A New Exciting Children's Book Series

THE VILLES

Herman and his adventures on the Magical Bus

Basil Brush Reads SADSVILLE and Helps Kids Home schooling

You can now watch Basil Brush reading SADSVILLE.

There’s also a Home Study workbook that helps children consider their emotions and reach out for help if they are sad for any reason.

For teachers, there’s a whole range of support materials from a Lesson Plan to a suggested assembly. Visit www.martinrobertsfoundation.org.uk

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CAN YOU HELP SOLVE THE MYSTERIES?

The Villes series of children’s books are written by TV celebrity, Martin Roberts (www.martinroberts.co.uk) to help encourage problem solving in 6-9 years olds.  The Villes are fantasy lands where something is wrong. In Tiredsville, for instance, everyone is perpetually tired. In Fullsville, they are continually feeling like they’ve over-eaten and in Coldsville they are always feeling…yes, you’ve guessed it, COLD!!

Herman, Martin’s rather eccentric and unconventional hero starts out each morning with a journey on The Magical Bus and finds himself in one of The Villes. Taking an outsider’s perspective on things, he soon uncovers the reason behind the problem and sets about putting it right – meeting some colourful characters and making some new friends along the way. Whilst the cause of the problem is often humorous or whimsical, he demonstrates that sometimes, ‘thinking outside the box’, helps to see beyond the current reality.

The Villes books aim to promote problem solving skills in children. Written in an early ‘chapter style’ yet with full colour illustrations on every page, they bridge the gap between pictured led story books and chapter books and are enjoyed by children and adults alike.

VIEW ALL THE VILLES TITLES

MEET THE AUTHOR

MARTIN ROBERTS

Best known for his 16 years at the helm of ‘Homes Under the Hammer’ and entering the Australian jungle in 2016 as part of ITV’s ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here!’, Martin is also a property author, DIY enthusiast, car boot sale lover and caravanner!

It may come as no surprise that, Martin loves doing what you see him doing on the telly! He loves DIY and renovating things. One particular joy is building sheds…and he  currently has 10…but according to Martin, there’s always room for another!!

He also loves music and plays a bit of piano and guitar… but his great joy is being in the outdoors. As you may recall from I’m a Celebrity, Martin also partial to a bit of tree hugging!!

He has loads of pets…currently three labradoodles, a golden retriever and two guinea pigs… oh, and two lovely kids aged 9 and 12.

VISIT MARTIN'S WEBSITE
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Why Martin started writing the Villes

How The Villes were Born

Initially, Martin wrote the Villes for his children. As a father, he loves reading to them, and to be reading a book he’d written himself seemed extra special.  In one of the Villes, Martin has even named one of the characters after his daughter, and a dog after Wofful – one of the family labradoodles!

As the ideas for the Villes developed, Martin says that he loved the idea of these towns (or Villes) where the inhabitants are so focussed on dealing with the effects of the problem… like it’s always too hot (Hotsville) or everyone is very hairy (Hairyville)…. that they don’t try to solve the root cause of the problem!!

Herman gets on his big red double-decker bus every morning, not knowing where he’s going, but his problem-solving skills help sort things out.

The first ‘Ville’ to be written was Tiredsville and shortly afterwards, Martin found a fantastic illustrator called Jackie Geoghegan, who brought all the characters to life…and so Herman and the Magical Bus to the Villes were born.

MEET OUR HERO

HERMAN BRIMBLE

An Unconventional Character
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Herman Brimble is an unlikely hero! As a rather eccentric young man who lives with his Great Aunt Edna, he has never bowed to convention and is a bit old fashioned! That doesn’t mean to say that he is shy and retiring though! Quite the opposite, Herman loves exploring new places and having adventures.

Each day, Herman boards the Magical Bus which takes him to a far off land where he quickly discovers that there is something wrong.

Thanks to his trusty back pack, curious mind and problem solving skills, Herman soon finds himself trying to discover what it is that is causing the problem that is blighting the lives of the ‘Villes’ inhabitants.

Herman hates rudeness and doesn’t take ‘No’ for an answer, yet is a kind and gentle hero who is really rather clever.

He loves chocolate bourbon biscuits and a nice cup of tea.

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Problem Solving Genius

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

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Herman has a bit of a knack for solving problems! Buy why do you think he’s so good at it?

Sometimes, it takes an outsider looking in to see things differently and that is exactly what Herman is. The people in Tiredsville seemed to have just accepted that they will always be tired, until Herman comes along and taking a ‘helicopter view’ discovers that it’s something to do with what they are sleeping on…

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The Sadsville Campaign

Sadsville is a special title within The Villes children’s book series written especially to support the work of the NSPCC & Childline.
In keeping with the whimsical tone of all The Villes stories, the reason why everyone in Sadsville is so upset stems from a rather funny origin, but the message is clear:
IF YOU CAN ONLY STEP OUTSIDE YOUR REALITY MOMENTARILY YOU MAY BE ABLE TO FIND HELP FOR YOURSELF.
The aim of the Martin Roberts Foundation is to raise enough money to enable a FREE copy of Sadsville to be given to all Year 4 (age 8/9) children across the country. Thats 770,000 copies that we hope to distribute with the help of sponsorship and donations.
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GET INVOLVED

GAMES & ACTIVITIES

SAY 'HELLO' TO HERMAN

CONTACT

Send a Message

Herman would love to hear from you! Why not tell him what you thought of the latest Villes book that you’ve read?

    (c) Copyright 2020