The Midnight Gang

The Midnight Gang by David Walliams is a funny adventure for 8 year olds about children finding friendship during a stay in hospital.

What happens

Tom wakes up on a trolley with a very sore head. He doesn't know where he is. For a moment he can't even remember his name, which makes the doctor's enormous form rather tricky to fill in.

Doctor Luppers is desperate to get everything right. Nurse Meese keeps prodding the painful bump. The porter looks frightening to Tom, although he's the one speaking kindly to him.

A stay on the ward brings Tom together with other children. There are five in the gang and their adventures are about helping dreams happen. Hospital turns out to have more going on than Tom could have expected.

The opening has plenty of very silly grown-up behaviour. The doctor gets so worried about his paperwork that a child with a head injury ends up helping him. You can almost hear Tom wondering how long all this is going to take.

If your reader enjoys adults getting in a muddle, that should give them plenty to giggle about. The doctor's attempts to guess Tom's name become more and more ridiculous (he even tries Tina). Being the sensible one is hard work when you're the patient!

There's a lonely side to Tom's life too. His parents are usually abroad and he's away at boarding school. They can buy him presents, but he doesn't get much time with them.

That makes the chance to have friends around him feel especially welcome. If your child likes stories where children find their own fun when the adults let them down, the gang gives them a group to get to know.

It's worth knowing that the hospital jokes include painful prodding and some rough behaviour from the staff. Tom is frightened at the start and the descriptions of the porter's appearance are harsh. A child already worried about hospitals may not find those scenes funny.

For someone who enjoys exaggerated mishaps and unlikely adventures, the silliness may be part of the appeal. The porter's kind words also give you reason to question Tom's first impression of him.

What to read next

They might enjoy The Boy Who Made the World Disappear next. It's in the library and follows Harrison into trouble with a party gift that really shouldn't be used when you're cross.