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Middle Grade Book Reviews
A Werewolf Ate My Homework
Emily Snape, pub. Firefly Press
Asher’s life has changed dramatically since his mum’s partner moved in with his own son. Especially because Asher is convinced that Luca is a werewolf. However, the clues that seem so solid to him, such as Luca’s pointy ears, hairy legs, keen sense of smell and huge appetite, for example, are dismissed by his mum. Only one person seems to believe Asher and appears to be an expert on the subject. Helga, Asher’s neighbour and former best friend, puts their rift aside and agrees to collaborate with him to unmask Luca.
Of course, it’s not all plain sailing, especially as Asher manages to antagonise Helga again (you’ll find out more about what he does to encourage this antagonism as the story unfolds.)
With a full moon approaching and the grown-ups away for the weekend, will Asher be able to find out the truth?
A funny tale which, while putting a supernatural mystery at its centre, also explores topics such as blended families and friendship. The first of these is handled gently: for example, Asher’s theory about Luca does not prevent him from trying to form a positive relationship with him. The problems at home have more to do with Mum’s bizarre culinary attempts and choice of babysitter. Accident-prone and a lover of pranks, Asher does not deliberately set out to antagonise Helga. Instead, his actions are driven by his fear of being teased by his schoolmates, offering an interesting perspective on his behaviour and the difficulties of maintaining friendships.
An entertaining story for younger readers, who will also enjoy the humour and the fun, lively illustrations accompanying the text.
Laura Brill
Cinnamon Crumb, Baking Detective: The Great Cake Caper
Harry Woodgate, pub. Usborne
Cinnamon Crumb lives in the town of Marzipan, which as we can tell from the map at the start of the book, is a place where cakes and baking take precedence over everything else. It is a source of sadness to Cinnamon, that unlike her illustrious forebears, and unlike so many of her fellow townspeople, she has no cake-making skills whatsoever. As the annual high-stakes Great Cake Carnival draws near, everyone is on tenterhooks. Who will win the coveted prize for the best creation?
Madeleine Macaron and Victoria Sponge are the front runners. Suspicions are running high. Each believes the other to be sabotaging their chances. Each approaches Cinnamon to spy for them. The more that she and her best friend Rafi look into things, the more treachery and intrigue they uncover. Somewhat to Cinnamon’s annoyance, Rafi brings Amber, a young and spectacularly inventive confectioner, on board to help in their detective work. It takes the combined skills of all three of them to foil a dastardly plot and bring an unlikely culprit to justice.
This is a highly original, funny and enjoyable who-dunnit. Harry Woodgate won great praise – and prizes – for his debut picture book Grandad’s Camper. His new Cinnamon Crumb series will gain him an older audience who will delight in convoluted plot-lines, red herrings, cake-related puns, a quite astonishing amount of sugar, great illustrations on every page, and a wonderful, inclusive cast of characters. Themes of friendship, feelings and difference are handled sensitively and well, without impinging on the flow. Cinnamon suffers from jealousy; Rafi’s sibling is non-binary; Amber has Tourette Syndrome. Highly recommended. (The fact that I had to wrest the book from my young co-reviewer in order to read it and write this probably says all that needs to be said.)
Anne Harding
The Detention Diaries: Worse than Jail
Sam Copeland, illus. Dominic Trevett, pub. Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Are you a child who happens to find themselves in detention from time to time or wonders what it would be like if you did find yourself in detention. Is it really as awful as everyone seems to imply? This could be your chance to take a look…
Arthur’s school has axolotls, or should I say it did have them. They’ve been kidnapped and Arthur is the prime suspect. That seems straightforward enough but then it appears Carlos, Arthur’s best friend, along with an odd assortment of their classmates are also in detention with them and no-one is quite sure why. Arthur thinks he might know the answer to why they are all in detention with him but was he really the one to kidnap the axolotl’s or is that another puzzle to work out?
With it’s school setting, humour on every page, characters that readers can clearly relate to and some crazy events this is a book readers will not only identify with but be unable to put down, it makes for addictive reading. Packed with black and white illustrations, over 400 if them, the chaos and mysteries are almost never ending and I for one am hoping this is just the first Detention Diaries book we are going to be treated to!
Prepare to laugh out loud and make sure to keep your hands on your copy of this book – believe me, your friends are all going to want to borrow it when they learn how good it is!
May Ellis
Flyaway Boy
Jane De Suza, pub. Lantana Publishing
Kabir is a young boy who is struggling to fit into a world full of order and straight lines. At school he is different to the other children. He is often naughty, but Kabir is also creative and imaginative and is a very individual young person. His wild imagination often lands him in trouble. He is also misunderstood at home. Kabir lives with his sister Kavni and his Ma and Pa. His sister lives in a ‘neat little box' and is ‘top of the class’ and ‘perfect.’ His friend Josh is a ‘Dude’ and ‘Champ.’ Everybody else seems to fit in, but not Kabir. Finally, something happens and Kabir disappears. His family, friends and the police struggle to find him.
