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Thursday, 30 May 2019

ReaditDaddy's Chapter Book Roundup - May 2019

Posted by ReadItDaddy at May 30, 2019 Labels:
May is here and our thoughts turn to long summery days of lounging under our favourite trees, reading a few glorious books - or perhaps lounging on the beach soaking up the rays while doing the same. So let's dig into our recently released / coming up fast pile of middle grade awesomeness.

So let's kick off with an absolutely stunning new book from a real blog fave. "The Longest Night of Charlie Noon" by
Christopher Edge once again has us wondering just how Christopher cooks up such brilliant adventures, always with a scientific eye on stuff that kids are really into and can immediately identify with.

The local kids in Charlie's town are always being told by their elders - "If you go into the woods, Old Crony will get you."

But what truly lies in the heart of the wood? Secrets? Spies? Even a monster?

Charlie, Dizzy and Johnny are determined to discover the truth, but when night falls without warning they find themselves trapped in a nightmare.

Lost in the woods, strange dangers and impossible puzzles lurk in the shadows. As time plays tricks, can Charlie solve this mystery and find a way out of the woods? But what if this night never ends...?

With a darkly tinged (and we have to say, mildly unsettling) intoxicating mix of mystery and suspense, this is every bit as clever and utterly page-turningly awesome as "The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day". Yup, it's another winner from Christopher and another huge thumbs up from us.

"The Longest Night of Charlie Noon" by Christopher Edge is out now, published by Nosy Crow.
Next, is it a Bird? Is it a Plane? No it's definitely a bird, of sorts in fact it's "Adventure Duck vs Power Pug" by Steve Cole and Aleksei Bitsckoff.

Adventure Duck is a feathered superhero but he didn't ask for greatness. Rather had greatness thrust upon him.

All he wanted was his nest on the duckpond and plenty of soggy bread to eat. But when a meteor accidentally gave him superpowers, he knew he needed to fly into battle and defeat the forces of evil.

Every superhero needs a nemesis, and Adventure Duck finds a pint-sized one in Power Pug. 

This tiny squash-faced arch-villain is plotting to take over the world with his hypnotic stare and an army of hench-animals. 

Luckily, Adventure Duck has helpers, too. There's Yoki - a mystical, moustachioed egg - and Neon Zebra, Adventure Duck's karate-kicking sidekick.

Can Adventure Duck and his friends stop Power Pug in this egg-ceptionally funny, action-packed adventure? You bet they can! A royally roister-doisterous romp, fun for younger chapter book fans with great illustrations throughout. 

"Adventure Duck vs Power Pug" by Steve Cole and Aleksei Bitskoff is out now, published by Orchard Books. 
It's not very often you can read about the detective antics of a flamingo, but Fabio definitely isn't any ordinary flapper! In "Fabio: The World's Greatest Detective - The Case of the Missing Hippo" you'll meet the titular feathered fellah as he takes on a new case.

Fabio lives in a small town on the banks of Lake Laloozee. He's not tall or strong, but slight and pink. And he's very, very clever.

When Fabio and his giraffe associate Gilbert (terrible at disguises) drop in to the Hotel Royale for a lemonade (pink, naturally), Fabio is persuaded to judge the hotel's talent contest. But when the most promising contestant - Julia the jazz-singing hippopotamus - goes missing, Fabio must put his thinking cap back on and solve the mystery!

It's a fast-paced and very funny book, that'll tickle the funny bones of fans of books like Alex T. Smith's Claude and Mr Penguin, and even our blog-fave Murilla Gorilla. 

"Fabio, the world's greatest flamingo detective - the case of the missing hippo" by Laura James and Emily Fox is out now, published by Bloomsbury Children's Books. 

Next up, another fabulous entry in the superb "Questioneers" series, as Andrea Beaty and David Roberts take their brilliant and inspirational kid characters into the realms of chapter books from their successful run in picture book form. 

"Ada Twist and the Perilous Pantaloons" once again reintroduces the adorable Ada, a little girl who is never scared to ask questions - and uses her science skills to solve intriguing mysteries. 

