Andrew Levins (text) and Katie Lear (illustrator), Broccoli and Spies: Nelson (Book #2), Puffin, January 2021, 163 pp., RRP $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760893392
In the first book of the series, Pumpkins and Aliens, Nelson Hunter hates vegetables but made the startling (and disgusting) discovery that pumpkin gives him superpowers…which is great! If it wasn’t for the pumpkin part. In this book, Nelson and his best friend, Olive Sadana, visit Nelson’s grandparents’ vegetable farm, where he discovers his grandma used to be a spy and she needs help finding out who has been stealing her pumpkins.
After being force-fed broccoli by his granny, Nelson becomes invisible…the perfect superpower for completing their mission and finding those fiendish pumpkin thieves. Frantic, fast-paced and sprinkled with fun illustrations by Katie Kear, this book will amuse younger readers who like spies, flying machines, explosions, and don’t mind the odd bout of vomiting.
Reviewed by Deborah Abela
