Children's authors Greg James and Chris Smith take part in the Penguin Podcast, Ask Penguin.

Children’s Books – Greg James & Chris Smith

Interviews

The Penguin Podcast: series 2 episode 1 – Children’s books

The Kid Who Fell Through Time

‘Angus had never been very interested in history until he visited it by accident one Tuesday night.’ 
 
History has always seemed pretty boring to Angus. Who cares about things that happened thousands of years ago? Totally pointless! That’s what Angus thinks until the day he accidentally falls into a shopping trolley and ends up travelling through time with Marge, the lady who runs the cheese counter at the local supermarket, and who is also FROM THE FUTURE. 
 
And so begins the most epic adventure of his life – exploring a market in Roman Britain, hanging out with Shakespeare, making new friends in Ancient Egypt. Oh, and trying to escape the Evil Emperor Kragg from the 99th Century who is determined to destroy the planet. 
 
Can Angus and his new friends make it out of the past unscathed and, more importantly, is camel cheese really as bad as you imagine? Only time will tell! 
 
This epic and hilarious time travel adventure takes you from Roman Britain to the Ancient Egyptians. An ideal read for Key Stage 2 learners. 
 
James and Smith know just what makes readers tick, and their new novel is action-packed, pacey and funny, and is filled with fun and occasionally surprising facts. A brilliant read. The Bookseller

Greg James (Author) 
Greg James As well as writing the bestselling Kid Normal series with Chris Smith, Greg is the host of The Radio 1 Breakfast Show, the loosely cricket based podcast Tailenders and Radio 4's Rewinder. Basically he's turned all his favourite things into work and now has no hobbies. Greg also lives in north London but with his own family. This includes his wife Bella and his dog Barney who is staring at him impatiently because he wants to go for a walk. 
 
Chris Smith (Author) 
Chris Smith has wanted to be an author ever since he was eight and won a competition by writing a story about a baby dinosaur who loved biscuits. That story is soon to be brought to life as a blockbuster Hollywood movie. Not really, he made that part up. Chris worked for many years as a newsreader and presenter on radio stations including Xfm and BBC Radio 1. That's where he met Greg James, and in between messing about on the airwaves the pair created the bestselling Kid Normal series. Chris lives in north London with his family and a cat called Mabel who can go invisible.

‘Angus had never been very interested in history until he visited it by accident one Tuesday night.’ 
 
History has always seemed pretty boring to Angus. Who cares about things that happened thousands of years ago? Totally pointless! That’s what Angus thinks until the day he accidentally falls into a shopping trolley and ends up travelling through time with Marge, the lady who runs the cheese counter at the local supermarket, and who is also FROM THE FUTURE. 
 
And so begins the most epic adventure of his life – exploring a market in Roman Britain, hanging out with Shakespeare, making new friends in Ancient Egypt. Oh, and trying to escape the Evil Emperor Kragg from the 99th Century who is determined to destroy the planet. 
 
Can Angus and his new friends make it out of the past unscathed and, more importantly, is camel cheese really as bad as you imagine? Only time will tell! 
 
This epic and hilarious time travel adventure takes you from Roman Britain to the Ancient Egyptians. An ideal read for Key Stage 2 learners.

From the hilarious bestselling authors of Kid Normal

Super Ghost

Ordinary Kids. Extraordinary Adventures. Laughs for the Whole Family. 
 
'Action-packed, hilarious and EPIC!' Annabel Steadman, author of SKANDAR AND THE UNICORN THIEF 
 
An epic superhero adventure with a twist from Radio 1 broadcasters and bestselling authors of KID NORMAL and THE GREAT DREAM ROBBERY. 
 
Do you like superheroes? Do you like pandas? Do you like really brilliant adventures? Then this is the book for you! 
 
When world famous superhero Dr Extraordinary gets blown up inside a giant robot, twelve-year-old Sonny Nelson is devastated. A world without heroes is totally rubbish! 
 
But things take an even more extraordinary turn when Dr Ex returns and is invisible to everyone except Sonny! 
 
Readers LOVE The Great Dream Robbery: 
 
'I wanna be a member of the Dream Bandits!' 
'Escapist and daft and just a whole lot of fun' 
'Thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to crazy end' 
'This madcap adventure could have only been dreamt up by the crazy minds of Greg James and Chris Smith - part science-fiction, part mission impossible, part mystery that needs solving and a whole lot of fun'

Clarity Jones and the Magical Detective Agency

From the incredible imagination of bestselling author Chris Smith comes a hilarious fantasy adventure for 8-12 readers. Cressida Cowell meets Robin Stevens with a dash of Pixar gold. 
 