This time Ada is off to help out her class pal Rosie Revere (star of her own Questioneers books, of course!) Rosie's Uncle Ned gets a little carried away wearing his famous helium pantaloons, it’s up to Ada and friends to chase him down.

As Uncle Ned floats farther and farther away, Ada starts asking lots of questions: How high can a balloon float? Is it possible for Uncle Ned to float into outer space? And what’s the best plan for getting him down?

In this new chapter-book adventure, Ada must rely on her curious mind, her brave spirit, and her best pals Rosie Revere and  even ace architect pal Iggy Peck to solve a mystery in her own backyard.

Utterly and completely brilliant for kids moving on from picture books and taking their first steps in chapter fiction, bringing along a whole smorgasbord of those awesome characters too, "Ada Twist and the Perilous Pantaloons" by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts is out now, published by Amulet Books. 

Say what you like about celebrity authors, some really know exactly what they're doing when it comes to writing brilliant and hilarious middle grade fiction. 

"Hamish and the Monster Patrol" by Danny Wallace and Jamie Littler just proves how funny a guy Danny is. Once again we're back with Hamish and his pals to solve a bizarre (and very funny) mystery with a bit of a spooky dark and supernatural vibe. 

Things are afoot in Starkley... again! Out in the ocean something's on the move ... something BIG ... something that might change everything!

While most of Starkley's inhabitants have fled or gone into lockdown, Hamish and his pals in the PDF are coming up with a plan, because if they don't save the world then who will?!

But this time they’re not alone. Luckily, the top-secret Monster Patrol is on hand to help … even if that ‘help’ is in the form of a strange new kid, a bizarre-looking fish monster and a bonkers old lady…

As ever, Danny pours on the laughs aided by Jamie Littler's fantastic illustrations and characterful covers. 

"Hamish and the Monster Patrol" by Danny Wallace and Jamie Littler is out now, published by Simon and Schuster. 

Next, the return of a much-loved book hero in another cracking case. "Action Stan" by Elaine Wickson and Chris Judge follows up from "Planet Stan" with another brilliant and bloomin' hilarious mish mash of crazy capers, infographics and bonkers doodles.

This time, Stanley and his little brother Fred are off to an outdoor adventure camp to learn all about life in the wild. On paper, it sounds like it'll be an exciting adventure but Stan has a problem - he's not so fussed about surviving the wild, but surviving his little brother - and some of the annoying kids from school - is an entirely different matter. 

Stan's teacher Mr Fisher is also determined to ruin the fun so Stan begins to chart his annoyance - quite literally - with Elaine and Chris's awesomely bonkers tables, infographics and graphs. 

This is just as fresh and fab as the last book, once again establishing Stan as a hugely popular and important middle grade character for kids who love obsessing over the finer details of books. 

"Action Stan" by Elaine Wickson and Chris Judge is out now, published by OUP / Oxford Children's Books. 
Next up, the awesome science gang are back for another adventure in "Al's Awesome Science: Busy Bodies" by Jane Clarke and James Brown.

Al and the gang are investigating the most amazing instrument you use on a daily basis - your body! Al wants to know what effect time travel will have on his physiology, kicking off an investigation for the gang into what really makes them (and us) tick.

Trouble is it's hard to experiment without any mess, especially when your neighbour's cat Precious is in the same house with Al's naughty dog Einstein. Chaos does indeed ensue but in the midst of all the craziness, kids will learn tons more about digestion, nutrition, balance and even how space travel affects astronauts bodies in some weird and wonderful ways (baby soft feet anyone?)

This is a superb series for science-hungry kids, deftly combining brilliant fictional stories with fun to learn science facts. Absolutely awesome!

"Al's Awesome Science: Busy Bodies" by Jane Clarke and James Brown is out now, published by Five Quills. 

That wraps it for May. Tune in next month for a colossal June edition of our Chapter book roundup, and keep an eye on sheer brilliance in our regular Friday "Chapter Book of the Week" noms too! Stay booky!

(All books kindly supplied for review)