The Parent Agency

4.0

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Author(s)

David Baddiel

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Jim Field

Publisher

HarperCollins

Genre(s)

Humor

Age Range

Release Date

May 03, 2016

ISBN

9780062405449

Buy This Book

A boy travels to an alternate world where kids get to choose their own parents in this zany, internationally bestselling adventure, which combines the be-careful-what-you-wish-for humor of The Chocolate Touch with the classic appeal of Roald Dahl.

Barry Bennett is sick of his parents. They’re boring, they’re too strict, and it’s their fault his name is Barry. So he makes a wish for better ones—and is whisked away to the Parent Agency, where kids get to pick out their perfect parents.

For Barry, this seems like a dream come true. But as he’s about to discover, choosing a new mom and dad isn’t as simple as it sounds…

The Parent Agency is the first children’s book by British author and comedian David Baddiel, and it includes illustrations by Roald Dahl Funny Prize–winning artist Jim Field.

For Barry, this seems like a dream come true. But as he’s about to discover, choosing a new mom and dad isn’t as simple as it sounds…

The Parent Agency is the first children’s book by British author and comedian David Baddiel, and it includes illustrations by Roald Dahl Funny Prize–winning artist Jim Field.

Editor reviews

2 reviews

Be Careful What You Wish For

February 25, 2016 (Updated: June 29, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Barry is tired of his parents. They are weird and boring and won't throw him the kind of James Bond birthday party he wants. His twin sisters are annoying as well. When he is approached by The Parent Agency to pick new parents after trying five different sets of them, he jumps on the opportunity. Using his list of things wrong with his parents, he asks for parents that are wealthy, famous, like him best, and basically are NOTHING like his boring parents. He has several birthday parties thrown for him, with various stages of success. His wealthy parents are also criminals, the famous parents are even more annoying, and in general, life is not an improvement even with amazing opportunities and material advantages.

Good Points

This has a very British, classic feel to it, and is definitely a goofy book. All of the parents, even Barry's own, are over the top in whatever their defining quality is. While Barry is demanding and judgmental of his own parents at first, he does learn a lot from being with different families, and it comes as no surprise when he starts to appreciate his own. The journey, however, is the amusing part of this. Parents who would allow a child to stick his head under a chocolate fountain, let him eat all of the candy that he wanted, or write and sing a song about the child on national television seem like a good idea... at the time!

While this is not a notebook novel, there are enough funny illustrations to intrigue readers of Big Nate and Wimpy Kid, and elementary aged readers who have ever been annoyed with their own parents (and this has to be almost all of them) will appreciate Barry's struggles with trying to get his own way.