The Impossible Boy

By Author / Illustrator

Ben Brooks, George Ermos

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

Publisher

Hachette Children's Group

ISBN

9781786540997

Format

Hardback

Published

31-10-2019

Synopsis

Believe in the impossible this Christmas - a magical story celebrating the power of imagination, from the bestselling author of STORIES FOR BOYS WHO DARE TO BE DIFFERENT.

Oleg and Emma entered their den to find a cardboard spaceship standing exactly where they usually sat. Slowly, the front door opened and out stepped a boy. 'My name's Sebastian Cole,' he said. 'But you already know that.'

When Oleg and Emma invent a new classmate called Sebastian, they are amazed when he appears - very much real - in their secret den.

Sebastian isn't like the rest of their classmates. He's never eaten pizza, he's not sure what goose bumps are, and he has a satchel that seems to hold an endless supply of hot ice cream.

But as the trio begin their adventures, more impossible things keep happening, from a runaway goat appearing at school to a sighting of some snowwomen walking down the road. Things soon take a turn for the dangerous when the three friends are pursued by the mysterious Institute of Unreality, who want to capture and erase Sebastian, restoring order to the world.

With the help of a cowboy gardener, an imprisoned scientist, and the rest of their class, can Emma and Oleg protect their new friend and keep the magic of the impossible alive, just in time for Christmas?

After inspiring countless young readers with tales of extraordinary people in the world around them, Ben Brooks' first children's novel is a magical adventure that celebrates friendship, the power of imagination, and ice cream.

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Reviews

Oleg and Emma are friends. Their home lives are less than perfect (Emma's mum works all hours just to keep her family fed and Oleg's dad is unemployed and suffering with depression, leaving Oleg to care for his grandmother) but they are held together by their joint need to escape reality and find warmth and friendship with each other. They share a love of mischief and could never have imagined that their mad shenanigans could one day set them on an adventure of a lifetime that would not only bond their friendship forever but would introduce them to weird and wonderful happenings. By creating an imaginary boy to confuse the new cover teacher, they manage to open a whole can of worms that challenges every sense of the impossible. Ben Brooks's imagination knows no bounds as he takes the reader on a hilarious adventure. The wild and crazy ride hurtles us on a wave of emotions and nail-biting situations. Each character is brought to life with ease and exuberance as we eagerly follow the storylines that interweave. Yet, there is an undertone of understanding to the difficulties that lie behind each of these characters' lives - a nod at the fact that we should never really judge a book by its cover. A must read for all children (big and small) aged 7+ and to any who love a laugh out loud book that pushes all senses of the imagination to their limits. It is a masterpiece of creativity and empathy rolled into one big feelgood tale. Links for friendship, bullying, anxiety, depression, challenging adversity, accepting diversity, supporting others, hope, belief, imagination and creativity. 256 pages / Ages 8+ / Reviewed by Donna Burkert, teacher