Fun, Quirky and Imaginative: Review of Toffle Towers

‘Beneath the blond curls and behind the chocolate-brown eyes worked the brain of a genius.’

We’re very excited to report that author Tim Harris has a brand-new series out this month.

Toffle Towers: Fully Booked introduces readers to 10-year-old Chegwin Toffle, a daydreamer of the most advanced kind who out of the blue inherits an entire hotel!

Unbeknownst to Chegwin, his late Great Uncle Terrence Toffle bequeathed the hotel to him – he doesn’t have to accept the responsibility of looking after the hotel but if he declines it will be sold and all the employees will be out of a job.

You may be thinking that a daydreamer isn’t the best equipped person to run a hotel or that Chegwin may not be organised or level headed enough to keep things ticking over as they should be. You might also be thinking he’s only 10-years-old!

Despite Chegwin’s teachers despairing at his lack of concentration and fear that as a ‘dreamer’ he’ll never amount to much, his parents appear to have complete faith in his ability to pull this off and they are coming along to back him up.

However, without checking the fine print, Chegwin has quite possibly bitten off more than he can chew. Toffle Towers isn’t your typical hotel and it hasn’t had a booking for two years…

Fawlty Towers was the inspiration for this quirky story full of equally quirky characters. There’s diamond-in-the-rough groundsman Barry, terribly posh butler Larry and Pepper the whiz-bang chef amongst others.

Chegwin takes on the mission of re-shaping the hotel with gusto and the introduction of a flying shuttle bus brings them their first customer but they’re going to need a lot more than that.

Illustrated by James Foley, this very funny and inventive book will stretch little imaginations to their limit. Aside from an engaging plot, there are funny conversations, pages filled with thought bubbles, lots of word play, lists and letters that will captivate the 8+ reader.

Once your little reader has devoured this one, they’ll be coming back for more! There will of course be more in the series and if they haven’t already read the Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables series then they are in for a treat – you can read our review of Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables: On the Lookout . We highly recommend!

Purchase a copy of Toffle Towers: Fully Booked |Read an extract

Tim Harris is one of the most exciting children’s authors in Australia. His first series of books, Exploding Endings, will have primary-aged readers both captivated and laughing out loud. The first book in the series, Painted Dogs & Doom Cakes, was awarded Honour Book at the 2017 KOALAs. His second series, Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables, contains his trademark quirkiness, mixed with a touch of poignancy.

A former primary school teacher of 15 years, and advocate for creativity and short stories, Tim’s presentations and workshops are dynamic and entertaining. He is a sought-after presenter, having worked in over a hundred schools in 2016 and 2017 alone.

Tim lives in Sydney with his wife and three young children.