Nation

by Terry Pratchett

Random House. Adult/Junior Fiction. Hardcover RRP $49.95

Reviewed by Sandy Fussell

Two kids. Two cultures. An ending you won’t expect.

Mau is on his way home from Boys Island when the world ends. Now he can never complete the ceremony that will make him a man. The Nation, everyone and everything in it, is gone.

Ermintrude, who decides she would rather be called Daphne, is shipwrecked in the tidal wave that destroys the Nation. She is the only survivor but soon discovers there is someone else on the island.

Initially, Mau and Daphne have nothing in common. She is a distant descendant of the English king, a child of privilege and money. Mau is an islander boy who has led a life isolated from the world outside Nation’s island archipelago. To him, Daphne is a ghost girl, one of the ‘trousermen’. To Daphne, Mau is a savage.

As they struggle to overcome the language barrier, they soon realise they share more important things – resourcefulness, tolerance, and compassion. Daphne learns the ways of the Nation and Mau even tries on a pair of trousers. As other people find their way to the island, Mau and Daphne find themselves rebuilding the Nation. It’s not easy. There are many obstacles to overcome – the growing group, cannibalistic sea raiders and mutineers and the ethereal voices of the grandfathers insisting on telling Mau what to do.

Inspired by the eruption of Krakatoa and with a touch of the Atlantis legend, Nation is a satire expertly wrapped in humorous story-telling. Themes of nationhood, coming of age, religious belief and identity are explored but never at the expense of the story. From beginning to end, this is a wonderful read.

http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/

Tweenie Genie

Genie in Charge

by Meredith Badger

hardie grant EGMONT. Australian, Junior, Fantasy. Hardback rrp $16.95

Genie in Charge is the long awaited book three in the Tweenie Genie series. And, like the other two books, I was not disappointed.

Poppy, our young Tweenie Genie, is now in her stage three of training and to graduate she, and the other stage three tweenies, must mentor a stage two tweenie. When tweenies graduate they are granted a special wish to work in the job they want. Poppy, of course, wants to work in the royal stables looking after all the magic carpets.

On Mentor Day the Velodrome Bottle has been transformed with balloons and banners. Poppy is excited. She hopes she will get a wonderful match since she is a “golden” genie (a genie with a good heart). She doesn’t mind who it is just so long as they love flying. Poppy loves taking care of the Royal magic carpets and can’t wait to go flying with her new student.

But things don’t seem to go as planned. Everyone is matched perfectly except Poppy. Her student, Aggi, hasn’t turned up for the matching process. Why would she miss this important day? When Poppy finally meets Aggi she is confronted with a rude genie who doesn’t like riding magic carpets at all.

What happens if Poppy doesn’t graduate? How will Poppy ever get her wish if she can’t mentor Aggi? And why doesn’t Aggi want to dress like all the other tweenies?

Tweenie Genie fans won’t be disappointed in this next exciting instalment of the adventures of Poppy and her friends. And if you’ve ever wondered what happens when a genie’s bottle is broken … you will have to read Genie in Charge.

The Reading Stack reviewed Meredith Badger’s Tweenie Genie. Genie in Training in May 2009 and Tweenie Genie. Genie High School in February 2010.

Nancy Bentley

The First Australian Female Sailor

by Tracey Hawkins and illustrated by Jacqui Grantford

New Frontier Publishing. Australian, Junior, Historical. Hardcover RRP $24.95

Nancy Bentley lived in Port Arthur, Tasmania in 1920. While playing around the harbour she was bitten by a snake. There were no hospitals or doctors nearby but luckily the HMAS Sydney was moored in the bay. The problems began the moment Nancy set foot on the ship. In those days, no woman was allowed on board a naval vessel. The Captain was at a dilemma. How could Nancy stay on board under the care of the ships surgeon? A unique solution was found. At six years of age Nancy Bentley was enlisted into the Royal Australian Navy.

Children will delight in reading this wonderful story that tells a small but interesting part of Australia’s history. With original photographs and scans of Nancy’s entrance and discharge papers, Nancy Bentley is an excellent Australian history book to have on school shelves.

The Reading Stack reviewed Tracey Hawkins Martha’s Journey in April 2009 and Jacqui Grantford’s Molly’sMemory Jar in March 2010.

