Dinosaur Pox

Life, as 10-year-old Jodie sees it, is appallingly unfair: her hair is all wrong, freckles are everywhere, a young brother is permanently tiresome and parents exist only to frustrate her every move. Little wonder, then, that she appears such a grumpy young woman - an impression which persists until her miraculous transformation into a dinosaur. Subsequently, events at home, school and beyond take a series of hectic turns and diversions, resulting finally in a Jodie more in tune with herself and her surroundings. It all amounts to lively, well paced and undemanding reading, its zaniness - just about - kept under control.