Burglar Bill

Product Information

Many of his books were collaborations with his wife, Janet, an illustrator, and they quickly became one of Britain’s leading author/illustrator teams. Bill, a man who only has stolen things from his bed to his marmalade, is shocked to find he has stolen a baby!

I remembered loving this book as a child so wanted to see if it lived up to my memory of it, and it did. Warning: this book may encourage children to become burglars purely from an excessive delight in the world and all its manufactured goodness. The improbable union that follows offers a convenient moral that turns both thieves into honest folk who vow to keep on the straight and narrow.

I would of much preferred it if Burglar Bill and Burglar Betty had carried on with their mischievous ways, committing themselves to a life of crime, with a third member (Burglar Baby) joining in with the midnight antics. Whatever the case might be, this is one I enjoyed, and that I would recommend to picture-book readers who enjoy humorous and somewhat quirky stories.

though making the text more reader friendly, and changing the lay-out of some of the pages would be a start).This story is a more complex picture book, the amount and level of the text is higher – the images are still an important feature in the book, however the text to illustration ratio is 50/50. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Moved by her friendliness, he does this, forgetting about the jewels he has come to steal, and is rewarded with a damson tartlet before escaping.