Gamers’ Challenge

by George Ivanoff

Ford Street Publishing. Australian, Junior, Young Adult, Science Fantasy. Paperback RRP $16.95

Guest Reviewer - Anastasia Gonis

It all started when they broke the Designers’ Rules. They kissed. Then everything changed. Now Tark and Zyra are no longer part of the game. Zyra is now susceptible to every human hurt and habit. Tark is ‘unheard and unseen’ but he feels free from the dependency of Designers’ Paradise where they had lived unchanged and ageless, each one programmed with specified speech patterns.

But a different game starts when Zyra and Tark come into contact with Tee, an Outer, which they too have now become, who has left the game and lives in a community of similar minds. The two are faced with another challenge; another quest. They discover that they have been character constructions, players trapped in a never-ending game that exist in a world of technology that recreates them over and over.

The Outers are being chased by a ball of static known as VI –Viral Interface, comprised of pieces of computer Interface that have escaped into the environment and become lethal. The worst is that the VI becomes larger and more powerful with every kill. It also multiplies as it grows, splitting into additional killers with increasing power and momentum.

The Outers discover the existence of an Ultimate Gamer, with an ultimate exit code that can remove him from the game environment and into the real world. Thus begins the quest to find him and uncover the cheat code. But they are unprepared for what this means. One revelation leads to another inside a labyrinth of options connected with the countless deceptive personas of the Ultimate Gamer. Will Tark and Zyra be able to discern what reality is as they play one last game?

With zombies, knights and dragons, bloody battles, chaos and catastrophe, and magik portals, the reader will view computers, viruses, corrupted files and anti-virus programs with new eyes. Here they become metaphors for danger and destruction in a world where conformity is the ultimate game.

This is the sequel to the charged, Gamers’ Quest. The Reading Stack interviewed George Ivanoff in March 2010.

http://www.gamersquestbook.com/

http://www.georgeivanoff.com.au/

Star League

by H J Harper

Random House Australia. Australian, Junior. Paperback RRP $9.95

Reviewed by Sandy Fussell

Star League is a new, easy-to-read, series of books best suited to independent readers aged 7-10 years or reluctant upper primary readers.

The Star League consists of a movie star, werewolf, ninja, robot, zombie and animancer. Together they fight crime and solve problems. Each book is a Secret File based on one of the characters.

In Secret File 1: Lights, Camera, Action hero, movie star Jake must lead the Star League to rescue his friend Jefferson. In Secret File 2: Curse of the Werewolf, Connor Lowe (the werewolf member of the team) is having trouble when the criminal appears to be a werewolf. In Secret File 3: Raising the Dead, zombie Roger Romero’s magic potion is stolen. Without his Loosification Juice he falls apart! In Secret File 4: The Ninja Code, Asuka discovers a ninja threat to the Star League.

These books successfully target their audience with a mix of humour, worry, action and mystery. They are sure to prove popular with Zac Power and Space Scout fans.

http://hjharper.blogspot.com/

Hazard River Series

Toad’s Revenge/Blood Money

by J E Fison

Ford Street Publishing. Australian, Junior. Paperback RRP $12.95

There’s always something happening at Hazard River and the two most recent titles in the series are no exception.

In Blood Money Jack and his brother Ben ‘the Stinkfinder’ discover a bag of money. Together with their friends Mimi and Lachlan ‘Master of Disaster’ they find not only the owner but a trail of endangered animal smuggling.

In Toad’s Revenge the friends embark on a time machine adventure to a future where cane toads have involved into even more vicious predators, threatening human existence.

The series is easy-to-read and action-packed, best suited to boys 7-10 years. There is an element of predictability which will appeal to newly independent readers and reluctant readers, while the action will keep them turning the pages.

Readers of Justin D’Arth’s Extreme Adventures series and Alison Reynolds Ranger in Danger series will equally enjoy the Hazard River series.

The Reading Stack reviewed J E Fison's Snake Surprise in December 2010

http://www.hazardriver.com/

The Heroes of the Kokoda Track

by Nicolas Brasch

black dog books. History, Junior non-fiction, Australian. Paperback RRP $16.99

The Kokoda Track is an important part of Australian history. You may all know of the hard ache and problems that accompanied the men that fought along the track. But The Heroes of the Kokoda Track is more about the history of why the track was so important and why our troops were sent to Papua New Guinea.

In this fascinating and richly illustrated book, there are lots of visuals to keep a young mind interested.

