Driffield Church Of England Voluntary Controlled Infant School

There once was a boy called Billy McGill
who lived by himself at the top of a hill.
He spent every day in his house all alone
for Billy McGill liked to be on his own. 

But life doesn't always turn out how you plan it…

The book was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2022!

The book tells us how one day Billy hears the squeak of a mouse – destroying his perfectly peaceful existence. So he gets a cat to catch the mouse. But the cat and the mouse make friends. So he gets a dog to chase the cat. But they all play together too. So then he gets a bear … then a tiger … and on it goes, until Billy's house is so filled with characters that he has to move out. Will he find that he still craves peace and quiet, or is it actually quite lovely to have company and friends?

Ask your child to tell you what happens.

Thank you to everyone who came and joined us yesterday in the shared reading.