This is a very different book. It is funny and light-hearted but is also layered with the undertones of a very serious issue. It is about the pressure put on young people to behave in a certain way and is a story about being lost and found. The book tries to show that it is okay to be different. It is a very simple book, is often quite silly, perhaps to ensure children don’t get too bogged down in the complexities but that strong and powerful message is always there. Every character is very important to the story. Family, friends and even the police are all very likeable. A page at the front of the book features drawings and names of all the main characters, making a very useful reference whilst reading the story. There are other good drawings throughout the book as well.
Although aimed at children, the story will also appeal to adults. It is a lovely, very unique story, which is easy to read and a joy to read. It is about the imagination of individual characters throughout and shows that we should accept all people for what they are.
Gary Kenworthy
Henry Tudor: The Incredible Diaries of Me!
Danny Wallace, pub. Simon & Schuster Children’s Books
Fictional diaries by quirky children are very popular at the moment and Danny Wallace has cleverly turned his attention to our best-known Tudor monarch, imagining what he might have been like as a child. So here we have the daily thoughts of arrogant and not-very-bright Prince Henry Tudor, aged VIII (and a half.) I particularly liked the insertion of modern ideas into the Tudor world, so we have actual message boards and trip advisor reports, interspersed with Tor Freeman’s entertaining line drawings and cartoons.
Historical background facts are slipped in surreptitiously while we chuckle at Henry’s antics as he seeks to prove his superiority over family members, courtiers and servants, although mention of the guillotine is a couple of hundred years too early. Clearly miffed that his big brother Arthur will be King one day whilst he is just the “spare” heir, Henry spends his days stealing pies, ordering people about and trying to avoid having a wash or attending lessons. However, his world is rocked when a mysterious stranger called the Black Vizard challenges Henry to a series of public tests. Clearly expecting to come out on top in any encounter, Henry is embarrassed to find himself beaten each time. Who could the disguised challenger be? The mystery certainly kept this reader guessing until the final reveal!
We all expect Henry to have learnt his lessons after these adventures, but no. Despite being forced to make a speech about the merits of modesty and humility, his sense of self-importance has survived intact and he secretly congratulates himself on how well he has deceived his audience into believing that he was being sincere. He really is a Horrible Henry!
Hilary Kemp
How Not to be a Pirate: The Trouble with Curses
Jenny Pearson, illus. Paula Bowles, pub. Usborne
Wilbur Woodblock has a problem: he is the son of the fearsome Captain Woodblock, and he is, by his own admission, a terrible pirate. He gets seasick, he can't even load a cannon properly and don’t get started with his pirate ‘arghhhh.’ All he really wants to do is cook. None of that matters when it's time for his Level One Pirate Grading, and he's thrown together with his fellow recruits, the fiercely competitive Ellie and the endearingly odd Gilbert (plus his thoroughly mischievous pet lemur), to race the Salty Sparrow across open water in search of one of the legendary Jewels of the Sea.
What follows is a gloriously chaotic treasure hunt, dodging a menacing rival crew, a shadowy figure known only as the Scourge, and a booby-trapped tunnel or two. Along the way, Wilbur starts uncovering long-buried mysteries about his own mother, giving the madcap adventure a surprisingly warm heart beneath all the swordplay and seasickness. It's a book that never takes itself too seriously, but it clearly cares about its characters, and that combination is what makes it so much fun to read.
Paula Bowles' two-colour illustrations are the perfect match for the story's energy, packed with expressive faces and comic detail on nearly every page. They do a huge amount of work carrying the jokes and keeping the pace rattling along, which makes this just as satisfying for reluctant readers to pick up as it is for confident ones to devour in one sitting. This is a rip-roaring start to a new series, full of peril that's never too scary, humour that lands again and again, and a hero who's far more likeable for being hopeless at his day job. It's ideal for readers of 8 and up who like their adventures fast, funny and a little bit gross, and it's a brilliant one to read aloud, with plenty of moments guaranteed to get a laugh from the back of the classroom.
Arabella Chute
Jekyll vs Hyde: The Potion of Doom
Jack Meggitt-Phillips, illus. Holly Swain, pub. Farshore
Henrik Jekyll comes from a long line of terrible people, and his ancestors have clearly passed on the bad genes. He is as self-absorbed, self-centred and selfish as they come. Plus, his bickering parents have made Henrik even worse by spoiling him to win his favour. He may just be the worst Jekyll in history…and that’s saying a lot in this family.
