More William

More William is the second collection of stories featuring the irrepressible William Brown, an eleven-year-old working-class boy who leads the Outlaws gang in their endless campaign against adults, homework, and the unbearable dullness of being respectable. William approaches every situation with absolute certainty that he's right, and his earnest attempts to help usually leave chaos in their wake: Christmas presents that disaster, flooded hallways, and confused battles against invisible enemies. The brilliance of these stories lies in William's completely sincere logic. He cannot understand why adults make such a fuss when he's only trying to help. Crompton captures something true about childhood: the baffling irrationality of the grown-up world, the fierce loyalty of friendships, and the particular joy of being part of a gang that owns a perfectly good fort. These stories have been delighting readers for over a century because they remember exactly what it felt like to be young and absolutely certain you were right.