Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Reading Time
    • Home
    • Reviews
      • Highly Recommended
      • CBCA Short Listed
      • Early Childhood Books
      • Younger Readers
      • Intermediate Readers
      • Older Readers
      • Great Read Alouds
      • Information Books
      • Picture Books
      • Professional Development
    • Interviews
    • Suggestions
    • News
    • Meet The Review Team
    • Contact Us
    Reading Time
    You are at:Home»Reviews»Flummox

    Flummox

    0
    By Admin on August 4, 2021 Reviews, Younger Readers

    Lili Wilkinson (text) and Dustin Spence (illustrator), Flummox (How to Make a Pet Monster, #2), Allen & Unwin, June 2021, 208 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760877392

    Flummox: How to Make a Pet Monster #2, is written by Lili Wilkinson, an award-winning author of picture books That Christmas Feeling and Clancy the Quokka, along with eleven other YA novels. This title follows on from Hodgepodge: How to Make a Pet Monster and is the second instalment of this hilarious new series, full of action and adventure with brilliant illustrations by Dustin Spence.

    Artie, a young science enthusiast lives in a big, spooky house with rock-music loving step-sister Willow, her father, Artie’s mum, and a pet monster called Hodgepodge. We learn that Hodgepodge was created by the children from a spell in an ancient book they found called The Bigge Boke of Fetching Monsters. Instead of finding the exact ingredients needed to make a hobgoblin, the children used whatever was available from around their house and the result was Artie’s pet, Hodgepodge, a sock eating monster who can fart any smell.

    Envious of Artie’s pet, Willow is determined to create her own monster from whatever they can find (or steal) and Flummox, a strange, chicken-like monster is born.

    Unfortunately, the children’s school holiday plans are interrupted when they are unexpectedly asked to look after the practically perfect and very obviously lonely Arabella-Rose for the day. Willow and Arabella- Rose fight constantly, leaving poor Artie in the middle of all the angst as the children attempt and fail to keep their pet monsters under wraps.

    Before long, the reluctant friends are embroiled in plenty of pet monster chaos and some surprising discoveries are made including a secret, underground room with mysterious doorways leading to an unexpected place and the unwanted reappearance of the ruthless Wesley Crankshaw, collector of unusual creatures, from book one.

    Aimed at children ages 7-10, this funny story, narrated by the studious and risk-averse Artie is full of twists, turns and hilarious moments. Young readers will love the action-packed plot, quirky characters, and imaginatively whimsical illustrations from Dustin Spence.

    Reviewed by Lisa Hoad

    adventure Australian author Australian illustrator book in series fantasy humour Monsters relationships

    Related Posts

    Battlefield

    The Calling of Jackdaw Hollow

    The Bush Birds

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    • Themes
    • Curriculum
    Action adventure Airplanes Alphabet Anxiety autism Bullying CBCA Awards Coming of age Dystopian emotions family fantasy friendship grief Historical humour magic Mystery Post apocalyptic Readers Cup reluctant readers school Sci-Fi series of books siblings Sport Starting school Teacher Notes
    ANZAC Australian animals Australian history Biography Culture & Diversity Disabilities First Nations Geography health Humanities mental health Poetry Reconciliation resilience Science STEM Stolen Generation sustainability Wordless books



    Recent Comments
    • Barbara on The Secret of Sapling Green
    • Cherie on Elephant Island
    • Patricia Tilton on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Jilanne Hoffmann on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Penelope Pratley on The Secret of Sapling Green
    Recent Posts
    • Battlefield
    • The Calling of Jackdaw Hollow
    • The Bush Birds
    • Star of Anise
    • Spotlight Please…It’s Stevie Louise
    Recent Comments
    • Barbara on The Secret of Sapling Green
    • Cherie on Elephant Island
    • Patricia Tilton on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Jilanne Hoffmann on Freddy the Not-Teddy
    • Penelope Pratley on The Secret of Sapling Green
    © Copyright 2021 The Children’s Book Council of Australia - All rights reserved

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.