I think the title is a bit misleading as it isn’t all about the men who braved the track but more about the local area and the topography and the elements these men had to face. The locals who played a key role in keeping the Australian men alive.

If the first text box on the first page doesn’t get you interested then you must have already walked the track.

‘Try this… Put six bricks into a backpack, and climb the steepest hill you can find. But don’t do it until it’s been raining for days, so you keep slipping. Now don’t make a sound because in the bushes around you, there might be enemy troops, armed with rifles and bayonets, poised to pounce at the slightest sign of activity. Then imagine this is no game, this is reality, this is war – this is Kokoda.’

Every Australian school library should have this book proudly displayed on their shelves.

The Reading Stack reviewed Nicolas Brasch’s Gallipoli. Reckless Valour in May 2009.

Snake Surprise

by J E Fison

Ford Street Publishing. Australian, Junior. Paperback rrp $12.95

Guest Reviewer - Jo Burnell

Somersaulting sausage rolls! What could possibly happen next? It’s never boring on Hazard River. There’s often a bit of the ridiculous mixed in with drama and mystery in this Series. A little brother loves to let the imagination run wild and when clues hint at someone in distress, who could blame him? Unexpected happenings turn into monumental adventures. Terrible villains are concocted, while the real ones are even freakier.

I can see Ben stumble backwards and bounce off the table. I stretch with Jack as his hands cling to the boat and his feet are stuck on the dinghy. Will the water’s current split him in two?

Snake Surprise will keep Middle Primary students glued to the page. Just when you think

 things can’t get worse, they do. There’s a strong hook to keep you reading at the end of each Chapter too. I couldn’t stop till I found out what happened in the end.

Although unfamiliar vocabulary offers a challenge, the benefits are in the tale. This will be a series that hauls a reluctant reader or two back to the page.

Thanks J E Fison. Don’t stop now!

Shark Attack and Snake Surprise were released together in 2010. Bat Attack and Tiger Terror will follow in March 2011.

http://hazardriver.com/Author.html

Grimsdon

by Deborah Abela

Random House Australia. Australian, Junior, Adventure. Paperback rrp $16.95

Reviewed by Sandy Fussell

The city of Grimsdon is under water and three years after the flood, the ‘sneaker waves’ continue to roll in.

Isabella Charm, her best friend, Griffin, twins, Raffy and Bea, and Fly, the girl who never speaks, live in a palatial half-submerged old building. Every day is a struggle to survive - they scrounge for food, brave the dangerous flying fox and dare the waves in a flimsy dinghy – yet the children are happy with each other. Their home furnishings are the stuff of fairytales as they play dress up and act out stories.

But change is on its way - through the air, across the harbour and from under the sea. Dashing Xavier flies in on his aerotrope to admire Isabella and challenge Griffin’s role in the family of children. The ‘harbour master’,

 Byron P Sneddon, makes new and greater demands on the children – including one for the aerotrope. And there just might be a sea monster lurking in the deeps, the dreaded Skelene.

This is a story of magnificent scope. A film waiting to happen. Readers will be drawn, dripping wet, through the wonderful world of Grimsdon. Fast paced, imaginative and with just a touch of romance, this book will equally appeal to boys and girls.

http://www.deborahabela.com/

Kumiko and the Dragon’s Secret

by Briony Stewart

UQP (University of Queensland Press). Australian, Junior, Mythical. Paperback rrp $14.95

Reviewed by Heather Zubek

I want a dragon just like Kumiko. I want a dragon that watches over you at night and protects you from the Shadow Catchers during the day. I am not a human born into the ancient royal bloodline of dragons unfortunately but young Kumiko is and so are her sister and Grandmother. They have guardian dragons that take them on all sorts of adventures.

Kumiko and the Dragon’s Secret is the second book in the series by young Perth author Briony Stewart but there is no need to read the first to understand the next installment.

Based on stories passed down from her Japanese grandmother and beautifully illustrated by Briony herself, Kumiko and the Dragon’s Secret continues the adventures of a young Japanese girl and her guardian dragon called Tomodo. Briony’s writing is rich and colourful with beautiful phrasing:

There is nothing outside but the hills, which lie like layers of torn paper across the horizon.

The illustrations are thoughtful and clearly influenced by the author’s Japanese roots. The story of sister rivalry is also sensitively detailed and brings a knowing smile to anyone who has a younger sibling.

