Bubblegum Monster

An episodic story which features a Pakistani family, particularly Mussarat whose 10p ball from the bubblegum machine contains not the ring she was hoping for but a yellow monster with a passion for bananas. Having this monster around turns ordinary everyday events like a school netball game (does the author know the rules?) and a supermarket visit into rather extraordinary happenings for all concerned but especially for Mussarat's family. I wanted to like this book but somehow it seemed to be trying just too hard to do everything right and for me at least it lacked that vital spark, though I suspect young readers will be less critical.