The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler
Front cover of first edition
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| Author | Gene Kemp |
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| Illustrator | Carolyn Dinan (1977) Kenny McKendry (1994) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Cricklepit |
| Genre | Children's adventure novel, gender bender, day school story, comedy |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
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Publication date
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7 February 1977 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
| Pages | 118 pp (first edition) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 3224554 |
| LC Class | PZ7.K3055 Tu |
| Followed by | Gowie Corby Plays Chicken |
The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler is a children's day-school adventure novel by Gene Kemp, first published by Faber in 1977 with illustrations by Carolyn Dinan. Set at Cricklepit Combined School in southern England, a fictional primary school for ages 4 to 12, it inaugurated the series of seven books (1977 to 2002) that is sometimes called the Cricklepit Combined School series. According to a later publisher, "Kemp is widely acclaimed for giving the school story a new lease of life" with The Turbulent Term and its Cricklepit sequels.
Kemp won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject, and one of the "Other Awards" from Children's Rights Workshop.
The author adapted the novel as a play, published under the same title by Oxford in 2003 (Oxford Playscripts, ), "tailored to support the KS3 Framework for Teaching English".
A television adaptation was made by Yorkshire Television and broadcast on ITV in 1988 as part of The Book Tower.
The book tells the story of its main characters' final term at Cricklepit Combined School. It is principally narrated by 'Tyke' Tiler, a bold and athletic twelve-year-old with the reputation of being a troublemaker. Tyke's best friend Danny Price has a speech defect, which means Tyke often has to translate for him. Danny has a helpless air which leads him to depend on his often exasperated friend. When Tyke overhears some teachers discussing the possibility of Danny going to a special school next year, the only option seems to be to help Danny to cheat in the assessment test – a plan which naturally backfires.
When Tyke is off sick, Danny is accused of stealing a gold watch and runs away. It is up to Tyke to persuade the headmaster that Martin and Kevin are the guilty ones, and to find Danny.
On the last day of school, Tyke decides to emulate Thomas Tiler, a relative, in climbing up the outside of the school and ringing the school bell, which has been silent for thirty years. When this ends in disaster the headmaster says: "That child has always appeared to me to be on the brink of wrecking this school, and as far as I can see, has, at last, succeeded."
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