'Never, ever eliminate the impossible.' 
Clarity Jones 
 
When Mutt gets a job as an apprentice at the leading detective agency in the realm of Rillia, he's not expecting to work with ex-princesses, snow gnoblins and the most notorious assassin of the White Hand Clan. 
 
And he's definitely not expecting to be thrown in the deep end on the agency's toughest and most dangerous job yet - the mysterious case of the vanishing jester . . . 
 
From the incredible imagination of Chris Smith - bestselling author and now a major new solo talent - comes a hilarious adventure for fans of Cressida Cowell, Robin Stevens and Disney Pixar. 
 
'A laugh-out-loud funny and exciting adventure!' Cressida Cowell on Frankie Best Hates Quests.

Chris Smith has wanted to be an author ever since he was eight and won a competition by writing a story about a baby dinosaur who loved biscuits. That story is soon to be brought to life as a blockbuster Hollywood movie. Not really, he made that part up. Chris worked for many years as a newsreader and presenter on radio stations including Xfm and BBC Radio 1. That's where he met Greg James, and in between messing about on the airwaves the pair created the bestselling Kid Normal series. Chris lives in north London with his family and a cat called Mabel who can go invisible.

'Never, ever eliminate the impossible.' 
Clarity Jones 
 
When Mutt gets a job as an apprentice at the leading detective agency in the realm of Rillia, he's not expecting to work with ex-princesses, snow gnoblins and the most notorious assassin of the White Hand Clan. 
 
And he's definitely not expecting to be thrown in the deep end on the agency's toughest and most dangerous job yet - the mysterious case of the vanishing jester . . . 
 
From the incredible imagination of Chris Smith - bestselling author and now a major new solo talent - comes a hilarious adventure for fans of Cressida Cowell, Robin Stevens and Disney Pixar. 
 
'A laugh-out-loud funny and exciting adventure!' Cressida Cowell on Frankie Best Hates Quests.

The Great Dream Robbery

Ordinary Kids. Extraordinary Adventures. Laughs for the Whole Family. 
 
Big Dreams, even BIGGER trouble . . . 
 
Radio 1 broadcasters and bestselling authors of KID NORMAL - Greg James and Chris Smith - are back with a mind-bending adventure you won't want to wake up from . . . 
 
Have you ever had a really strange dream? Maya Clayton definitely has. Last night she dreamt that her dad, the brilliant but slightly odd Professor Dexter, had been trapped in a nightmare by his evil boss Lilith Delamere! 
 
But it's not just a dream - it's real and Maya and her new friends the Dream Bandits must rescue the Professor before it's too late! All they need is a bit of courage and a LOT of imagination. 
 
Readers LOVE The Great Dream Robbery: 
 
'I wanna be a member of the Dream Bandits!' 
'Escapist and daft and just a whole lot of fun' 
'Thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to crazy end' 
'This madcap adventure could have only been dreamt up by the crazy minds of Greg James and Chris Smith - part science-fiction, part mission impossible, part mystery that needs solving and a whole lot of fun'

Unlike most 12 year-olds, Maya Clayton is desperate to go to bed early. Falling asleep is the only chance she has to save her dad - the brilliant but slightly odd Professor Dexter. 
 
The Professor invented a device that allows you to visit other people's dreams. But the devious Lilith Delamere has trapped him inside a nightmare and Maya and the mysterious Dream Bandits must find a way to rescue him before it's too late! Maya will face a dangerous journey and some difficult choices. But sometimes all you need is a dream . . . and a bit of courage. 
 
Featuring a hospital heist, some banana-loving llamas and a talking cat called Bin Bag, this is one mind-bending adventure you won't want to wake up from.

Frankie Best Hates Quests

'A laugh-out-loud funny and exciting adventure!' Cressida Cowell 
 
From the incredible imagination of Chris Smith - bestselling author and now a major new solo talent - comes an extraordinary accidental adventure for fans of Cressida Cowell and Pixar's Onward. 
 
Frankie Best is not happy. 
 
She's stuck at Grandad's with her annoyingly nerdy brother Joel for a whole week while her parents swan off to the Arctic. 
 
Things take a turn for the worse when Grandad gets kidnapped by gnoblins (no, that is not spelt incorrectly) forcing Frankie to embark on a rescue mission across a magical realm filled with strange creatures, dangerous enemies and - worst of all - absolutely no WiFi. 
 
Frankie did have big plans to watch YouTube and eat pot noodles that weekend but it looks like she'll just have to go on an epic mega-dangerous quest instead . . .

'A laugh-out-loud funny and exciting adventure!' Cressida Cowell 
 
From the incredible imagination of Chris Smith - bestselling author and now a major new solo talent - comes an extraordinary accidental adventure for fans of Cressida Cowell and Pixar's Onward. 
 
Frankie Best is not happy. 
 
