Greta Zargo and the Amoeba Monsters From the Middle of the Earth by A.F Harrold - illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton, Reviewed by Dawn Finch

So, that's possibly the longest title I've ever squashed into a box in a review! Let's do this thing... first, the blurb.

 Greta is an ordinary(ish) eleven-year-old orphan girl with journalistic aspirations. This weekend she's writing a big story about the Thirteenth Annual Festival of New Stuff (TAFoNS for short), being hosted by her absent-minded inventor aunt... who has gone missing. Can Greta find her aunt and answer the riddle of her mysterious missingness?

In the meantime, all across the town, people are being eaten by giant amoeba monsters that have emerged from the pit at the end of Greta's garden.

And, for various complicated reasons, only Greta stands in their way...




Before I get to the review, I need to confess to something. I can't write funny books. I mean, I've really tried but it never sounds convincing and always ends up feeling exactly what it is - clunky and amateur. I can write short bits that are funny, but I can't sustain it. I envy people who can write funny, and A.F Harrold totally nails it.

Greta is the perfect central character, and we first met her in Greta Zargo and the Death Robots from Outer Space. Greta is an independent 11 year old (for complicated but perfectly reasonable reasons) and it has fallen to her to save the people of Earth from all sorts of hideous things. In this (book 2) she is (obviously) saving us all from jellylike amoeba monsters who have a voracious appetite and a tendency to swarm over living things and dissolve them.

Along the way we meet all sorts of wonderful characters (although I can't say I'm exactly happy with the librarian from the Immobile Library - elderly lady in a tweed skirt? hmmm - although I'd love a tiny ostrich, and I do have a tweed skirt...) Where was I? Oh yes, wonderful characters. Loads of 'em, and all wind the adventure along until things speed up towards a thrilling and very satisfying climax.

Along the way we are treated to Harrolds' clever and slightly twisted sense of humour. I genuinely laughed out loud at the names and witty twists. How could I not laugh at Bogof Boredom, Hester Sometimes, Hamnet Ovenglove (world champion onion wrestler) and Rashomon O'Donoghue (All-England Tiddlyblinks champion).

A bit of Joe Todd-Stanton's work that I can show you

With footnotes (which are actually sidenotes - they are literally on the side) and wonderful comic-book style, slick illustrations from Joe Todd-Stanton (many of which I can't show you because they'd blow the story, including an awesome double-page spread showing the amoebas... well, you'll just have to read it), this is a brilliant book for all kids (and grown-ups) who like a well-written suspenseful adventure that is also rollickingly funny.

Greta Zargo and the Amoeba Monsters from the Middle of the Earth is written by A.F Harrold and illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton
It is published by Bloomsbury (3 May 2018)
You can find more about A.F Harrold's books (and his beard*) by clicking this link.

*website may not contain beards



Reviewed by children's author and librarian Dawn Finch* www.dawnfinch.com

*not Hester Sometimes



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Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen: review by Kelly McCaughrain

I know you’re supposed to mention it if you know an author you’re reviewing, and if you look at the cover of my book you’ll see Susin Nielsen has given me a lovely review quote for my YA novel, but I hasten to add that this isn’t because she and I are great mates! I’ve never met her, and the reason she read my book was that I’m such a huge fan of hers I asked my publisher to send her one. I never thought she’d read it, I just thought it would be really cool to think that she had a copy.

Anyway, the point is, she’s my favourite YA writer.  I’ve loved all her books and Optimists Die First was no exception (and what a fab title!). I love books that are firmly character-based, where the characters are so beautifully drawn and endearing that you really don’t need to add an explosion or a melodramatic vampire every three pages to keep readers hooked. Nielsen’s characters grab you from the first page and stay with you.

Which isn’t to say there’s no plot. Her books deal with some serious issues and heavy stuff – I think every one of them features the aftermath of a death – and they deal with it well, but still manage to be light and funny, which is a skill I really admire. They’re the sort of books where you laugh the whole way through and then find yourself crying at the end (how does she do that!). They’re beautifully written and she’s brilliant at making you feel for the characters without adding an ounce of unnecessary sentiment. There’s absolutely no mush – the tagline of Optimists Die First, ‘A Love Story for Cynics’ is very apt.

