The Blockbusters!

Packed with jokes, non-stop action, and enticing wish-fulfilment fantasies all put across with the author’s usual supreme wit, his latest story never lets up for a moment. Reading it is the literary equivalent of jumping on to a merry-go-round offering dizzying fun for all those up for it. The plot describes how a group of primary school children manage first to enter a film shoot and finally make it to America for the Oscar ceremony. All totally impossible of course, and this becomes even clearer when one of the subsidiary characters turns out to be quite literally a guardian angel. But there are also authentic descriptions of what really goes on in film sets plus frequent quotations from Shakespeare. These are mouthed by Ms Greenwood, the children’s amiable and scholarly teacher also up for any challenge herself.

This author never disappoints, and this story is yet another triumph for all readers save those looking for a quieter life in their fiction. So much happens at such a pace there are moments when it is not entirely clear what is actually going on, with sub-plots often breeding further sub-plots as if there was no tomorrow. Jokes speed by so fast there is barely time to appreciate one before it is capped by another. ‘It takes a lot of make-up to make it look like you’re not wearing make-up,’ explains Make-Up Meghan as she is applying her skills to one of the children. The same could be said about this story: it takes a lot of skill to construct a narrative that feels so utterly spontaneous. Readers in search of a wildly inventive story from an author of such talent need look no further. Steven Lenton’s black and white illustrations add an extra treat.