Just William 09 – William the Good

William the Good by Richmal Crompton is a very funny story for 8 year olds about an eleven year old boy who decides, for a few days, to become a saint.

What happens

It's the Christmas holidays and William has influenza. He is not a good patient.

Kind relatives send him jigsaws, a scrap album and a book of general knowledge questions. He informs the household that jigsaws are beneath his contempt, repeatedly.

His view of the doctor is magnificent. This is the man who made him go to school that time he felt really ill, which happened to be the day he hadn't done his homework, and who now won't let him get up in the holidays. Clearly the man just enjoys annoying people.

Then, purely to demonstrate how bored he is, he opens an improving book a great-aunt sent.

It's about an angelic boy who catches his beautiful sister drinking in secret, then stealing the silver, and saves her from a life of crime with his sheer goodness. William is gripped. The hero is eleven. So is he.

He comes downstairs a changed character, ready to rescue everyone around him.

His sister Ethel is the obvious place to start, and Ethel is a bitter disappointment. She just sits there reading a magazine, resolutely refusing to drink or steal anything.

What William doesn't know is that Ethel is hiding something. She has a cold coming on, and if her mother spots it she'll be sent to bed and miss her chance of being Rosalind in the village play.

So there's a boy hunting for a sinner to save and a sister with a secret. You can see what's about to happen and they can't, which is the best possible place for your reader to be.

The voice telling it is half the fun. Fond of William and laughing at him in the same breath, and quite happy to tell you straight out that he made a very bad invalid.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

These stories were written in the 1920s and the boys' favourite game is called Red Indians in the text, more than once. If you'd rather not explain that yet, leave it. If you're happy to talk about why the words have changed, it's a quick conversation and the rest of the book is harmless.

The other thing is the vintage. Long sentences, whist drives, beef tea and bonbon dishes. A confident 8 year old will get on fine, and honestly it's even better read aloud, because William's arguments deserve a proper voice.

What to read next

If a child running a private campaign appeals, try The Naughtiest Girl in the School. Elizabeth Allen is going the other way entirely. She's decided to behave so appallingly that her new boarding school will have no choice but to send her home.