Eating Chips with Monkey

A warm, bittersweet and wryly funny story of a family piecing themselves back together after an accident shatters their lives
Nominated for the CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2021

Ten-year-old Daniel is never happier than when he is eating chips.

When an impromptu trip to a chip shop seems to briefly engage Daniel with the real world, the family decide to revisit their Chip Shop Championships, on a quest to find the best chip shop in the country.

Ten-year-old Daniel is never happier than when he is eating chips. Especially during his family's annual Chip Shop Championships, the highlight of his year. And especially when he can also eat chips with Monkey, his beloved soft toy and trusty companion. But one terrible November day, the lives of Daniel and his family are changed forever when an accident renders Daniel a shadow of his former self. As Daniel retreats into himself, his family slowly begin to fall apart, without this bright boy at the heart of their lives.

When an impromptu trip to a chip shop seems to briefly engage Daniel with the real world, the family decide to revisit their Chip Shop Championships, on a quest to find the best chip shop in the country. Along the way, as they attempt to rebuild their family and regain Daniel, they must contend with hungry giraffes, nouveau cuisine, the loss of Monkey, the theft of Grandma, and lots of chips.

Winner of the Sheffield Children's Book Award (shorter novel category)
Nominated for the CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2021
Shortlisted for the Calderdale Children's Book of the Year 2021