Johnny Maxwell facts for kids
Johnny Maxwell is a special character in a series of three children's books written by Terry Pratchett. He's a young boy, about twelve years old in the first book, who lives in a made-up English town called Blackbury.
Johnny's home life is a bit tricky. His parents separate, and he and his mom move in with his grandpa. Maybe because of this, he starts seeing things that no one else does. He sees aliens, ghosts, and even a time-traveling homeless lady! Or, maybe he just sees them because they are really there, and he's one of the few people who notices how amazing the world can be. Terry Pratchett often wrote about this idea.
Even with all these strange things happening, Johnny is pretty normal. His friend Kirsty often gets annoyed because he just accepts weird events instead of trying to fix them. But Johnny always tries to do what's fair and right, even when he doesn't understand what's going on.
Terry Pratchett once said that Johnny was loosely based on what the character Just William from older books might be like if he lived in the 1990s.
Contents
Johnny's Friends: The Gang
Johnny hangs out with a group of friends who don't quite fit in with other school groups. They are:
- Stephen 'Wobbler' Johnson. Wobbler is Johnny's best friend and a main character in the books. He loves computers and is very good with them. He wants to be a nerd, but even other nerds don't let him join their group! He often thinks Johnny is a bit crazy. In one book, Johnny and the Bomb, Wobbler accidentally got stuck in the past, in 1941. Because of time travel, it's a bit confusing if he really grew up there or if he came back to his own time. But a Wobbler definitely returned!
- Simon 'Bigmac' Wrigley. Bigmac has asthma and is a skinhead. He's really good at mathematics, but he's embarrassed about it. He lives with his brother in a tall building on the edge of Blackbury. He's not exactly a criminal, but he sometimes gets confused about who owns cars. He's quite smart, probably one of the smartest in the gang after Kirsty and Yo-less. He often acts tough, but he hides his true feelings. He sometimes gets into trouble, like when he crashed a car. His favorite band is Heavy Mental.
- Yo-less. This boy is called Yo-less by Johnny because he doesn't say "Yo!". He's interested in things like Star Trek, watching trains, Morris dancing, and brass band music. People sometimes act surprised that a black kid has these "uncool" hobbies, and Yo-less finds it either funny or annoying. If someone is truly unfair or mean to him because of his race, he gets very serious and uses sharp, calm sarcasm.
- Kirsty. Kirsty is very organized and knows what she wants to do with her life, unlike the rest of the gang. She's super smart, but she's not very good at understanding other people's feelings. She thinks everyone else has a problem with their people skills! She tries to help Johnny get his life in order, but she doesn't realize he doesn't really want it organized. Johnny finds it easy to talk to her because she doesn't always listen, which can be helpful sometimes.
Other Important People
- Mrs Tachyon
- Sergeant Comely
- Arthur Maxwell
The Johnny Maxwell Books
The books about Johnny Maxwell are:
Johnny on TV and Radio
- In 1995, a TV show based on Johnny and the Dead was made for Children's ITV. Johnny was played by Andrew Falvery.
- In 1996, BBC Radio 4 made a radio play of Only You Can Save Mankind. Tim Smith played Johnny.
- A CBBC TV show based on Johnny And The Bomb was shown in January 2006. George MacKay played Johnny in this version.
Does it Really Happen?
People sometimes wonder if the strange things that happen to Johnny are real, or if he just imagines them to escape his problems. Terry Pratchett, the author, said this about it:
"I can't be having with that rubbish... To Johnny it's all real, and that's what counts... So: is what happens in the books real? Yes. Does it all happen in Johnny's head? Yes."
This means that for Johnny, everything he experiences is real, and that's what matters.
