Flour Babies

Flour Babies by Anne Fine. When the annual school science fair comes by Mr Cartwright’s class don’t get to do cool experiments like exploding custard tins, maggot farms or soap factories: instead, to their extreme disgust, they get six pounds sweet little bags of flour for which they must care for at all times. In simple terms: Flour Babies. 

Now you are the judge of what happens when you give heavy bags of flour to a bunch of rowdy and low-grade students such as Mr Cartwright’s class. Now Simon martin, are young protagonist, is going to have to take care of a “baby” for his science fair project. 

This story is all about the journey that Simon must go through and lessons her learns on his way to final submission. Looking after his flour babies starts to make him think about his own misfunctioning family and why his father had left him all those years ago and what difference it would have made if he stayed.

 Although the main story is a comedy it hides a deeper meaning about the hardships and chaos that takes place when you grow up. 

Anne Fine’s book is said to make the reader laugh; however, it also portrays the deeper meaning behind growing up. At the end of the book, you can really tell how Simon Martin has in a way found himself. 

He starts to care more and more about his flour baby and gets a realizing of his so far meaningless life. This book is the perfect combination of realism and comedy. 

There are many funny scenes in the book about how the other boys in his class are holding up and the way they would want to get rid of their flour babies in the end. After all, they only voted for flour babies because Simon Martin spoke of a big explosion in the end, this story has so many funny elements to it!

 I highly recommend this book for all the teens growing up. Sometimes it’s hard to grow up and this book captures that perfectly as well as adding that hint of comedy to make it appeal to readers of all ages. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book on rainy days here in London. The way Anne Fine has written this book is incredible, the way she writes this book, makes you sympathize with the character and see the storyline in his perspective.

 It also includes diary entries for every week of his journey which are a real treat to read and bring out his character even more. 

since Simon often got into trouble, eventually landing up in a seat by the teacher breakroom, the teachers labelled him as being someone without feeling; bronze and no brains.

 So, imagine how surprised they are when Mr Cartwright show’s them his diary entries! This also changes all the characters views about him and he is seen from a new perspective.  

“Let it be flour babies. Let chaos reign. “ 

-Mr. Cartwright 

Mr Cartwright is such a funny character, due to the fact that it is he who must take care of some of the worst students in the entire school. He handles upon Martins “new found character” quite uniquely in ways you wouldn’t expect.

 You would usually expect a teacher to act seriously or just ignore it but he kind of tricks Simon, but I’ll leave that for you to find out. I personally think that Mr Cartwright goes through character development too. 

Anne Fine is best known in her country, England. Although she is a writer for most children, she has written eight novels for adults. Anne has written over sixty books for children and young audiences. In 2003, Anne became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded an OBE.

 Her work has been translated into forty-five languages. Anne Fine lives in the north of England and has two grown-up daughters. She has written flour babies beautifully as she has perfectly portrayed the chaos of growing up in this book 

So, all in all, I think flour babies is a great book which will inspire children of all ages, especially teenagers, 4 ½ stars!