'He had watched the Queen’s smile getting a tiny bit smaller every day. Could this freckle-faced nine-year-old boy really turn her frown upside-down? It was worth a shot.'

Billy Brown is good at maths but bad at sports. He wishes it were the other way around. When the Queen is struggling with a maths problem, it's Billy's time to shine!

Only Billy Brown can help the Queen with her difficult maths problem, and she gives him a big gold medal. But when the Queen then comes to stay with Billy's family everything begins to get royally awkward.

Then there's Billy's grandma, who used to be a spy ...

'This delightful book reads like a mashup of Sue Townsend's hilarious The Queen and I with bits of Roddy Doyle's Rover Trilogy. And although it's lighthearted, it has an important message for kids who feel "different" and for those who are hopeless at sports. Generously sprinkled with gorgeous illustrations by Fintan Taite.' –  The Irish Independent

'A charming story about being proud of who you are.' – Mumzworld.com

Alison Healy has worked as a journalist with the Irish Times for almost 18 years. She specialises in food and farming issues but is currently on a career break, working as a ghost writer and on her children’s fiction. This is her first children’s book.

About the Illustrator

Fintan Taite is a freelance illustrator and cartoonist from Dublin. He is a member and former chairman of the Illustrators Guild of Ireland. His work has appeared in many newspapers and magazines in Ireland and abroad including The Irish Times, the Sunday Tribune, Magill and The Dubliner, and he has illustrated a number of books and advertising campaigns.