The sparkling career of comedian David Walliams continued to rise with his latest book, The Beast Of Buckingham Palace, so here’s everything you need to know about the book, including when to expect the paperback release date to land. We’ve also covered the age range in a bit more detail to help you decide if it’s one for you, whether you’re looking for the physical release, ebook or audiobook.
The Beast Of Buckingham Palace is easily the biggest kids book released in time for Christmas 2019, but it’s currently only out on hardback, which is pretty bulky. The good news is that it’s already available on ebook and audiobook, but you’ll have a hefty wait for the paperback, which you can read more about in the section below.
AdvertisementIt’s David Walliams’ thirteenth children’s novel, continuing his now long-standing career as an author, which dates back to the release of The Boy in the Dress back in 2008. With such a large back catalogue now and the ongoing critical praise for his books, it looks like the comedian, actor and author has cemented his place among other big British children’s writers.
The story is set in a ruined London 100-years in the future. A griffin has taken up residence in Buckingham Palace and threatens what remains of the residents. The young Prince Alfred must put his illness aside when is mother is dragged off to the Tower of London, putting him face-to-face with the King of Beasts.
Paperback release date UK
AdvertisementWith the hardback, ebook and audiobook only recently out in November 2019, the paperback release date won’t be officially announced for a while yet. However, there are some good indicators to go on to look forward on when to expect The Beast Of Buckingham Palace paperback.
The last big children’s book from David Walliams was The Ice Monster, which came out in November 2018 on hardback, ebook and audiobook. It has since been confirmed for a paperback release on the 9th January 2020, nearly fourteen months after the hardback came out. It was a similar story for Bad Dad, the book before The Ice Monster, so there’s definitely a pattern to follow.
AdvertisementIf you track that forward for The Beast Of Buckingham Palace then you’re looking at January 2021 for the paperback release. That’s an incredibly long time to wait even for books, which normally average a year before they make the transition.
It looks like Walliams’ books go for a Christmas release for the hardback and then bypass Christmas for the soft cover versions to prevent them from steeling the limelight from the next book. As a result, you can throw in a caveat that the longer timescale might be reduced if there is no new book next year. However, that’s highly unlikely considering the success of his novels and the fact that he’s put at least one out a year since he first became a published author.
UK hardback, ebook and audiobook release
The Beast Of Buckingham Palace ebook, audiobook and hardback release date was the 21st November 2019, which set it up well for a big Christmas launch. The audiobook is narrated by Joanna Lumley, Fiona Shaw, Andy Serkis, Lizzie Waterworth, James Goode, Nitin Ganatra and David Walliams, so it’s definitely got a lot of star attraction behind it.
You can follow us on Twitter to keep tabs on more upcoming book releases or check out David Walliams’ Twitter page at twitter.com/davidwalliams.
The Beast Of Buckingham Palace audiobook age range
The age range for David Walliams’ books have varied a little over the years, but The Beast Of Buckingham Palace is recommended for ages 7 and up. However, it’s a chunky book with 464 pages and a little over half a kilo in weight, so if that sounds a little much then you might want to wait a year or so. The good news is that it’s filled with illustrations by Tony Ross, so it’s not all the story that pushes up the page count.
The suitability for teens is much less, so unless you know that they’re big fans of David Walliams it probably isn’t the best bet for age 13s and older.
We’ll add in more details as they become available, but the information above should give you a good idea of what to expect from it in terms of the paperback release. You can check out our book news section to see details for other books coming soon and see more on David Walliams’ thirteenth children’s novel at www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/books/.
