The Incredible Record Smashers

Teacher and children’s author Jenny Pearson follows her successful first novel The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates with this hilarious and poignant story of Lucy’s attempts to make her Mum happy by breaking a world record.  Lucy loves to fix things, but she cannot fix her unhappy Mum whose depression has resulted in admission to hospital.  Then Lucy comes up with an amazing plan to smash a world record and reunite her Mum with Paul Castellini, Record Smashers TV host and singing legend.  With the help of staunch friend Sandesh Lucy embarks on a quest to find the perfect record to break, a quest that involves watermelon, kumquats, plastic flamingos, and flippers in a series of increasingly desperate and hilarious record- breaking attempts.

Although Lucy’s record-breaking exploits do not always go to plan, she does make it on to the Record Smashers programme only to discover that achieving a happy ending is not always as straightforward as it seems.  The book also has the bonus of amazing and unlikely record attempts scattered throughout as chapter headings, along with warnings not to try them at home.

This funny, moving novel brilliantly combines humour and empathy to give children a realistic but hopeful depiction of parental depression that they can understand and discuss with others.  Lucy is an honest and appealing character and loyal Sandesh and eccentric Aunty Sheila form the strongest, most comforting support team ever.  Lucy Pearson understands children completely and has written a comic and heart-warming story which deals with mental health issues in an empathetic way, celebrates friendship, kindness and hope and, best of all, will have readers of all ages laughing out loud.