- Illustrated Chapter Books
- Ages 7–10
- Comedy
The Fart that Changed the World
A gloriously daft, fully illustrated fairy-tale farce from Stephen and Anita Mangan, in which one royal fart triggers a chain of chaos and a kitchen boy discovers that small events, and small people, can change everything.
- Best for7–10
- FormatIllustrated
- Length368 pp
- Read aloud~5 hr15 min
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The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Comedic
- Conversational
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Irreverent
- Whimsical
- Absurdist
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
It is the most important day of the year: King Fabian is hosting every neighbouring ruler for a grand banquet. He wakes, stretches, and lets out an enormous fart. His wife's fury is so terrifying that Fabian panics and blames the butler, who is promptly marched off to the dungeons, which is a disaster, because the butler is the only person who actually knows how to run the palace. Enter Frank, a kitchen boy with an outsized imagination, drafted in as emergency butler as the banquet spirals into a food fight and the royal procession catapults out of control. What follows is an all-out farty farce with a genuine heart: the idea that the tiniest event can set enormous change in motion, and that an overlooked child can be the hero. Bursting with Anita Mangan's riotous illustrations, this bestselling comedy is perfect for reading aloud and for tempting reluctant readers.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
A heavily illustrated comedy for confident readers of about 7 to 10, and a great read-aloud for younger children who enjoy the daft humour. The density of pictures and jokes makes it a reliable win for reluctant readers.
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- Best fit · 7–10
- Read aloud · 6–10
- Independent · 7–10
Prose load
Moderate
Visual support
High
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime
Sensitive-child
5 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Reluctant readers
- Loves toilet humour
- Funny read aloud
- Underdog stories
Avoid if
- Dislikes toilet humour
- Wants serious stories
Particularly good for children who are…
- Reluctant reader
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
A single royal fart sets off a food-fight, dungeon-and-runaway-procession disaster, and it's a kitchen boy who saves the day. It's fast, ridiculous and satisfying, with Anita Mangan's pictures cramming extra jokes into every scene.
- The underdog winning
- Proving yourself
- Breaking the rules safely
Why parents love it
Under the fart jokes is a genuinely good idea, that tiny events cause big change and overlooked children can be heroes, delivered fast enough to hook reluctant readers. Illustration-packed and made for reading aloud together.
- Shared humour
- Quick to read
About the creators
About the creators.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
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