Pip Street A brotherly bother by Jo Simmons illustrated by Steve Wells

"They understood that this was their last hope; their final chance to save Mr Keiths and keep Walter off Pip Street. They were on a quest. ... A thrilling, noble, car-boot-sale-to-fix-a-mobility-scooter quest. And that's the best kind of quest there is!"

When I wrote my comments about the first book from the Pip Street series the author (yes yes the author) wrote a comment!! This is so thrilling for me.

I really enjoyed the first installment and now I jump forward to book four - A Brotherly Bother  I think you might understand the premise, setting and characters if you take the time to read the other titles in this series.

Once again we have a serious problem which will impact the lives of the people living on Pip Street and once again it is up to Bobby and his friends to "save the day".  A stranger arrives riding a "chariot-sleigh-thing" pulled by five malamutes.  He is on the hunt for oil and gas and he intends to start digging under number 8 - the home of Richard Keiths.  Our intrepid friends visit Mr Keiths and discover another disaster.  His trusty mobility scooter named Pegasus has broken down.

"It's an apostrophe, isn't it, Bobbby?' said Imelda  "Catastrophe," said Bobby."

The scooter can be repaired but the price is so high - way more than Mr Keiths could ever pay - 500 pounds! Adding to this series of issues Mr Keiths explains that his bother, Walter, can claim number eight for himself under the conditions of his mother's will which specified Mr Keiths can only keep the house if he lives there but without his Pegasus he will be forced to move.

So now Bobby needs to raise 500 pounds and save their street from the excavators.  A little hint about how this might be achieved comes in chapter 3 entitled "How Much?"  This is the name of a television program where people bring items to be valued and when they hear the amazing amount everyone shouts 'how much?'

Since he may have to move Mr Keiths begins to clear out his garage.  Wait a minute though I know you are anticipating a treasure worth a fortune will emerge from this clutter and perhaps it will but in the meantime there is some serious money raising to be done involving the cat Conkers, a bake and car boot sale and even some time spent in a dressing gown!

Here are a few of the chapter opening sentences which will show you just how very funny this little book is :

"The next day was Wednesday, the day that almost always follows Tuesday."
"The next day was Friday, one of the most popular days of the week."

Imelda will make you smile too with her quirky vocabulary mishaps.

"What in the name of spangles was he on about?"
"Bobster ... you have a heart made of silver and gold and extra-sweet jam."
"You have caused so much trouble since you first mushed onto this street."

Jo Simmons has a terrific web site where you can play games and learn more about the characters in this series.  You can listen to some audio samples of titles from this series here.  If you have trouble finding this series you can buy ebook versions.