Rutter, Helen – The Bell Bookshop

The boy with big decisions

Emma — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

**Fred can’t make a decision about anything –**

his parents always tell him what to do, from what to eat every day to which secondary school to choose.

that’s how Fred has found himself a pupil at the high-pressure, strict Gains School, when he’d much rather be going to Browtree, with its brilliant art department and kind teachers.

As Fred waits for the bus to his new school, he sees the bus for Browtree pull up – and a wild, thrilling, thought strikes him. Should he jump on this bus and pretend he’s a new student at Browtree?

Will he be brave enough to follow a different path for once?

You, the reader, will stand in Fred’s shoes and make decisions alongside him throughout this story. You’ll help him stand-up for what he believes in, learn what he truly loves to do, make good friends and face choices about whether to swerve or walk into drama.

YOU are in charge of The Boy With Big Decisions!

An interactive book with multiple pathways for kids to follow – Sliding Doors for a younger audience!
A book to encourage empathy and kindness in young readers
Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Wilson, Lisa Thompson and Jenny Pearson.

Praise for The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh

‘This incredible debut tugs at your heartstrings and makes you laugh out loud in equal measure. I guarantee you’ll be cheering along in the final pages!’ Lisa Thompson

‘It’s Wonder with one-liners.’ Scott Evans, The Reader Teacher

‘As warm and wise as it is funny.’ Shappi Khorsandi

‘A laugh out loud story, the like of which I’ve never read before.’ Kerry Godliman

‘This book is a great way of showing children how to be confident and winners by having a sense of humour and making others laugh.’ Baroness Floella Benjamin

‘This book is brilliant. It is funny, wise, kind and exciting.’ Marcus Brigstocke

‘So funny and joyful.’ Rachel Parris

Reggie Houser has the power

Emma — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

‘Very funny, very touching, very truthful – a total delight to read.’ Jacqueline Wilson on The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh

‘Amazing’ Noel Fielding on The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh

Reggie Houser has ADHD and struggles to make friends at school, plus his mum and teachers seem constantly weary about his erratic, high-energy ways. But when he sees a hypnotist perform on stage at the holiday park he visits, Reggie becomes obsessed with learning the skills of mind control – and he discovers he has an incredible talent for it! First of all he hypnotises the dog to think he’s a frog, then makes his headmaster cluck like a chicken in assembly in front of the whole school – but then a group of mean kids supposedly take him under their wing and make him use his hypnosis talents for bad: stealing a chocolate bar from a shop and escalating to a bigger theft. Reggie must decide to use his skills for good only and come to trust his own brain to make decisions.

packed with brilliant jokes and one-liners to make kids roar with laughter
a book to encourage empathy and kindness in young readers
Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Wilson, Lisa Thompson and Jenny Pearson.

Praise for The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh

‘This incredible debut tugs at your heartstrings and makes you laugh out loud in equal measure. I guarantee you’ll be cheering along in the final pages!’ Lisa Thompson

‘It’s Wonder with one-liners.’ Scott Evans, The Reader Teacher

‘As warm and wise as it is funny.’ Shappi Khorsandi

‘A laugh out loud story, the like of which I’ve never read before.’ Kerry Godliman

‘This book is a great way of showing children how to be confident and winners by having a sense of humour and making others laugh.’ Baroness Floella Benjamin

‘This book is brilliant. It is funny, wise, kind and exciting.’ Marcus Brigstocke

‘So funny and joyful.’ Rachel Parris

The piano at the station

Emma — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Constantly in trouble at school with little encouragement at home, Lacey’s future looks bleak until she discovers a love of music in this compelling tale by bestseller Helen Rutter.

Lacey’s smart tongue and quick temper are constantly getting her confined to isolation at school. But there’s a lot more to her that most people never see, and when Lacey gets sent to lunch-time music lessons to keep her out of trouble, she discovers a love and talent for the piano that opens up a whole new world for her.

Just as she’s really beginning to make progress, her music teacher has to leave, which throws Lacey back into turmoil. Will she go back to her self-destructive ways or will music offer her a way to save her from herself?

