Tim Miller (text), and Matt Stanton (illustrator), The Birthday Party (The Fart Monster and Me #3), HarperCollins Children’s Books, April 2019, 56 pp., RRP $7.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780733340208
Tim Miller (text), and Matt Stanton (illustrator), The Class Excursion (The Fart Monster and Me #4), HarperCollins Children’s Books, March 2019, 57 pp., RRP $7.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780733340215
Ben and the fart monster are back in two new stories. In The birthday party Ben’s whole class is invited to Chris’s birthday party and everyone is very excited. Ben is a bit worried about what the fart monster will get up to there, but luckily Chris’s dog Turbo is there to take the blame… In The Class Excursion they take a field trip to the museum, which is holding a special exhibition about space. Ben and the fart monster finally get the opportunity to get the fart monster back to his own planet – or do they?
While these books are formulaic, they are perfect for newly independent readers, and will no doubt encourage reluctant readers to give it a go – farts are always hilarious and the fart monster does manage to pick inopportune times to break wind. These will no doubt be popular in public and primary school libraries.
Reviewed by Rebecca Kemble
