Publication Date: July 29, 2025
A funny, exciting, David vs Goliath adventure with a heart-warming father-son relationship – perfect for fans of Danny the Champion of the World, Millions, and Ratatouille.
The story of one boy and his brilliant burgers!
Benny Burns spends every weekend helping his dad by working at their burger van, parked outside the local football ground. And when Benny finds his grandfather’s old recipe book and begins following its instructions, he starts cooking INCREDIBLE food – so good, in fact, that he attracts the unwanted attention of fast food giant Bonkers Burgers! and its CEO, Bodley Bonkers.
To Bodley, Benny and his burgers are a threat that must be eliminated… by any means necessary.
And so, along with his dad and his two best friends, Jasper and Mina, Benny must find a way to defeat Bonkers Burgers, help rescue his dad’s business, and share his passion for cooking with the world – a mission that leads to him competing with the world’s greatest chef to cook the best burger.
David Baddiel entered adulthood as a stand-up comedian in London. He found success, and as his career progressed toward other creative endeavors, he discovered that he was also an author. In 2014, he published his first novel geared toward children aged 9-13 years old. Fast forward 11 years and 10 books later, and Small Fry is his newest publication in children’s literature.
Small Fry has many features geared toward readers in early to late middle school. There is just enough text on the page with short chapters. Yet, this appears to be a challenging read at 302 pages. As a parent and teacher, I find this to be a benefit for children whose reading level is advanced for their age, yet need a simple plot, and for older teens, on or below grade level, who would like to produce a hefty book from their backpack when peers are breezing through Harry Potter. This noted, the storyline is simple but filled with humor. Baddiel even uses his comedic skills to insert vocabulary with hysterically worded footnotes. Another feature that makes this book exceptional is the illustrations. Cory Loftis brings the characters to life in his drawings. Several two-page spread illustrations tell a story in themselves.
Benny helps his dad at the family’s struggling food truck. His dad affectionately refers to him as Small Fry. Benny intuitively knows that the product his dad is selling can be improved, and his dad finally allows him to step up and take charge of the burger grill. Benny’s spin on burger prep calls attention to the locals but also their competition, Bonkers Burgers. The manipulative owner of Bonkers is dying to get his hands on Benny’s secret recipe, so he offers a challenge. What remains a secret to the very end of the competition is that, at the urging of Benny’s vegan friend Mina, Benny has been perfecting a vegan burger.
With experience as a stand-up comedian and a seasoned children’s literature author, David Baddiel brings to life the theme of small guys with big dreams through spot-on humor for the late elementary to middle school-aged reader.
Small Fry ends up being a “big guy” in the burger business!
David Baddiel is an author and comedian. His children’s books have sold more than a million copies in the UK alone, and his debut, The Parent Agency, won the Laugh Out Loud Book Award. David lives in London with his family.