In this latest book, Petula’s family is imploding since the death of her little sister. She believes she is responsible for the accident that killed Maxine and is now completely obsessed with calculating the risk of death in any given situation and avoiding it. Unfortunately, this means avoiding living her life too. She has adopted pessimism as a survival strategy, which is working fine until she meets optimist Jacob – the mysterious ‘bionic man’ – in her therapy group.  

As well as being a love story between two characters we care about, there’s plenty of comedy in the shape of cat videos, truly awful counsellors, and quirky minor characters who all have poignant stories of their own.

I’ve been sharing Nielsen’s books with my teen writing group (13-16s) and they all love them, boys and girls, younger and older. In fact, I asked one of them for a quote for this review:

Sophia (13) on Optimists Die First: “Relatable and heart wrenching”

I couldn’t have put it better.

Kelly McCaughrain is a YA writer and her debut title Flying Tips for Flightless Birds will be out in March 2018 from Walker Books. Visit her at www.KellyMcCaughrain.com. @kmccaughrain

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Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems. Reviewed by Sarah Hammond

As a Brit who has recently moved to the United States, I was very curious to find out what sort of books are especially loved by American children. 

“Which are your most popular picture books?” I asked the lovely librarian of my local library in a southwest suburb of Chicago.

There was no hesitation. I was taken straight to the “W” section. 

“Have you read this?” She handed me Mo Willem’s Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! “It is checked out all the time.”

I hadn’t read it. 

And when I did, I realised exactly why it was such a favourite. 

The premise of the book is extremely simple. At the outset, on the inside cover title page, the driver of the bus speaks directly to the reader. He tells us that he is going on a break and will we keep an eye on things? There is only one rule: no matter what happens, don’t let the Pigeon drive the bus. 

Page turn and right on cue, the Pigeon pokes his head around the corner in the first full spread of the book. He confides in us — “I thought he’d never leave.”

What great characterisation in this short sentence! A cheeky, rule-breaking, lovable character has walked into the story.

From here on in, using similar simple, short sentences, Pigeon begs us to drive the bus. He pleads. He persuades. He argues, dreams, cajoles, bribes, blackmails and sulks, all the while using language that is deliciously familiar to the young reader. “I never get to do anything!” “C’mon, just once around the block!” 

This, in my view, is a stroke of genius. What a seductive story for a very young person who lives in a world of adult rules, and who often resorts to his most skilled powers of persuasion to obtain sweets, stay up late, watch a particular TV programme just one more time…

In Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! this young reader is the boss. He enforces the rules. He is in charge of a bus! No matter what the Pigeon says, the reader role-plays the adult and refuses to let the wheedling charismatic character get behind the wheel, right until Pigeon has a full-out tantrum on Spread 11. 

The pictures, drawn by Willems, add to the hilarity. The style is modern, accessible and simple. 

It is no surprise to me that the picture book was awarded a Caldecott Honor and has spawned various sequels, Don't Let the Pigeon Stay up Late!, Pigeon Wants a Puppy! and so on. It also inspired many other picture books which invite reader participation. Over a decade after Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! was published, the School Library Journal suggests that this vogue for new meta picture books is only now slowing down.

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! is also available in the UK. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mo Willems’ works in children’s books, animation, television, theatre, and bubble gum card painting have garnered him 3 Caldecott Honors, 2 Geisel Medals, 6 Emmy Awards, 5 Geisel Honors, a Helen Hayes nomination, and multiple bubble gum cards. 

He is best know for his characters Knuffle Bunny, The Pigeon, and Elephant and Piggie and his work as a writer and animator for PBS's Sesame Street.  He is worst known for his work on Cartoon Network's Sheep in the Big City and Nickelodeon's The Off-Beats. Mo also makes sculptures and writes plays. More information about Mo’s past, present, and future can be gleaned at www.mowillems.com

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Sarah Hammond is an author. She has published a picture book for very small people, Mine!, and teen fiction too. She is a Brit abroad, now living happily in Chicago, with strong ties to the UK which regularly pull her back across the Pond.

You can find her online at:

web: www.sarahhammond.org

facebook: SarahHammondAuthorPage

twitter: @SarahHammond9

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