Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face and the Bees of Stupidity

This is another in a series of books featuring the exploits of Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face, the brother and sister mystery-solving duo from the isle of Great Kerfluffle. The mystery this time involves a group of missing evil and wicked badgers, stolen clothing, a swarm of bees (or maybe not) and a gaggle of menacing office chairs. The plot, as you can probably tell from the above, is completely bonkers and delightfully cosy all at the same time; the badgers' evil and wicked ways involve dressing up in striped rugby shirts and pretending to be bees and the office chairs, despite their best attempts to inflict the worst kind of punishment known to 'furniturekind', end up in a big hole in the ground. Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face, despite their names, come across as well-intentioned, helpful and keen to solve mysteries. There are numerous illustrations and font changes which break up the text into manageable chunks. This, when added to the repetitive nature of the text, makes this series ideal for young readers just starting to read independently. 169 pages / Ages7-9 / Reviewed by June Hughes, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 7+