Get Fit with Nelson - Hardcover

Weston, Simon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1848517130 ISBN 13: 9781848517134

Publisher: Casemate Publishers, 2013

Synopsis

Nelson goes into training! Help!’ Oh dear! It’s Rhodri, one of the overfed rats at the St Mary Dairy in Pont-y-cary, and he’s stuck up a drainpipe. Rhodri’s not the only one who’s been packing on the pounds. Nelson, always a well-built’ carthorse, has also recently moved into the XXXXXXXXXXXXL league! But he’s got a date with Brecon, the lovely presenter at Hoarse-FM, to lead out the Welsh team at the Millennium Stadium. It’s time to get fit! Hay ho . . .

About this title

About the Author

Simon Weston OBE is a former British Army soldier who became well known after suffering severe injuries during the bombing of the Sir Galahad in the Falklands War. After recovering from his initial injuries, he has worked tirelessly for charity and is now a well-known personality on radio and TV, and much in demand as an after dinner speaker throughout the UK. He has published three books for children with Pont Books, A Nod from Nelson and its sequel, Nelson to the Rescue and Nelson at Sea. Television personality and presenter David FitzGerald (Fitz) currently writes for newspapers and magazines as well as hosting a regular Saturday morning program for BBC Radio Devon. He and Simon Weston have been friends since they first met over twenty years ago. They share a wacky sense of humor and a wicked sense of fun, and enjoyed collaborating on three books for children, A Nod from Nelson, Nelson to the Rescue and Nelson at Sea. David Fitzgerald also published A Very Berry Christmas with illustrator Robert Dudley in 2012.

Review

Full of word-play and talking animals, this fourth story from the pen of Simon Weston (with a little help from David FitzGerald and illustrator Jac Jones) is laugh-out-loud funny. The characters are enough to ensure humour. Not only do we have Nelson, the horse, but we also meet two fat rats, a dizzy carrier pigeon, and a troop of rugby-playing ducks (the All Quacks), led by Sir Francis Drake. But it is the fat rats, Rhodri and Rhys, who start the story going by Rhodri getting stuck in a down pipe. In an episode reminiscent of Pooh Bear and the rabbit hole, Rhodri is finally extracted with great difficulty, and the decision is made that the rats must lose weight. And it is not only the rats that have become more rotund. Nelson, who is to lead the Welsh rugby team out onto the pitch at the Millennium Stadium with the lovely Brecon, wants to lose weight too. Their efforts are not at first successful, but when trainer pig, Montgomery, takes them on, they are soon jogging with the best of them. Montgomery has been in a fire, and his face and tail are dramatically changed. Rhodri and Rhys find his appearance difficult to accept, and in a serious part of the story, Montgomery explains what has happened to him and that he has decided to achieve something ... something special. In fact he has won first prize for running in the Special Olympigs and is a very special pig indeed. The twin themes of getting fit and of accepting people as they are must be of special interest to the author, and they make this story ideal for schools. The animal friends have further adventures at St Mary Dairy at Pont-y-cary, and the wonderfully funny black and white pictures of Nelson and all his friends add greatly to the fun. While children may not understand all the word-play, their parents and teachers will enjoy it! This is a charming, silly, waggish story and beautifully produced too by Pont Books. Elizabeth Schlenther It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council. Gellir defnyddior adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. -- Welsh Books Council

About this edition

• Publisher: Casemate Publishers
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1848517130
• ISBN 13: 9781848517134
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 60