I Don’t Believe It, Archie!
Odd things happen to Archie every day. Some very odd things.
“This a quick funny read, which will appeal to anyone just getting started with novels, especially the more reluctant readers”
366 Books: My Year of Reading
“Superb comic timing… readers will be vastly entertained by Archie’s misadventures”
*
“Read it to Yr 2/3; Yr 3/4/5 can read it alone; and it’ll be great to encourage struggling yr 5/6.”
B.R. Hants SLS
Archie’s Unbelievably Freaky Week is the ‘fabulously funny followup!’
BUY from wordery.com
I Don’t Believe It, Archie!
1. On Monday…
On Monday, when Archie had been out to post a letter, somethiing rather odd happened.
He was halfway down the hill that led to the post office when he heard a rumbling noise, turned round, and saw a piano coming down the middle of the road. There was nobody with it. It was just a large, upright piano, trundling down the hill all on its own… Click here to see inside the book
***
Short chapters are the perfect length for reading aloud.
***
Information, Resources & Reviews
The Teaching Library – Excellent cross curricular teaching resources. Examples below.
Accelerated Reader – ATOS Book Level: 4.2 Interest Level: Lower Years, Ages 5 to 8
Quiz Questions This word document has questions and space for answers so that it’s easy to give to students.
Click here for the sheet with answers.
Audio Book – Oakhill Publishing 2 CDs
Click here to see Hannah Shaw’s brilliant illustrations.
Download & print Word Search (A5) & I Don’t Believe It Archie! Word Search & Maze (A4) word doc.
***
Examples of Teaching Resources to be found at The Teaching Library
There are many ideas like these for all aspects of the curriculum at The Teaching Library.
Literacy
Could you write a new story with the title ‘I Don’t Believe It’?Maths
The piano delivery man delivers the piano to number 91 instead of 16 because the numbers had swung upside down. Can you find any other numbers that can still be read when you swing them upside down?DT
Use craft materials to make a new Lion toy for Archie’s sister.PSHE
On Tuesday, Archie saves a little dog’s life. Can you find out about first aid and how to help people who are in need?
Reviews
366 Books: My Year of Reading – 305
Meet Archie, the boy whose life is anything but boring! With Archie, a walk to the shops for milk can turn into an unforgettable adventure. In this book we follow Archie for one week, and on each day things get more and more preposterous. Needless to say, Archie’s Mum wonders why Archie can’t seem to complete any of the errands he is sent on….more
***
Secrets and Sharing Soda
Every single day, no matter what, something absolutely unbelievable happens to Archie. In this book alone, which takes place over the span of just one week, Archie finds himself accused of killing a dog, glued to the door of the public library, and mistaken for a kidnapping victim. Though Archie often finds his hectic life a bit overwhelming, this week is different because he meets Cyd. As Archie’s new best friend, she is there for every strange occurrence and helps Archie get out of trouble and back home again.
The clever premise combined with truly entertaining storytelling make this book really shine. Each of Archie’s unlikely experiences is sillier than the last, and not one episode feels weaker than any other. They’re all laugh-out-loud funny and equally exciting and engaging. Each chapter ends with the same punchline – Archie comes home not having completed the task he was sent out to do, and his mother says, “I don’t believe it, Archie!” Even this repetitive joke is funny each time it is delivered; kids will find themselves anticipating the moment and, if the story is read aloud to them, chiming in on the refrain
What makes me love this book is not just the silly occurrences, but the fact that they all add up to something. At the end of the story, we see each of the previous chapters’ events come full circle, and Archie actually develops friendships with some of the people he’s met during the week. There’s a clear “what goes around comes around” type of message, but with a very positive connotation.
I Don’t Believe it Archie is a great title to suggest to fans of Mercy Watson, Dr. Seuss, and Louis Sachar. Crowding the Book Truck also recommends it to readers who like Amelia Bedelia, which is a great thought that hadn’t occurred to me! Secrets and Sharing Soda
***
STARRED review March 1, 2012 Booklist:
“Superb comic timing….readers will be vastly entertained by Archie’s misadventures”
Clearly destined to become the Most Interesting Man in the World when he grows up, young Archie is an ordinary lad to whom extraordinary things happen—every day. On Monday he is the only witness as a rolling car with a child and a would-be rescuer inside gets buried beneath a load of gravel. On Tuesday he is blamed for killing a dog that he is actually rescuing.
On Wednesday he discovers the hard way that the handles on both doors of his local library have been coated with superglue. With superb comic timing, Norriss casts his level-headed but inarticulate chappie into one escalating predicament after another—each exacerbated by adults who arrive on the scene a little late and won’t listen to his stammered explanations. Fortunately, Archie makes a new friend, Cyd, who has a knack for always being ready with a cogent video, a handy cell phone, or just the right words to untangle each mare’s nest.
Like Cyd, readers will be vastly entertained by Archie’s misadventures (all of which interrupt quick errands for his mother that, to her continuing exasperation, somehow never get done) and delighted by the uncommonly clever way that the author caps off the eventful week by weaving all of its brangles into an almost magical resolution to Sunday’s crisis. Shaw’s cartoon sketches reflect the tongue-in-cheek tone of each hilarious episode.— John Peters
Gill Robins of The English Association: ‘To borrow the parlance of the texting generation, this is an lol book – every page will make you laugh out loud. It recounts just one eventful week in the life of Archie, a week in which he leaves home to run simple errands and finds himself embroiled in one adventure after another.’ more
Susanne Miller, Youth Services Librarian, South Hill Library
While I ate lunch today, I read I Don’t Believe It, Archie! by Andrew Norriss. Not a good idea. This book is so funny, you will be laughing out loud with your mouth full! Archie is a kid who lives in England, so to get the most out of this book, you will need to know or be able to figure out what a lorry, trainers or a swimming costume are. The thing about Archie is that weird things happen to him. On Monday on his way to mail a letter, Archie sees a piano rolling down the street. The piano stops next to a car, trapping a girl named Cyd inside. Archie goes to get help, only to see an elderly man pushing the car enough for Cyd to get a door open. But then the car starts rolling down the street toward a dump truck. The man is able to run along side, open the door and get in the car and pull the emergency brake just in time to avoid crashing into the dump truck. Then the truck raises its bed and buries the car, with Cyd and the old man inside, in a huge pile of rubble. Soon you will be saying, along with Archie’s mother, “I just don’t believe it!” Get ready for a whole week of laughs with Archie and his new best friend Cyd. I recommend this book for readers in grades four to six. P.S. trainers are tennis shoes, a lorry is a truck, and a swimming costume is a swimsuit.
***
“A whole load of unbelievable and outrageously funny things happen to Archie in the course of a week in this entertaining book for independent early readers. ” Philippa Logan – Oxford Times
***
Teaching Library: http://ow.ly/ctYgo
Andrew Norriss - Children's Author & Winner of the Whitbread (Costa) Award 
Leave a comment