The Parent Agency

The Parent Agency
First edition cover
AuthorDavid Baddiel
IllustratorJim Field
LanguageEnglish
GenreFantasy, Humour, Adventure
PublisherHarperCollins Children's Books
Publication date
9 October 2014
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Pages383 pp
ISBN978-0-007-55449-2

The Parent Agency is a children's fiction novel written by David Baddiel and illustrated by Jim Field. It was published on 9 October 2014[1] by HarperCollins Children's Books. The book follows a 9-year-old boy named Barry Bennett, who gets transported to an alternate universe where children choose their parents. A film adaptation is currently in the works.[2]

Synopsis

James Bond and FC Barcelona fan Barry Bennett gets transported to 'United Kid-dom' in an alternate universe where kids choose their parents, after Barry wished he had better parents. He encounters his friends Jake, Lucas and Taj (with different names) working at 'The Parent Agency' in 'Youngdon', where he discovers that everyone has to find parents before their tenth birthday. With his in 5 days time, Barry is assigned to 5 different sets of parents (one on each day), before deciding he prefers his original parents, being transported back to them on his tenth birthday.

Characters

  • Barry Bennett – the protagonist of the book. He is transported into an alternate universe where kids choose their parents.
  • The Sisterly/Secretary Entity (Ginny and Kay Bennett/Bustle) [TSE] – Barry's twin sisters, whom he refers to as one entity. They work at The Parent Agency in the alternate universe, with their (alternate universe) parents being Barry's fifth set of trial parents, where he saves TSE from choking.
  • Jake, Lucas and Taj – Barry's friends who work at The Parent Agency in the alternate universe, with Jake 'The Head' of the agency, and Lucas and Taj as PCs (Parent Controllers) 890 and 891.
  • Susan and Geoff Bennett – Barry's parents. Barry has a list of 'things [he] blames [his] parents for'.
  • Lord and Lady Rader-Wellorff – Barry's first set of trial parents, under the criteria 'rich'. They live at Bottomley Hall in the village of 'Bottomley Bottom' with their butler Peevish and eight children (Jeremy, Teremy, Meremy, Heremy, Queremy, Smellemy, Sea Anemone and Dave). He goes back to The Parent Agency after a grouse shoot.
  • Vlad Mitt and Morrissina Padada [Vlassorina] – Barry's second set of trial parents, under the criteria 'famous'. They live in a massive private tower complex called 'Vlassopolis'. They take him to the premiere of Death in the Car 5, at which Vlassorina ask him to change his name to Barrissina, to which he refuses, asking to be taken back to The Parent Agency.
  • Derek and Emily Fwahm! – Barry's third set of trial parents, under the criteria 'fit and strong ... never get tired'. They insist on having their surname italicised and with an exclamation mark. They live in a gym, with TVs powered by treadmills. As the fitness trainers on the United Kid-dom football team, they get Barry on the team, where his teammates are the Rader-Wellorff children (due to their father being the head of the FA), along with Lionel Tidy (parody of Lionel Messi).
  • Elliott and Mama Cool – Barry's fourth set of trial parents, under the criteria 'parents who let me do whatever I want'. They use 'like' in every sentence. They live in a tent on the Bottomley Hall estate, with their dog, Neil. They ask Barry to go back to The Parents Agency after a game of Animal Car Wars and Barry is sick on them.
  • Marjorie and Malcolm Bustle – Barry's fifth set of trial parents, who are also The Secretary Entity's parents in the alternate universe. He saves TSE from choking after putting salt and pepper in his birthday cake from Marjorie and Malcolm and getting TSE to eat it. He goes back to The Parent Agency after feeling bad about this.

Background

Baddiel was inspired to write the book after a conversation with his nine-year-old son, Ezra. After visiting a Harry Potter exhibition, Ezra asked his father 'Dad, why didn't Harry run away from the Dursleys and go and find some better parents?'[3][4] This inspired Baddiel to write the book.

Reception

The Parent Agency received positive praise from editorials such as The Guardian[5] and HuffPost UK,[6] while The Independent critiqued it, saying that '[Baddiel] just tries too hard to be funny'.[3]

Adaptation

In 2016, Deadline reported that Fox 2000 Pictures had acquired the film rights to The Parent Agency, to be produced by Snowed-In Productions.[2]

A stage musical adaptation premiered at the Storyhouse, Chester with book and lyrics by Baddiel, music and additional lyrics by Dan Gillespie Sells, directed by Tim Jackson, and choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille . The show ran from 15 February (with a gala night on 19 February) until 2 March 2025.[7]

The Parent Agency received positive reviews from Yahoo! News,[8] The Review Hub,[9] The Times.[10] While The Guardian[11] described it as simplistic, stompy and uninspired.

The cast include:

  • Louis Wilkins, Eli Sowden-Mehta,[12] Osian Salter[13] and Max Bispham[14] sharing the role of Barry.
  • Rakesh Boury as Geoff.
  • Rebecca McKinnis as Susan.
  • Alan Vicary as Grandpa.
  • Kazmin Borrer as Kay.
  • Natasha Cayabyab as Ginny.
  • Elliot Broadfoot as Peevish.
  • Dylan Collymore as Jacob.
  • Sarah McFarlane as Ella.
  • Joshian Angelo Omana as DJ.
  • Ralph Birtwell and Althea Burey as Ensemble.
  • Elliot Copeland, Jessica Daugirda, Sophia Lewis, and Robbie Scott as Swings

Awards

Year Body Award Result
2016 Laugh Out Loud Awards (The Lollies) Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 9-13 year olds Won

References

  1. ^ "The Parent Agency". HarperCollins Publishers UK. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b Jaafar, Ali (19 July 2016). "Fox 2000 Acquires Rights To David Baddiel Novel 'The Parent Agency'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b "The Parent Agency by David Baddiel, book review: He just tries too". The Independent. London. 2 October 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  4. ^ Heathcote, Charlotte (23 November 2014). "David Baddiel: 'I work on five things at once'". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  5. ^ Group, The Eye Boggling Blurbs Book (23 January 2016). "The Parent Agency by David Baddiel – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 July 2022. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ "Book Review: 'The Parent Agency' by David Baddiel". HuffPost UK. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  7. ^ "New Musical Adaptation of David Baddiel's The Parent Agency to Premiere at Storyhouse in 2025". Deeside.com. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  8. ^ "New Chester Storyhouse musical is a joy for everyone - except those named Barry!". Yahoo News. 27 February 2025. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  9. ^ West, The Reviews Hub-North (19 February 2025). "The Parent Agency – Storyhouse, Chester". The Reviews Hub. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  10. ^ "Theatre & Dance | Culture". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  11. ^ Akbar, Arifa (20 February 2025). "The Parent Agency review – David Baddiel's derivative musical goes for the obvious jokes". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  12. ^ "Eli Sowden-Mehta | Actor". IMDb. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  13. ^ "Osian Salter | Actor". IMDb. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  14. ^ "Max Bispham". IMDb. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
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