AdoraBULL is the humorous, heartwarming story about the friendship between a little boy, Tom, and a bull, Alfred. When Tom starts talking about getting a new pet their friendship is tested and Alfred goes to great lengths in an attempt to remain Tom’s best friend.
The Story: Alfred and Tom are best friends but when Tom starts school he decides that he needs a pet – an adorable pet. When Alfred discovers what adorable means he does his best to convince Tom that he can be adorable too. His attempts are in vain but when Tom finally gets a pet Alfred becomes ‘AdoraBULL’ without even trying!
Tom has taken a new step in his life which Alfred isn’t part of and his announcement that he needs an adorable pet leads to jealousy. Whilst we totally sympathise with Alfred’s feelings, his attempts to prove that he can be adorable also make us laugh, particularly his visit to the hairdresser! The heartwarming twist at the end of the story is unexpected and wonderful and proves that best friends really do care for each other.
Alex Willmore’s very amusing illustrations support the humour in the easy to read text – Alfred causes a lot of chaos in his attempts to look adorable! We absolutely love the pictures showing him using the farmer’s phone and his attempt to look cute on a swing makes us laugh. Our favourite illustration (and the most adorable!) is on the final page… (but we don’t want to spoil the ending for you!).
AdoraBULL is a great book to use in the classroom to initiate discussions about friendship and how children can feel when their best friend’s situation changes. It also shows that life changes don’t necessarily mean friendship changes, Alfred completely misunderstands Tom’s motives when he looks for a pet but Tom hasn’t stopped caring about his friend now he’s started school.
This is a fabulous first picture book for the littlest of readers who will be able to spot different farm animals while listening to the simple text being read aloud. There are lots of fun details in the pictures and, whatever he is doing, we think that Alfred is adorable!
Author: Alison Donald / Illustrator: Alex Willmore
Thank you to Maverick Books for sending this ‘AdoraBULL’ story 🙂
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