The Boy Whose Wishes Came True

Emma — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

‘A delight… This book is wise, suspenseful and witty’ SUNDAY TIMES, Children’s Book of the Week

A brilliantly funny wish-fulfilment story with a huge heart, from the author of one of 2021’s most loved children’s debuts, The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh.

Archie Crumb is having a tough time. Picked-on at school, picked last for any team; his home has been sad and quiet since Dad left and his luck feels like its run out.

But things start looking up when Archie bumps his head and literally sees stars: his favourite famous football player standing in front of him, granting him nine wishes.

This is INCREDIBLE! Unlimited ice cream, a whole day of eating pizza and playing on the X-Box, revenge on the bullies, becoming the star player in a televised football tournament: finally, all his dreams can come true! Will Archie wish his way to happiness? Or will he realise that magic wishes may be wonderful, but only he has the true power to change his life?

Perfect for fans of Lisa Thompson, David Baddiel and Jacqueline Wilson

Helen Rutter’s debut novel The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh was chosen as a Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month

Funny, moving, inventive, uplifting children’s fiction at its finest.

Praise for The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh

‘Very funny, very touching, very truthful – a total delight to read.’ Jacqueline Wilson

‘Amazing’ Noel Fielding

‘This incredibly debut tugs at your heartstrings and makes you laugh out loud in equal measure. I guarantee you’ll be cheering along in the final pages!’ Lisa Thompson

‘It’s Wonder with one-liners.’ Scott Evans, The Reader Teacher

‘As warm and wise as it is funny.’ Shappi Khorsandi

‘A laugh out loud story, the like of which I’ve never read before.’ Kerry Godliman

‘This book is a great way of showing children how to be confident and winners by having a sense of humour and making others laugh.’ Baroness Floella Benjamin

‘This book is brilliant. It is funny, wise, kind and exciting.’ Marcus Brigstocke

‘So funny and joyful.’ Rachel Parris

The boy who made everyone laugh

Emma — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

‘Very funny, very touching, very truthful – a total delight to read.’ Jacqueline Wilson

‘Amazing’ Noel Fielding

A laugh-out-loud, against-all-odds triumph of a story: the funniest debut of 2021

WINNER OF THE LOLLIES AWARD 2023

SELECTED FOR THE 2022 READ FOR EMPATHY COLLECTION

Billy Plimpton is an eleven-year-old boy with a big dream.

He wants to be a stand-up comedian when he grows up: delivering pinpoint punch-lines and having audiences hang on his every hilarious word.

A tough career for anyone, but surely impossible for Billy, who has a stammer. How will he find his voice, if his voice won’t let him speak?

The idea for this story came from Helen Rutter’s son, who has a stammer: she wanted to write the book that he would love to read, starring a child like him.

Don’t miss the second book in Billy’s adventures: The Funniest Boy in the World

More praise for The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh:

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 BLUE PETER BOOK AWARD

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 COSTA CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD

‘This incredibly debut tugs at your heartstrings and makes you laugh out loud in equal measure. I guarantee you’ll be cheering along in the final pages!’ Lisa Thompson, author of Goldfish Boy

‘It’s Wonder with one-liners.’ Scott Evans, The Reader Teacher

‘As warm and wise as it is funny.’ Shappi Khorsandi

‘A laugh out loud story, the like of which I’ve never read before.’ Kerry Godliman

‘This book is a great way of showing children how to be confident and winners by having a sense of humour and making others laugh.’ Baroness Floella Benjamin

‘This book is brilliant. It is funny, wise, kind and exciting.’ Marcus Brigstocke

‘So funny and joyful.’Rachel Parris

Rutter, Helen – The Bell Bookshop

The boy with big decisions

**Fred can’t make a decision about anything –**

Reggie Houser has the power

The piano at the station

The Boy Whose Wishes Came True

‘A delight… This book is wise, suspenseful and witty’ SUNDAY TIMES, Children’s Book of the Week

**A brilliantly funny wish-fulfilment story with a huge heart, from the author of one of 2021’s most loved children’s debuts, The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh.**

The boy who made everyone laugh

A laugh-out-loud, against-all-odds triumph of a story: the funniest debut of 2021