Kumiko and the Dragon’s Secret is a beautiful mix of mythology and fiction. The chapters are short enough to hold the interest of young readers and a cliff hanger at the end of most of them ensures the pages are turned.

A wonderful series that will appeal to young readers aged 9+.

http://www.brionystewart.com/

Saving Tigers

by Dr Carla Litchfield

black dog books. Australian, Junior Non-Fiction. Paperback rrp $16.99

Dr Carla Litchfield is a scientist at the Adelaide Zoo who has written a number of fantastic educational books for young children. In Saving Tigers, Litchfield opens our eyes to a wonderful but endangered creature.

Tigers are the largest cats in the world yet there are fewer than 3,200 adults left in the wild. Throughout the text, Dr Litchfield explains the characteristics of the tiger and the problems they face in the wild and in zoos.

These graceful yet powerful animals are beautiful to behold and because of this they are killed for their fur or used as attractions in poorer countries.

Saving Tigers is not only an educational book on tigers but also contains a strong message that we must act to ensure the tiger does not go the way of the hundreds of extinct animals in the world.

The Reading Stack reviewed Dr Carla Litchfield’s book The Gorilla Book – Born to be Wild and her daughter, Kaitie Afrika Litchfield’s book The Little One. The Story of a Red-tailed Monkey in June 2009.

http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/staff/homepage.asp?Name=Carla.Litchfield
http://www.yog2009.org/

A Whale of a Time

Book 5 bindi Wildlife Adventures

written by Chris Kunz

Random House. Australian, Junior. Paperback rrp $9.95


With her second series of four books in the bindi Wildlife Adventures, Bindi Irwin is ensuring that young children learn about the importance of protecting fragile animal habitats.

In A Whale of a Time Bindi introduces her two English friends to the sights of Australia. Bindi surprises the twins, Andy and Caitlin, by taking them whale watching off the Queensland coast, south of the Great Barrier Reef.

Andy suffers sea sickness and Caitlin has images of pirates floating through her mind, but the day begins well with a whale and her calf coming to play near the three friends’ boat.

Disaster strikes when a fishing trawler gets into trouble. An overboard fisherman is rescued but the friends soon find that there are far worse problems at sea. A ship is leaking oil and it isn’t the fishing trawler or Bindi’s boat. Where is it coming from? The whales are heading right for the slick.

Not only is A Whale of a Time a great adventure story for ages 6 to 12 but a useful source of whale information. I never knew whales birth in warmer waters and stay until their young develop enough blubber for them to survive the icy waters of the south. Educational and factual, these books will be popular in every primary school library.

The Reading Stack reviewed Book 1, Trouble at the Zoo in August 2010.

http://www.crocodilehunter.com.au/crocodile_hunter/about_steve_terri/bindi_say.html

Takeshita Demons

by Cristy Burne. Illustrated by Siku

Walker Books Australia. Junior fiction, Australian. Paperback, rrp $14.95


Reviewed by Sandy Fussell

The first in a unique new series, Takeshita Demons is an exciting cross-cultural adventure. The story combines the action and exoticism of Japanese anime with a classic tale of friendship and good versus evil.

When Miku’s Baba (grandmother) dies, the family moves from Japan to England, not realising the danger they have unleashed. Away from the protection of the traditional home and without Baba’s vigilance, it falls to Miku to keep in place the preventatives that ward off ancient demons.

The bloodthirsty nukekubi follows the family across the sea, relentlessly hunting the Takeshita children. This monster’s head flies free of its body as it searches for prey. With her new friend Cait, Miku must rescue her little brother Kazu from the nukekubi and ensure the future safety of the Takeshita family.

But the nukekubi is not the only demon to be feared. The terrifying yuki-onna is seen in the snow and the faceless noppera-bo impersonates Cait’s father. Then there’s the dragonish Woman of the Wet, a nure-onna, who appears to be on Miku’s side.

For middle grade readers looking for adventure with a supernatural theme, this is the perfect choice. The ghosts and demons of this tale are drawn from traditional Japanese folklore and the element of horror is never gratuitous. Few readers will be frightened although many will catch their breath at times.

Takeshita Demons is a unique window into another world. Boys and girls from 8 – 12 years will love it.

