Willy the Wimp is a delightful children’s book whose author-illustrator is Anthony Browne. I reviewed the 2008 edition published by Walker Books.
The hero of this children’s book is Willy. He is a very kind and thoughtful character and in the opening pages is described as :
“Willy wouldn’t hurt a fly
Willy the Wimp - Children's Books hurt a fly
Willy worried about stepping on
tiny insects every time he went
for a walk. When someone knocked
into him, he always said,
“Oh, I’m sorry!”
Even when it wasn’t his fault.”
The suburan gorillas call him Willy the Wimp. With a little bit of good luck Willy saw and wrote in to a body building advertisement.
After a lot of very hard work with the body building program Willy changed himself dramatically. He is more than able to more than cope with the suburban gorillas and comes to the rescue of Millie.
Anthony Browne who is the author obviously has a very robust sense of humour. This comes through very strongly in the book. The book is full of surprises – right to the last page.
The illustrations by Anthony Browne are both engaging and charming. It is no surprise to read that he is the first British illustrator to have won the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2000.
I thoroughly recommend this children’s book which I know I would enjoy reading to children. It is rated Not Green.
Tags: Anthony Brown, Author - Illustrator, Children's books, Hans Christian Andersen Award, review, Walker Books, Willy the Wimp