Tom Gates: Random Acts of Fun

Tom Gates: Random Acts of Fun by Liz Pichon
 
Tom is stuck at home with a fractured ankle, and all the fun seems to be happening somewhere else. Doodling over his plaster cast helps, especially when family arrive with treats, friends come to visit and Rooster manages to sneak in too.
 
While he waits to get moving again, Tom looks back at some of his best adventures: metal detecting with Uncle Kevin and the cousins, inventing a secret language with Derek and finding entertaining ways through ordinary days. There is still one thing he really wants, though — a caramel doughnut from the new bakery. Unfortunately, every other child in town appears to want one as well.
 
Liz Pichon fills Tom’s diary with black-and-white doodles, comic-strip moments, handwritten-style text, lists, labels and jokes that live in both the words and the pictures. The story moves between Tom’s present-day recovery and his lively memories, creating short, varied episodes that make the 240-page book feel energetic and easy to return to.
 
Warm, silly and creatively restless, Random Acts of Fun is a particularly good Tom Gates choice for a reader spending time at home, recovering from an injury or simply looking for a substantial illustrated book that never feels visually still. It celebrates the small things that make a frustrating day better: visitors, imagination, shared memories, drawing, friendship  and the hope of a very good doughnut.