Billionaire Boy

Joe Spud has a pet orangutan, a private bowling alley, and a father who made billions selling toilet paper called Bumfresh — yet all he wants is one real friend. David Walliams wraps a genuinely tender story about loneliness inside absurdist British humor, and the combination works. The pacing is brisk enough to hook reluctant readers, and the message that wealth cannot purchase belonging lands without being preachy. Parents should preview for some British slang including the word 'slag,' a tabloid Page 3 reference, and persistent toilet humor that is mild but ever-present. The comic resolution moves a little fast. Still, the emotional core is warm and the laughs are real — a solid middle-grade pick for families comfortable with its cultural texture.