Boogers, Books and Big Bottom Burps is the fifth fringe offering from Stuart Reid since he eschewed a corporate career for the life of an itinerant children’s author. A committed ambassador for reading, (and obvious fan of alliteration), Reid has had much practice at honing his patter and proudly refers to his 1500 school visits to date.

This year’s theme of  “Reading Rocks” aims to make reading cool:  the listener is implored to “turn on the television within your head,” whilst Reid recites stories from several of his books. Sporting his trademark kilt, Reid gives a highly energetic and enthusiastic performance as he weaves excerpts from several of his seven books into the show. For those unfamiliar with his central characters, some of the stories might be a little difficult to follow, particularly as Reid has quite a fast-paced delivery style.

Nevertheless all manner of devices are employed to keep the attention of the young audience: big screens show short YouTube funnies while there are plentiful opportunities for younger audience participation including: shouting, dancing and pelting Reid with sweets. References to bottom burps, jobbies (Scottish for poo) and bogies are likely to further delight everyone under the age of 10! Parents don’t escape scot-free either, with one long-suffering father playing the role of an elephant with great aplomb.

Although there is hardly time to give anything barring a taster of the stories (signed copies are available to purchase after the show), much fun is had by all and an impromptu ending offers kids the chance to perform The Floss – the latest school dance craze, showing that Reid is on point with current playground cool.