The boy who made everyone laugh is an interesting and truthful text. Starring a teenage boy called Billy Plimpton who has a stammer, this text is about himself trying to cope with a speech impediment. At his new secondary school, he makes friends with enemies and normal friends. With his friends, he starts a band called 'The Regulars' and starts to take up drumming instead of jokes which upsets his granny as his dream job always used to be a comedian. Sadly his granny dies before he changes his mind, but during a disaster at the talent show he and his jokes step forward to save the day. In the end, he realises it doesn't matter if you have a stammer, just how you handle it. This is a very true insight into how different adults treat him because of his stammer.
I recommend this book to all the children out there. And to those with disabilities, I think this book will help to make you see your disability as a positive rather than a negative. The main character Billy is based on Helen Rutter’s son Lenny who also has a stammer.
Helen Rutter will be joining us at Newark Book Festival for 2024, bringing her BRAND NEW (and equally funny) book Reggie Houser Has The Power.