Book Zone Box Set #3 - The Monster Odyssey Series by Jon Mayhew

In my Book Zone Box Set feature I put the spotlight on a series of books that I have read and enjoyed, and would highly recommend to any parent asking about suitable books for their child. The recent release of The Venom of the Scorpion made Jon Mayhew's Monster Odyssey series a deserving addition to the 'box set' shelf.

If you're a long time reader of The Book Zone the you probably already know that I am a big fan of Jon Mayhew's writing, from Mortlock, his super creepy, Victorian-set mystery/horror story, right through to his Monster Odyssey series. If you're a new visitor then welcome and you need look no further than my reviews of the first two books in this series, The Eye of Neptune and The Wrath of the Lizard Lord, to a) find out what they're all about and b) see why I enjoyed them so much.

The Venom of the Scorpion is the fourth, and I believe final book in this fab series, although I'm am still no wiser as to why Bloomsbury didn't give a 'Young Nemo' title to this series. Even though Prince Dakkar does not take this title at any point in these four adventures, we know pretty much from the start that he is destined to become the Captain Nemo of Jules Verne's classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Who else would be travelling around the world in a submarine called the Nautilus? We've had Young Sherlock and Young Bond, so why not Young Nemo? I would not be surprised if there are many fans of Verne's classic who do not know these are, to some degree, prequels.

Like Andrew Lane's Young Sherlock series, great delight can be gained from these stories in spotting the development of the character traits that the well-known adult character possess. All the important elements of the adult Captain Nemo's personality evolve as the story progresses: arrogance; bravery; resourcefulness; a natural leader who inspires loyalty in those who follow him; his love of the ocean; and now, in The Venom of the Scorpion, his hatred of oppression and imperialism. For a middle grade reader, these four books are the perfect introduction to the more challenging Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (although you may also want to drop the odd hint that it is okay to skim read some parts, specifically the numerous, lengthy descriptions of marine life that Verne includes in his story).

Like Verne's original, these books are cracking adventure stories and they are perfect for any young lover of thrilling action/adventure stories.

My thanks go to the fab people at Bloomsbury for keeping me provided with the Monster Odyssey books as they were published, most recently The Venom of the Scorpion which brings this series to a more than satisfactory end (although, and it may be a little too much to hope for, still leaving things open for more adventures in the future).

Book Zone Box Set #2 - The Barry Loser Series by Jim Smith

For the second post in my new Book Zone Box Set, where I put the spotlight on a series of books that I have read an enjoyed, and would highly recommend to any parent asking about suitable books for their child, I have selected the pants-wettingly funny Barry Loser series by Jim Smith.

If you have a 7+ aged child who has not yet discovered the Barry Loser books then what are you doing? These are the kind of books that can get kids excited about reading, and as we know, once that happens at a young age it can become a lifelong passion. Not that there can be many children of that age in the UK have not already heard of these books. It's only three years since I Am Not A Loser was published in the UK, and we already have six full-length Barry Loser books in print, as well as the World Book Day title I Am Nit A Loser, and three e-books (two of which are currently free by following the links at the Barry Loser books webpage). Sales in the UK now exceed 400,000 copies, and along withh Liz Pichon's Tom Gates books, has become a genuine rival for Jeff Kinney's Wimpy Kid books here in the UK.

And there's more... last month saw the release of the first book in a brand new series from Jim Smith - Future Ratboy. Fans of the Barry Loser series will already know that this is a spin-off from the man series, as Future Ratboy is Barry's favourite TV show. Well now Future Ratboy has his very own book, titled Future Ratboy and the Attach of the Killer Robot Grannies, and it is even more hilarious (and keel) than the Barry Loser books themselves. 

Move over Spidey, get back in your cave Batman, and keep your glasses on Clark Kent, there's a new superhero in town. FUTURE RATBOY.

When a bolt of lightning hits Colin Lampost (and his toy bird, Bird), he is zapped millions of years into the future! Life will never be the same again. Bird has been brought to life as Not Bird and Brian's DNA is fused with a rat giving him superkeel powers. Future Ratboy is born!

But the future is not a safe place to be and there are killer robot grannies on the rampage! Will the dynamic duo survive the attack and save the world?

Join Future Ratboy and Not Bird on their first adventure to find out! 

And, Loser fans, there is still more. "Surely not!" I hear you cry, but yes. Not only is there all those Barry Loser books, and the new Future Ratboy book, but, released just this past week, is Barry Loser's Ultimate Book of Keelness. 

The ultimate book for fans of Barry Loser!

Packed full of brilliant content, including the World Book Day book I am nit a Loser, the short stories  ‘Bunky is a Loser’ and ‘My Dad is a Loser’, editions of the Daily Poo, a Q&A with Jim from his fans and pages of brand-new superkeel drawing guides and activities, Barry fans old and new will love Barry Loser’s Ultimate Book of Keelness.

This is another must-buy for all Barry Loser fans. It is full of fun activities, such as drawing tasks (noses, dog poos, fronkle cans) and a loserfan quiz, as well as brand new Barry Loser short stories and also the World Book Day I Am Nit A Loser story (just in cased you missed your chance to get a copy at the time).

I can't recommend these books enough for getting kids into reading for enjoyment. Is there a more heart-warming sound than that of a young child giggling away to themselves as they read a book? 

