Iguana Boy Saves the World With a Triple Cheese Pizza: Book 1

This is the story of Dylan, a boy who dreams of being a superhero just like his brother Arctic Thunder and his sister Millie Monday. However, on discovering his slightly disappointing superpower - the ability to talk to iguanas - Dylan feels rather inadequate. The evil Super Villain Platypus Kid plans to take over the world and sets a trap for all the Superheroes. Dylan, along with his new found friends and trusty iguana sidekicks, make it their mission to rescue the captive superheroes and try to stop Platypus Kid from world domination. I loved this book. I read most of it whilst my family were asleep in a caravan and had to try hard to stop myself from laughing out loud and waking them! I found the characters hilarious, particularly some of their unusual superpowers. I loved the Superhero style/tone of the book and the voices that I felt compelled to use when reading aloud to my children. The book tunes in perfectly to all of the things that my sons (ages 5 and 8) love and find side splittingly funny e.g. superheroes, ninjas, farts (AKA Fuzzy wuzzlers) and pizzas. The fabulous illustrations perfectly complement the text. The different text types, such as comic strips and ID cards, which are used throughout the book, engage the reader. I am sure that most children would find this book hysterical and entertaining. I am looking forward to sharing it with my more reluctant KS2 readers at school, as they would enjoy it due to the humour and accessible comic strip style used in some chapters. It has the potential for fun discussions about which superpowers we would like to have and I can imagine making Superhero ID cards with my pupils. I'm looking forward to the next instalment of Iguana boy! 256 pages / Ages 8+ / Reviewed by Leia Sands, teacher.

Suggested Reading Age 7+

Nine-year-old Dylan Spencer desperately wants to be a Superhero with a cool superpower. His brother Sam. aka Arctic Thunder, can control the weather and his sister Millie, aka Millie Monday, has laser eyes and can roast a chicken in 30 seconds (but only on a Monday). Dylan is the butt of his siblings' jokes and is endlessly teased for having no superpower. Then, one day, he discovers he has got a superpower - he can speak to and hear his brother's Iguana, Paul, and then learns he can speak to all Iguanas. He becomes Iguana Boy, although he isn't sure that this is a particularly cool Superpower or that he will be able to save the world with it, if it becomes necessary to do so. Paul takes him to the local petshop to rescue the other Iguanas - who are all also called Paul, except for one who is Pauline. When the evil Super Villain Celina Shufflebottom aka Platypus Kid, has a deadly fiendish plan to rule the world by neutralising all the Superheroes, it is up to Iguana Boy, his team of Iguanas and a triple cheeze pizza, to find a way to save the world. This is an hilarious first title in a new series that children are just going to love. Fast paced, witty one liners, recurring jokes about cats stuck in trees and whether Superheroes will save them or not, and a glorious collection of human and Superhero characters make this a delight to read. It is full of the off-the-wall humour that always appeals to children and it will definitely appeal to fans of David Walliams, Jim Smith and Liz Pichon's Tom Gates books. I am a big fan of Rikin Parekh's illustrations and his small cartoon style and double page comic strips work brilliantly and add a richness and humour to James Bishop's text. The second book in the series will be published in September and I have a feeling these are going to be a big hit with child readers. 256 pages / Ages 8+ / Reviewed by Annie Everall, librarian.

Suggested Reading Age 7+