So, when Henrik Jeyll finds out he has inherited the Jekyll manor and a load of money, he can’t wait to take it over and find out what all the fuss is about regarding the Hyde Potion. He is soon lured into Dr Jekyll’s laboratory where the promise of ultimate power and control lead to the unleashing of his evil alter ego, Eddie. Then he meets do-gooder Gabby who he definitely does not want to be friends with. But the town of Gothville is a mess of fighting neighbours who hate anyone associated with the Jekyll family and want to burn down the manor. Henrik must search deep, deep down to find any goodness in himself if he’s going to save himself and maybe others as well.
Jekyll vs Hyde: The Potion of Doom takes a truly terrible ten-year-old and makes him even worse. Henrik’s antics and cringe-worthy commentary are absolutely hilarious. While the story itself is truly scary – from a mad, dangerous car chase to the torching of a building (with a town’s worth of people inside) – it’s not for the faint of heart. This darkly funny twist on RL Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde, is zany, imaginative and frightening – the perfect mix of humour and horror for middle grade readers.
Stephanie Ward
The Neverland Thieves
Katie & Kevin Tsang, pub. Simon & Schuster Children’s Books
Tom Skywood has been in Great Ormond Street Hospital for three months. He tries hard to stop his fear melding into despair, but being ‘the sick kid’ leaves him frustrated and resentful – he’s desperate to get better. His best friend Felix visits the hospital, but even those visits leave Tom agitated. Football, summer, sea, ice cream, games - even school - Tom is missing so much. Only his dreams feel good: visions of a dragon, fast flight, soaring and falling - scenes that slip too easily away.
When a gentle, musical whistle begins to snake through the hospital at night, Tom’s immediate thought is to follow it. He tries the hospital Chapel, a peaceful place with its high domes and stained glass. But when he investigates, the organ stands unused and no flute appears. Just Tom and his two favourite statues: a tiny golden dragon and a bat, tucked away at the top of two pillars. Unknown to most, Scorch and Squeak are not as statuesque as they appear: trailing smoke and mismatched shadows, the duo have an important task - their magical world needs the help of three very important children…
Lurking in the hospital, exploring its corners and solitary spots, is Daisy Mak, the daughter of one of Tom’s doctors. Twelve, and determined to become a doctor like her mother - she longs for more time with her but spends days alone, working hard and scheming about making a major medical breakthrough. Her lonely waiting leads her to Tom and Felix. The magical trail of music returns, drawing them to a world they never expected. Neverland is real, say Scorch and Squeak, and it needs Tom, Felix and Daisy as much as they need a land of magic. A series of sneaky thefts and peculiar disappearances have left the inhabitants furious and full of suspicion. Nobody knows where to turn to find the culprit. The three will soon discover that no search is ever simple…
They meet Captain Lydia and Sharkfoot, flying astride giant seagulls - their pirate property must be protected! Beware all those who threaten the Jolly Rodger ship! There are mermaids and mountains and strong fairy dust. Daisy proves keen in a pinch and they are glad to have each other - their characters are warming, each different and vibrant, with their own strengths. But all are curious and loyal, with belief and trust - following adventure even when it's uncertain. Daisy finds her place; Felix faces his fears; Tom must hold fiercely to the strength inside him. Who else will return the missing magic of Neverland?
Jemima Breeds
The Other Boy: The True Story of One Refugee Family's Journey to Find Home
Hamed Amiri, pub. Hachette Children’s Books
This little book’s heartening messages qualify it to join The Bible and the Complete Works of Shakespeare on any person’s bookshelf, be they young or old. Grown up or not the restorative confidence it imbues to keep going on, no matter what, is inspirational.
Hamed, his mother and father and two brother’s hastily left Afghanistan to avoid the wrath of the Taliban after their mother had bravely given a public talk about the need for girls to be educated. To complicate matters further Hamed’s brother Hussein required a major heart operation which could only be carried out in the UK or America. They chose the former as their destination, travelling via Russia and Europe. Their journey took eighteen months and proved to be an endurance nightmare, demanding immense stamina to survive. On arrival in the UK things were better and above all else they were safe. But a different set of trials beset Hamed as he tried to integrate into his new school life and Hussein his brother had his operation. Initially Hamed’s arrival at school proved to be a crossroads. One route entailed blaming everyone and becoming a bully and the other choosing to be the best, a boy that takes life head on, sees good in bad individuals and allows other folk to help him do better. His path through life rapidly improved from learning to speak English to going to university, from writing books and plays, to meeting the King, twice!
He attributes some of his success to his brother’s wisdom. In particular Hussein shared the story of the Ferrari, the bus, the cyclist and the walker with him. This little gem teaches us that whatever happens in life you can play the victim or you can take control. And the good thing is you always get to choose.
What an ideal book for anyone of us from 9 years of age upwards. We are never to0 old to re-read these lessons and Hamed’s message may be a simple press re-start and begin again but never give up yet it is perhaps the most important message we can learn.