Book Zone Box Set #1 - The Alex Rider Series

I love DVD box sets! I have piles and piles of them here at Book Zone HQ, and sometimes, when I'm in the mood I will watch a whole season of a TV show back-to-back over a week, often whilst I'm getting on with school work of an evening. Over the past year I've been rewatching, amongst others, the complete X-Files, Stargate SG-1 and CSI: Miami. As I was reaching for Season 7 of the X-Files this morning I realised that the box set concept would make a nice new occasional feature for this blog: Book Zone Box sets.

As a child and a young teen I was much the same with books. If I found a series I liked I would read as many of them as I could get my hands on: Enid Blyton's various mystery series; The Three Investigators; the Hardy Boys; Agatha Christie's Poirot; the Conan books published by Sphere back in the 70s/80s; the Destroyer books by Sapir and Murphy... the list goes on and on. And I haven't changed - it's great to discover an author I've never read before who has a significant back catalogue of great books.

Many kids, and boys in particular, share this love for series books, so when people ask me to recommend books for their children I will often include a handful of first-in-series books, as if their child likes one of them it could be the catalyst to them becoming a keen reader. It worked on my godson (and his brother) when  gave him the first Percy Jackson book, and it has worked many times since. In this new feature I will put the spotlight on a series of books that I have read an enjoyed, and would highly recommend to any parent asking about suitable books for their child. For clarification, in my mind a series constitutes four or more books, i.e. trilogies do not count.

And what better place to start than with one of the very best series of books for 10+ aged reader from the last twenty years?

I love the Alex Rider books, almost as much as I love the Harry Potter books, both for their brilliant stories and the impact they have had on getting children, and boys in particular, reading for enjoyment. So well known are they, that it is very easy to fall into the trap of assuming that all book-loving children have at the very least read Stormbreaker, or that parents trying to encourage their children to pick up a book have tried the first in this series, but that is not the case. As such, Stormbreaker is top of every list I give to parents who approach me for book recommendations.

And now is the perfect time to start reading this marvellous series. 2015 marks the fifteenth anniversary of the first publication of Stormbreaker and earlier this year Walker Books published brand new editions, with top-smart new cover designs, produced by the Walker design team and creative studio Two Dots (see their stunning artwork at the end of this post). And there's more... the Walker editorial team have also gone through every one of the books in the series and updated them slightly. The changes do not affect the story in any way, other than to make the pop-culture references more relevant for today's young readers. This, in Stormbreaker, the modified gadget that Smithers provides Alex becomes a Nintendo DS when previously it was a Gameboy. In Scorpia, Alex is now wearing a Superdry t-shirt, and in Ark Angel the TV on the table in Alex's hospital room becomes an "Ultra Slim HD TV mounted on the wall". Small changes that some may feel are unnecessary, but I am sure young readers will appreciate them, without even knowing they have been made.

I realised earlier this year that even though I had read Stormbreaker a number of times, I had only read the other books in the series once each. Thanks to the generosity of the fabulous Paul Black at Walker I came into possession of a set of the newly rejacketed Alex Rider books, and decided that now was the time for a re-read. And just like a watching a TV series box set, these books are even better when read back-to-back. I remember when I first read each book that I found it very difficuly to put down, and on a second reading nothing has changed and it being the school summer holidays meant I had the luxury of being able to read for several hours at a time without interruption.

With so much time between the publication of each book, it is very easy to lose touch with the fact that the nine Alex Rider adventures take part over a period of  just twelve months. Yes, incredibly there is only one year between Alex being drafted into an MI6 investigation against his will, to his final battle against Scorpia, via a crazy number of near-death experiences. Reading them in this way we see how his character develops from a fun-loving, average 14-year old schoolboy, albeit one who is grieving the loss of his only close relative, to a battle weary 15-year old who has seen and done things that no young person ever should. What also becomes clearly evident is how different each of the books is - Anthony Horowitz managed to create a nine book series where each new outing for the teen secret agent seems fresh and without repetition.

Although only one of these (Scorpia) ends on a cliffhanger, and technically each book could be read as a standalone, or out of series order, as each story contains a new, discrete mission for Alex, to be fully enjoyed these books should be read in order. It isn't just Alex's character that is developed over the series, but also that of Jack Starbright, Alan Blunt, Mrs Jones and, of course, Smithers (and he may only make a cameo appearance in each book, but it is almost worth getting to know him by reading the whole set just for that one special moment in Scorpia Rising, a twist that I am willing to bet that no one could possibly have seen coming).

Seriously, for getting 10+ kids into reading, and boys in particular, they don't come much better than Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series. And the icing on the cake? When you've finished the nine books you can read the mighty fine Russian Roulette, the Yassen Gregorovich origin story.

Cover Illustration by Two Dots © 2015 Walker Books Ltd

Cover Illustration by Two Dots © 2015 Walker Books Ltd

Cover Illustration by Two Dots © 2015 Walker Books Ltd

Cover Illustration by Two Dots © 2015 Walker Books Ltd

Cover Illustration by Two Dots © 2015 Walker Books Ltd

Cover Illustration by Two Dots © 2015 Walker Books Ltd

Cover Illustration by Two Dots © 2015 Walker Books Ltd

Cover Illustration by Two Dots © 2015 Walker Books Ltd

Cover Illustration by Two Dots © 2015 Walker Books Ltd

Cover Illustration by Two Dots © 2015 Walker Books Ltd