She's stuck at Grandad's with her annoyingly nerdy brother Joel for a whole week while her parents swan off to the Arctic. 
 
Things take a turn for the worse when Grandad gets kidnapped by gnoblins (no, that is not spelt incorrectly) forcing Frankie to embark on a rescue mission across a magical realm filled with strange creatures, dangerous enemies and - worst of all - absolutely no WiFi. 
 
Frankie did have big plans to watch YouTube and eat pot noodles that weekend but it looks like she'll just have to go on an epic mega-dangerous quest instead . . .

Secret Santa

This hilarious festive adventure is brilliantly written by internationally bestselling authors and children’s literacy advocates Greg James and Chris Smith and illustrated by Emily Jones. 
 
Santa Claus… kindly old man with a flying sleigh, who delivers presents to kids each Christmas Eve . . ? OR a cool, suave super-spy? 
 
In this story, he’s both! Discover how Santa Claus gets recruited by the Secret Service one dark and cold December as their newest secret agent, Treble-Ho Seven. The world is in danger and all the normal spies are out of action. Who are you gonna call? Who else but a guy with his own flying sleigh and the ability to enter any super-villain’s lair down the chimney! 
 
Joining Santa on his epic mission are his number one fans Robin and Ivy Winter. Armed with exploding sprouts and smoke-grenade crackers, will they be able to rescue the super-spies AND save Christmas?

Greg James (Author) 
GREG JAMES AND CHRIS SMITH are the multi-award-wining and bestselling authors of The Great Dream Robbery, Super Ghost and the Kid Normal series. They have been translated into over 20 languages and been shortlisted for both the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the Laugh Out Loud Award. Greg and Chris have championed children’s books widely, were judges for the Blue Peter Book Award in 2017 and were official World Book Day authors in 2020. They are also committed advocates for children’s literacy and are founding members of the Primary School Library Alliance – a campaign launched by Penguin Random House and the National Literacy Trust to address the lack of investment in UK primary school libraries – and were awarded in 2024 the Ruth Rendell Literacy Award, presented to those who have had the most significant influence on literacy in the UK over the past year, for their work promoting reading in schools. Outside of their writing partnership, Greg James is a radio and television broadcaster and Chris Smith a solo author of acclaimed children’s books Frankie Best Hates Quests and Clarity Jones and the Magical Detective Agency. 
 
Chris Smith (Author) 
GREG JAMES AND CHRIS SMITH are the multi-award-wining and bestselling authors of The Great Dream Robbery, Super Ghost and the Kid Normal series. They have been translated into over 20 languages and been shortlisted for both the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the Laugh Out Loud Award. Greg and Chris have championed children’s books widely, were judges for the Blue Peter Book Award in 2017 and were official World Book Day authors in 2020. They are also committed advocates for children’s literacy and are founding members of the Primary School Library Alliance – a campaign launched by Penguin Random House and the National Literacy Trust to address the lack of investment in UK primary school libraries – and were awarded in 2024 the Ruth Rendell Literacy Award, presented to those who have had the most significant influence on literacy in the UK over the past year, for their work promoting reading in schools. Outside of their writing partnership, Greg James is a radio and television broadcaster and Chris Smith a solo author of acclaimed children’s books Frankie Best Hates Quests and Clarity Jones and the Magical Detective Agency.

Greg James

Chris Smith

Emily Jones

NOW WITH REVOLTING EXCLUSIVE BONUS CONTENT!!! 
 
A wickedly funny and prank-filled adventure starring one of Roald Dahl’s most hilarious and popular creations, The Twits. 
 
This brand-new and deliciously revolting story is brilliantly written by internationally bestselling authors and children’s literacy advocates Greg James and Chris Smith and illustrated by Emily Jones. 
 
Mr and Mrs Twit are just about as nasty and revolting as two people can get. The only thing that brings the two of them pleasure is playing pranks on one another. 
 
But, when a new family called the Lovelies move in next door, with their lively 10-year-old twins, they teach The Twits to stop being so mean and horrible and they all live happily ever after . . . 
 
Ha! Not really. The Twits HATE the Lovelies. 
 
But how far will The Twits go to rid themselves of their horribly nice new neighbours? And what happens when these new neighbours, who are armed with utter loveliness, start to fight back? 
 
Loved The Twits Next Door? Read more fantastically funny adventures from Greg James and Chris Smith:<ul><li>The Kid Normal series</li><li>The Great Dream Robbery</li><li>Super Ghost</li><li>The Kid Who Fell Through Time</li></ul>

Chris Smith

Books by Chris Smith

Series by Chris Smith

The Twits Next Door

Articles featuring Chris Smith

The Penguin Podcast: series 2 episode 1 – Children’s books

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter