Ted Rules the World

By Frank Cottrell Boyce, Cate James and Chris Riddell

A hilarious comedy caper from Frank Cottrell-Boyce, now in a standard paperback format for middle-grade readers.

Ted thinks there’s something fishy going on. Ever since his birthday when he got a special loyalty card at the local shop, all his great ideas are being thought of by the new Prime Minister too. Now there’s laws about walking to school and everyone has Mondays off! Could the shop’s market research lady have anything to do with it? And if Ted has become a Leader, shouldn’t he start thinking up proper laws to save the world…

A hilarious comedy caper from Frank Cottrell-Boyce, now in a format particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 7+

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Jan 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9781800901421

Frank Cottrell Boyce

Frank Cottrell Boyce is the author of Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth, The Astounding Broccoli Boy, Cosmic, Framed, and Millions, the last of which was a New York Times bestseller and was made into a movie by Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle. His books have won or been nominated for numerous awards, including the Carnegie Medal, the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, and the Whitbread Children's Book Award. Frank is also a screenwriter, having penned the scripts for a number of feature films as well as the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. He lives in Liverpool with his family.

Book preview

To Héloïse,

who will one day rule the world

Contents

Title Page

Dedication

1 A New Prime Minister

2 Evil Owen

3 Hula Hoops

4 Soup in Tins

5 A Law that Works

6 Stockport County

7 Genius

8 Nothing Special

9 Back to Normal?

Copyright

Chapter 1

A New Prime Minister

I love it when you wake up early on your birthday. You can lie there and think about all the excellent new stuff that is coming your way.

When I woke up on my birthday, my mum and dad were already downstairs.

That must be a monster surprise they’re getting ready down there, I thought. It’s only half past six. It has to be a quad bike.

I stayed in bed a bit longer. I didn’t want to mess up their big moment. In the end, I just couldn’t wait. I ran down the stairs.

Hi, Mum. Hi, Dad, I said.

There wasn’t a quad bike. Or a new PlayStation. Or an iPhone in a smart new box. My mum and dad were in fact asleep on the sofa.

Hi, Mum. Hi, Dad, I said again, a