and The Strongest Girl in the World.