In 2009, Takeshita Demons was the winner of the Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award.

http://cristyburne.wordpress.com/
http://www.cristyburne.com/

The Spook’s Nightmare

by Joseph Delaney

Random House. Junior, Young Adult. Hardcover rrp $29.95


Tom is the seventh son of the seventh son so is automatically placed into training as the Spook’s apprentice. The Spook is a man who protects the County from all sorts of entities from witches and boggarts, to ghosts and bugganes. Anything that is evil. Tom is the last apprentice – the last hope to succeed where twenty-nine others have already failed.

When Tom, the Spook and Alice, a girl who assists both Tom and the Spook and may be a witch, arrive back in the County after working in Scotland, they find the Spook’s home burnt to the ground and Alice’s mother, Bony Lizzie, a very powerful witch, escaped from her dungeon and missing. The Spook is devastated as hundreds of years of his and past Spook’s writings are now ashes. But there is no time for reflection. The County is under attack from men from the north and the three find themselves escaping across the seas to Mona an island north-west of the County.

Arriving on Mona, the fugitives find they are not welcome. There are too many refugees for the island to cope with. Tom and Alice are caught and tried as witches, locked away awaiting death by the buggane. The buggane is an underground creature that uses nightmares to suck out souls, then returns later to eat body and bones, bit by bit.

Tom and Alice find that Bony Lizzie has reached the island and with the help of the buggane, is becoming more and more powerful. When the opportunity arises to capture Bony Lizzie, the Spook fails. Not once but twice. Are his powers weakening? Is the Spook’s nightmare becoming reality?

Will the three escape from the island and from Bony Lizzie? And will the Spook be able to recreate the library that was lost in the fire before he is too old to remember?

The Spook’s Nightmare answers all these questions and more. But reader beware, Joseph Delaney’s excellent descriptions might give you nightmares of your own.

The Reading Stack reviewed The Spook’s Mistake in Issue 12 in September 2008.

http://www.spooksbooks.com/

A Strange Little Monster

by Sue Whiting, illustrated by Stephen Michael King

Puffin Books (a Subsidiary of Penguin) (Aussie Nibbles). Junior, Australian, Young Reader. Paperback rrp $12.95

Guest Reviewer Jo Burnell

This heart warming early chapter book is irresistible. Sasha lives in Grotty Hollow with all the other Grotty Hollow Monsters, but she is different. While they love to rumble, roar and go around scaring, Sasha prefers to play music and sit among the daisies. Even though she has googly eyes and spikes, just like all the others, making scary faces just doesn’t feel right. She tries to do what all the other monsters love, but it just makes her tummy feel funny.

Can Sasha ever be happy in Grotty Hollow? The pressure to please her parents doesn’t help. When Sue Whiting steers the tale, happy endings do happen even when you are different. The secret is staying true to yourself.

Hiding beneath deceptively simple sentence structure lies a story of hope that echoes for all ages. A Strange Little Monster will be a timeless tale of hope for years to come.

http://www.suewhiting.com/

http://stephenmichaelking.com/

The Reading Stack reviewed Sue Whiting's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Freaky in 2009.

The Night Fairy

by Laura Amy Schlitz, illustrated by Angela Barrett

Candlewick Press. Junior Fiction. Hardback rrp $24.95

Guest Reviewer Christina Miesen

‘Flory was a night fairy. She was born a little before midnight, when the moon was full.’ Flory is less than three months old when her peril begins. A bat damages her beautiful wings and she is no longer able to fly. She decides to become a day fairy.

Set in a garden where a giantess leaves seeds and syrup, Flory is introduced to the daytime world of nature, animals and insects. She begins to understand her fairy powers, and the meaning of friendship.

To me, The Night Fairy is a tale of survival. Flory is in an environment alien to herself, facing dangers and everyday situations without the guidance of other fairies. She begins by manipulating and bribing animals for food and shelter, and ends up by protecting a hummingbird and its eggs from predators.

Flory is brave, bold and resourceful. This book is for those with a love of nature, adventure, and fairies.

Angela Barrett exquisitely illustrates The Night Fairy. One of the joys of turning the pages of this beautiful book is coming across Angela’s full-coloured artwork. Her depiction of Flory and her little garden world are stunning.

http://www.thenightfairy.com/

Christina Miesen is an Australian author with a number of books published. You can check her out at http://www.christinamiesen.com.au/

Tilly’s Treasure

by Sue Walker, illustrated by Chantal Stewart

Puffin (a subsidiary of Penguin) (Aussie Nibbles). Junior, Young Reader, Australian. Paperback, rrp $12.95

Guest Reviewer Jo Burnell

How can Tilly ever compete in a world that thrives on the latest sensation? Her classmates are forever bringing new gadgets to school. The constant focus is on what is fancier and better.

