Secret plans and clever tricks

Both Ferdy and Gil love a prankster.

We've just finished reading the Wicked Tricks of Till Owleyglass by Michael Rosen. I was quite surprised about how much both boys enjoyed it, despite it being set in 14th century Germany. But practical joker Till is their hero, just as much as contemporary mischief makers, Dennis the Menace and Horrid Henry and particularly for Gil, creator of secret plans and clever tricks, the Enormous Crocodile.

Ferdy also loved how he recognised some of the themes and tricks Till plays from other fairy tales he knows, like Hans Christian Anderson's Emperor's New Clothes, or in the story How Hlakanyana Outwitted the Monster in his collection of African Folktales.

So when we heard about Banksy's new picture appearing in a hospital this week, both boys were fascinated and immediately wanted to learn more about the elusive prankster of the artworld.

They loved that no one knows who he really is, and that he does his paintings at night ('is he nocturnal?'), and they especially enjoyed the story of the secret shredder inside the painting sold for 1m at auction.

Of course this meant that our afternoon consisted of reporters from various newspapers (played by yours truly), haplessly trying and failing to find the culprits behind the mysterious chalk drawings appearing on the walls and pathway around our garden. Who knew that one of the Banksy Brothers (apparently, Banksy is actually two brothers) wore monster slippers?

The Enormous Crocodile was one of our books this week