Gribblebob's Book of Unpleasant Goblins

Product Description "Do you believe in goblins and fairies and dragons and all that malarkey?" "no," replied Anna and "yes," said nils, both at the same time. They looked at each other and grinned. The tranquil charms of uppington down are torn apart one day when Anna and nils meet the alarmingly rude Robert gribble on their way home from school. Before long, their lives take a bizarre turn: they join forces with this Goblin in disguise and his nearly not-there dog Dimple in a desperate battle to stop Mara, the Queen of nightmares, opening a hidden book of power and spilling terror across the world. Gribblebob's book of unpleasant goblins is a laugh-out-loud adventure that reminds us that with friends, family and belief you can stand up to the scariest of enemies. And if you have a ginger Biscuit and an invisible dog, that helps. Review "The ingredients are goblins, ginger biscuits, a slightly odd dog, books and magic! The result, an excellent children's read!" Independent Book Reviews (blog) "Ashby has written a genuinely hilarious, funny and inventive tale... perfect for fans of Roald Dahl and Steven Butler!" Bluebird Reviews (blog) "A book filled with mystery, fantasy, goblins and nightmares,Gribblebob's Book of Unpleasant Goblins draws the reader in from the very first page, mixing realism with weirdly wonderful characters and intrigue" BooksForTopics (blog) About the Author David Ashby lives in Sweden with his wife and children. A few years ago, he visited a fortune teller who told him that he would never have a book published.Gribblebob's Book of Unpleasant Goblins is his first book. Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. CHAPTER 1 It probably started that Wednesday afternoon, the one when it rained and the sun shone at the same time and there was that long, echoey tumble of thunder. I guess, looking back, you could say it was a sign-or a portent, as Granny C liked to say. When there was sun and rain at the same time, Granny C said it meant that, somewhere, a dog and a cat were getting married. But then again, Granny C smelt of stale lavender sticks and dust, and always wore strange clothes from the charity shop. Mainly tartan. Still, anyway, that’s probably when it started. The rain had stopped, but the sun was bright and sharp as a wasp’s wing, and Anna and Nils were walking home from the park. Nils had fallen off the “whizz-wheel”-that’s what he called it-and had scraped his knee a little, so he wanted to go home and get a Spider-Man plaster. They were walking along the dirt path that wound its way through Timberton Woods. Well, they called them “woods” but really it was just a small explosion of trees between the park and home. It was a bit odd they were there really, as there weren’t any other trees close by, just this thick cluster of dark oaks, sweet chestnuts and silver birches. The children were on the bit of the path leading into the woods, when they noticed a little man walking ahead of them. He was no taller than Anna-who wasn’t very tall for her age anyway-and was walking in a very determined and speedy manner. He splashed through a puddle on the path and wobbled slightly, looking rather like a discombobulated penguin trying not to drop his best fish. Nils raised his hand to point at the fast-moving figure, but Anna pushed it down and shushed him. One of their mum’s best friends had a sister about the same size, who told really funny stories and had dyed-blue streaks in her spiky hair. They had met her once when Nils was quite young, and she’d explained that she was a “little person”. Something had happened to her when she was in her mummy’s tummy, so she didn’t develop like other people. She explained there was nothing to be scared of and how she was used to people staring at her, but Mum told them afterwards that it isn’t nice to stare or point or make fun of people just because