What do you do when these things are out of your reach? Is there any chance of being accepted? Is that the only way to make friends? Tilly tries to keep up with the other girls, but her things are never quite good enough. Her hula hoop is mended with sticky tape and her skipping rope is stained with oil.

What does it take to belong? Creativity is far more interesting and fun than bling could ever be. It just takes some people a while to realise. Tilly’s Treasure has a lasting message that will echo in the heart long after the book is closed. Such depth of storyline is rare in an early reader. Sue Walker has truly created a timeless treasure.

http://www.suewalkerauthor.com/

The Reading Stack has reviewed two of Chantal Stewart's illustrated books I Spy Mum and I Spy Dad.

Trouble at the Zoo

bindi Wildlife Adventures

by Bindi Irwin

Random House. Children’s Fiction, Australian. Paperback rrp $9.95


Bindi Irwin is a remarkable eleven-year-old who has seen a lot more than most of us ever will. She has had the unique opportunity to grow up amongst the greatest creatures of Australia and the world.

In the first of this eight book series, Bindi is holding her birthday party at the family’s zoo. Everyone at the zoo is invited. It all seems to be going to plan for the fun underwater-themed party but there is one guest who isn’t happy about being there.

Zac is also celebrating his birthday today but because of his younger sister, he has to spend his tenth birthday at Australia Zoo when he could have been spending it with his mates. What could be more boring! The only good part is that Zac likes lizards.

He thinks that one of the Australia Zoo’s lizards may just be the perfect present for himself.

Bindi’s brother, Robert is always watching. Luckily, Bindi rescues what could have been an unfortunate experience for Zac, and finally gets him to smile.

Trouble at the Zoo is a light read for children, sending a positive message about the environment and animal welfare. I would recommend this book for all primary school libraries throughout Australia.

http://www.crocodilehunter.com.au/crocodile_hunter/about_steve_terri/bindi_say.html

Fool’s Gold

by Margaret Clark


Penguin (Aussie Bites). Australian, Junior. Paperback rrp $12.95

Guest Reviewer Jo Burnell

Aussie Bites are always entertaining easy-reads, but Fool’s Gold is so much more. Margaret Clark has recreated the 19th century gold mining town of Ballarat, complete with its tent city. She’s covered the historical detail, and then overlaid a factional mystery. The kids in this story might not be real, but their lives and the difficulties they face are straight from the dusty streets of 150 years ago.

History books can be boring and difficult to understand, but Margaret Clark brings this part of the world to pulsating life. When you take best friends who are struggling to survive, a well-stocked local store and a legend about a hidden stash of gold, you have all the ingredients for an action-packed adventure. Add an interfering girl who wants the gold for herself and things get interesting.

Is there really a ghost guarding the hidden stash of gold? Does that gold really exist? Would you risk permanent bad luck in the hope of feeding your family? When does borrowing become stealing?

Get ready for a tale that moves so quickly, you will wonder where the pages went.

http://www.margaretclark.com/

Monstrum House

Locked In

by Z Fraillon

Hardie Grant Egmont, Junior Fiction, Paperback, rrp $ 14.95

Reviewed by Sandy Fussell

Monstrum House is a special kind of school. Its students are all troublemakers like Jasper McPhee, already expelled from three schools in one year. These students have exactly the talents necessary to hunt monsters. At Monstrum House hunting monsters and being hunted by them is what education is all about.

The teachers are harsh, the lessons are cruel and the prefects merciless. But that might be just the training Jasper and his new friends Felix and Saffy, require to survive a monster encounter. Beware the Snobleshriek, the Sizzleguzzler and the Bogglemorph. This book has black and white illustrations of them all.

Readers 9+ will love these in-the-real-world monsters and the idea that adults, their brains shrinking with age, are too small-minded to believe in the danger all around them. It’s up to kids to save the day.

This is the first book in what promises to be both a fun and frightening series. One small warning – it does prescribe to the incomplete cliff-hanger ending which can be disappointing if the next book is not readily available to the reader and the hero is left in monstrous danger. But I suspect most will agree with me – worth the wait!