Elizabeth Negus
Spindlewood
Freddie Kölsch, pub. Puffin Books
The single word title of this book is a little mysterious. It sounds as though it belongs to a place, perhaps a town with a spooky woodland of twiggy trees? You would not be wrong to think it sounds like a place, mysterious and a little spooky but it’s not a town. It’s a top-secret boarding school, one which only the children who have the gift, the power to speak to, see and hear spirits are able to attend.
Lilac Black has never questioned her lack of belief in ghosts. To her they are simply not real. When she learns that she’s one of a long line of Seers, all of whom were gifted and allowed to attend Spindlewood to say she’s surprised might be an understatement. The way in which author Freddie Kölsch captures our imagination with this surprise is perfect. The questions Lilac has keep coming which is a bonus for the reader too as we get to learn, to discover more about the family and their seer abilities along with her. Whilst Lilac might feel a great deal of trepidation about what all this means to her, what her invitation to Spindlewood will do to change her life and how she is going to keep everything secret she also doesn’t want to disappoint her uncles who seem to be so proud of her.
Can Lilac step into her new life, embrace her new skills and settle into the knowledge that it is all very real. That’s the question we find ourselves asking as she weaves a tight web of lies around herself hoping to keep herself safe. But Spindlewood invited her for a reason, it wants her there, wants her to find the something sinister beneath the library and maybe even solve the mystery of her missing parents.
A spooky story without doubt this is also a warm-hearted and funny story with a main character we can’t help but root for and a story that we can’t help but be drawn into. The perfect companion to a dark winter’s evening this will be your next addictive read!
Colin Paterson
Squirrel Shady: The Golden Acorn
Nick East, pub. Scholastic
Squirrel Shady has a big problem. He is behind bars, back in Badun Island Prison, courtesy of Mayor Vixford Slick and locked up in Cell 101, the worst cell of all at Badun Island. Outside this cell and the prison is his treasure from Shady Squirrel’s and Roxy “The Paws’” last big heist, including his mouthwatering stock of peanut butter. Shady has to escape.
In this book there are more twists than a coil of rope. Squirrel Shady first makes a precarious pact with Nadua Scales – a really slippery, sneaky snake - double-crosses Doug, Badun Island Prison’s most useless chef, faces and lives to tell the tale of the Beast of Lake Broad, gets reacquainted with Tubbs McGraw, hench-cat of Naughty Tortie and Shady’s old crime boss, meets his hero, Tina Two-Hoots – the only criminal ever to break into Big City Bank for fun and a cheese sandwich - before taking on Dandy Pom-Pom, a chihuahua and finally break into Big City Bank. The prize, Mayor Vixford Slick’s Golden Acorn. In-between there is mayhem in this mad-caper of cops and crooks, falling over each other in a bid to outwit one another to steal the Golden Acorn.
Squirrel Shady is a great character. A small time thief wanting to make it big in the criminal underworld. He’s called Shady for a reason and is not someone to trust, especially if you don’t want to share your peanut butter, he’s making enemies every other page, so quite frankly it is going to be a miracle if survives. In a crowd of villains, Shady has some redeeming qualities, particularly loyalty to his partner-in-crime, Roxy, has some regrets about the choices he makes, and probably doesn’t deserve all the bad breaks he is having today.
Nick East is author and illustrator. His witty, dramatic and energetic writing is accompanied by lively, expressive drawings that capture the characters and the action of the story.
Watch out Big City Park, Squirrel Shady is back and the story is to be continued.
Simon Barrett
The Trouble with Magic: The Hexton Chronicles
Amy Wilson, illus. Eric Deschamps, pub. Nosy Crow
The Trouble with Magic is the first book in a brand new fantasy series called The Hexton Chronicles. This isn't just another 'good magic has the answer' book, rather it encourages readers to face the fact that the magic within doesn't always grow into something good. It’s an important message which isn’t preached to readers but shared in a fun and age-appropriate story with great adventures promised through the series to come.
In this first book, parentless Fray Mantel is cast out from a world that is afraid of magic. The only thing in his favour, as far as he can see, is that he’s been given his family's Croxometer, a device which has the ability to enlarge and enhance his magical powers. In order to try to make sense of his magical roots, he leaves his 'normal' world to try to find answers in Hexton, a place filled with dark secrets and magic. It is, we soon learn, a town of Spellers from which his parents were banished years before, after the town felt utterly and unspeakably betrayed by the Mantels. With nowhere else to go Fray sets out on a quest to find out more about himself, his powers, and, most importantly, what his parents did to cause such outrage.
The Trouble With Magic is, at its core, about friendship and betrayal, kindness and strength of character. This is such a compelling read. I can't wait for the next books in the series to find out what happens, and what might be discovered (and resolved?), in the rest of the Hexton Chronicles series.
Carol Farley