After Uncle Parker enters a contest and wins a trip to the Caribbean, the rest of the Bagthrope family (except for Jack) is determined to win a better prize. They enter every contest they can find. However, when the prize winnings start coming in, the Bagthropes find that they mostly won the runner up prizes of toasters and sunscreen instead of the home kitchen remodel or the trip to the Mediterranean. When Uncle Parker and Aunt Celia head off to their Caribbean cruise, they drop off little Daisy with the Bagthropes. The Bagthropes' home will never be the same after the destructive Daisy gets done with it. ( )

As discovered in Ordinary Jack the Bagthorpe family is highly competitive. When we meet up with them in Absolute Zero they have taken their one-upman-ship to a whole new level by entering as many different contests as possible. Uncle Parker begins it all when he enters a slogan competition and it snowballs from there. As each member begins to win something they become known as celebrities. Their fame grows to the point of commercials and live television. But, who knew Zero the dog would take center stage? As with Ordinary Jack hilarity ensues, especially when little cousin Parker moves on from pyromania to an obsession with water. I'll say no more. ( )

I had forgotten about the Bagthorpe series until I reminded on a librarian's email list. Children's librarians were sharing titles that they wished were back in print. I grabbed up this title at their recommendation and I'm so glad I did. Great British language. Wonderful humor. Wild and crazy characters. I laughed and laughed and laughed. I highly recommend Absolute Zero! ( )

Book two in the Bagthorpe saga, see "Ordinary Jack" for details.
In this book Uncle Parker wins a trip to the Caribbean by writing a slogan for a cereal. This sparks a torrent of contest entries. Also while the Parkers are in the Caribbean, Daisy writes on the walls, floods the house, ruins the color of the paint and blames everything on her imaginary friend Ary Awk. One of the contests wins the Bagthorpes a TV program for the happiest family a video which is live for the last five minutes in which the Bagthorpes burn down their newly finished dining room. Review by: Roy, devourer of souls. ( )

In this second book of the Bagthorpe saga, the competitive Bagthorpes begin a spree of contest-entering, four-year-old terror Daisy comes for a visit and works on Reconciling the Disparate in many creative -- and simultaneously destructive -- ways, and the Bagthorpian traditions of fire, flood, and various other disasters continue unabated. Of all of the contest entries, however, the biggest winner of the family is Zero, Jack's lovable but not particularly intelligent mutt. Of course, this development does not set well with the rest of the Bagthorpes, but when they win a competition for "the happiest family in Britain!" they must try to put on a good show. Naturally, hilarity ensues. This book can be read as a stand-alone, though it makes a few passing references to events from the previous book. The eccentric characters continue to develop, and Cresswell's British humor is at its peak here. Highly recommended. ( )