Tom Gates

Tom Gates is a British series of fiction and graphic books written by Liz Pichon taking the form of an illustrated diary written by the eponymous schoolboy. There are a total of 21 published Tom Gates books, as of 2021.[1] The first book in the series, The Brilliant World of Tom Gates, was published in 2011 and won the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, a Red House Children's Book Award and a Waterstones Children's Book Prize.[2] As of 2023 the books have sold more than 14 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 47 languages.[3]

Tom Gates title art
Tom Gates title art

Background

Aged around 10 years old, Tom is the younger of the two children of Frank and Rita Gates, and the younger brother of Delia.[4] He attends Oakfield Primary School where he is in Mr Fullerman's Class 5F, under headmaster Mr Keen. Children in his class include Marcus Meldrew (who sits next to and consistently annoys Tom in class), and Amy Porter (who also sits next to Tom, but whom Tom hopes to impress). Also in his year at Oakfield is his best friend Derek Fingle, who also lives next door to him. Tom has a second neighbour, June Jones, that annoys Tom and dislikes his band.

His grandparents are Frank's parents Granny Mavis And Granddad Bob that Tom refers to as "The Fossils", while Rita's parents are known as "The Wrinklies".

Tom and Derek are in a band called Dog Zombies, consisting of Tom on guitar, Derek on keyboard, and classmate Norman Watson on drums.

Books
  • The Brilliant World of Tom Gates (2011)
  • Tom Gates: Excellent Excuses (And Other Good Stuff) (2011)
  • Tom Gates: Everything's Amazing (Sort Of) (2011)
  • Tom Gates: Genius Ideas (Mostly) (2012)
  • Tom Gates Is Absolutely Fantastic (at Some Things) (2013)
  • Tom Gates: Extra Special Treats (not) (2013)
  • Tom Gates: A Tiny Bit Lucky (2014)
  • Tom Gates: Yes! No (Maybe... ) (2015)
  • Tom Gates: Top of the Class (Nearly) (2015)
  • Tom Gates: Super Good Skills (Almost...) (2016)
  • Tom Gates: DogZombies Rule (For Now) (2016)
  • Tom Gates: Family, Friends and Furry Creatures (2017)
  • Tom Gates: Epic Adventure (kind of) (2017)
  • Tom Gates: Biscuits, Bands and Very Big Plans (2018)
  • Tom Gates: What Monster? (2018)
  • Tom Gates: Mega Make and Do (and Stories Too!) (2019)
  • Tom Gates: Spectacular School Trip (really!) (2019)
  • Tom Gates: Ten Tremendous Tales (2021)
  • Tom Gates: Random Acts Of Fun (2021)
  • Tom Gates: Happy To Help (eventually) (2022)
  • Tom Gates: Five Star Stories (hooray!) (2023)

Additional books
  • Tom Gates: Best Book Day Ever! (so far) (2013)
  • Tom Gates: The Big Book Of Fun Stuff (2014)
  • Tom Gates: Totally Brilliant Annual (2017)
  • Tom Gates: The Music Book (2019)
  • Tom Gates: You Can Draw (2022)
  • Tom Gates: Totally Brilliant Advent Calendar (2022)

Adaptations

Stage

In 2019, the Birmingham Stage Company presented a stage play called Tom Gates Live on Stage! that featured the characters in live action.[5] It toured the UK and starred Matthew Chase as Tom Gates and Amy Hargreaves as Delia.[6]

Television

In 2020, Sky Kids announced that it was making The Brilliant World of Tom Gates to be available on Sky's on demand service Sky Kids in the UK and Ireland.[7] The first series, consisting of 20 animated episodes, was released in early 2021, featuring Catherine Tate as both Rita Gates and Granny Mavis, Mark Bonnar as Mr Fullerman, and Logan Matthews as Tom Gates.[8][9] Creator Liz Pichon also appears in the episodes in a live-action segment in which she gives ideas for creating artwork inspired by the series.[10] The second series was released in 2022. The series also has the Halloween and Christmas specials.[11]

Awards
Year Book Award Result
2011 The Brilliant World of Tom Gates Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2011 Won
2012 Red House Children's Book Award Won
Waterstones Children's Book Prize Won
Genius Ideas (Mostly) Specsavers National Book Awards Children's Book of the Year Runner-up
2013 Blue Peter Award for Best Story Won

References
  1. "Liz Pichon". Archived from the original on 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  2. Eccleshare, Julia (7 Mar 2016). "Why children's books love to celebrate the 'losers'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  3. "The Brilliant World of Tom Gates". Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  4. Flood, Alison (19 Oct 2021). "Liz Pichon: 'I always thought the Tom Gates series would come to an end really quickly'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  5. Wiegand, Chris (2019-05-13). "Tom Gates Live on Stage! review – songs and sketches from the schoolboy doodler". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  6. Marlowe, Sam (2023-06-28). "Review: Tom Gates at Richmond Theatre". ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  7. "Sky Kids welcomes the Brilliant World of Tom Gates from TG Entertainment". Sky. 8 July 2020. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  8. Guide, British Comedy (2020-12-16). "Catherine Tate and Mark Bonnar voice Tom Gates series". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  9. Scotland, Screen (2021-05-10). "Catherine Tate and Mark Bonnar head voice cast for The Brilliant World of Tom Gates". Screen Scotland. Archived from the original on 2023-04-16. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  10. Flood, Alison (2021-10-19). "Liz Pichon: 'I always thought the Tom Gates series would come to an end really quickly'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-06-02. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  11. Milligan, Mercedes (2023-04-19). "Sky Commissions Third Season of 'The Brilliant World of Tom Gates' from TG Ent". www.animationmagazine.net. Archived from the original on 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
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