''How To Be A Little Sod'', was written in 1992 by author
Simon Brett to show what a
baby may think during his/her first year of development. The format is in a traditional
diary style, listing selected days and events. The main character's name is never actually revealed in the story, the child is always referred to as 'baby.' We also do not find out the
gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
at any time, so readers can make up their own minds on these missing details. The book is written in the
first person First person or first-person may refer to:
* First person (ethnic), indigenous peoples, usually used in the plural
* First person, a grammatical person
* First person, a gender-neutral, marital-neutral term for titles such as first lady and first ...
, referring as 'I' and shows the baby through their first year of life. The other characters include the
mother
]
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...
, referred to as 'Her' and the
father, known as 'Him.' There are also the two sets of
grandparents
Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic gra ...
, whose awkward get-togethers leave a chill in the air. The book covers a range of traditional development techniques, including the advancement to solid foods, learning to crawl and saying the first word. However, the book is not intended to be a parents guide. It is a fictional book which uses realistic elements.
Contents
There are all kinds of things to read about, with it being a story, it still goes through baby's first year of advances, including the first word, the first smile, three-month-old
colic
Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube ( small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out ...
, wind, etc. And there's also 'The Great
PlayPen
A playpen is a piece of furniture in which an infant or young toddler (typically those less than tall and ) is placed to prevent self-harm when her/his parent or guardian is occupied or away. The earliest use of the word "playpen" cited in the ...
Escape,' in Month Nine. It's aimed at adults but can be read by a wide audience. It is published by Orion under the Humour category. The book is illustrated by
Tony Ross
Anthony Lee Ross (born 10 August 1938) is a British author and illustrator of children's picture books. In Britain, he is best known for writing and illustrating his Little Princess books and for illustrating the Horrid Henry series by Frances ...
. It also briefly touches on potty training.
Series (Trilogy)
''How To Be A Little Sod'' is the first in a trilogy of books, the second being ''Little Sod's Next Step'', and the third and final being ''Not Another Little Sod''. Whilst no more were ever made, the three volumes are in diary format, showing developmental advances in a different way: looking from a different aspect. For example, 'Little Sod's Next Step' looks at walking, being potty trained, and also hints that a new baby could be on the way. The final book, 'Not Another Little Sod' includes the original child, now two and a half years old, and the newborn baby. The third book is the longest, with 143 pages, and involves sibling rivalry. The series was highly successful in the UK and spawned several reprints and an animated TV series. The books were originally published under 'Victor Gollancz,' and were later rebranded under 'Orion.'
'Little Sod's Next Step,' the second book in the series, was originally known as 'Look Who's Walking: Further Diaries of a Little Sod.' It was later changed for the 2000 release, as the publishers hoped the new title would appeal to a wider audience and fit in with the other titles in the series.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
''How To Be A Little Sod'' was written in 1991 and
adapted
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
into a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
TV release that consisted of 10 consecutive episodes which starred
Rik Mayall as the Little Sod, the main character. There wasn't a second series released but the series was nevertheless successful. The series was released on video cassette and received a
broadcasting certificate of '15'. The books are also available on
audio tape
An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present- ...
. A re-released version of the book was released too, with the number of the book (either book 1, book 2, or book 3, respectively,) written on the front cover. The size of the books themselves were also downsized a fraction, making them a little bit smaller than an A5 notebook.
References
* {{IMDb title, 112008
1992 British novels
Fictional diaries
Victor Gollancz Ltd books
1995 British television series debuts
1996 British television series endings
BBC television comedy
Television series based on children's books