LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
July 2023 Book of the Month
Benji McLaughlin is a self-confessed visionary and resolutely hopeful, no matter the circumstances, and his are very tough. His parents are missing after an accident at sea in which his big brother Stanley also nearly died, and the two of them have been moved to live with Uncle Hamish in the remote Loch Lochy in Scotland.
Benji is as certain that his parents will be found safe as he is that there’s a monster in the Loch. All he has to do while waiting for his parents to come back, is find the monster. Then the tourists will come flocking, thereby saving Uncle Hamish’s holiday business from bankruptcy. As the story unfolds, Benji learns that monsters are real, though not in the way that the Loch Lochy monster might be real. His other big lesson is that hope can shift, and it’s such shifts that allow you to carry on living.
Jenny Pearson explores grief and bereavement in a book that is frequently laugh-out-loud funny and is not afraid to include the occasional miraculous bit of good luck. It’s a rare skill to be able to mix humour with such profound themes, and one that makes her books rich and rewarding reading. Few authors create such warm and original characters either and this is every bit as entertaining and warm-hearted as the award-winning The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates.
Andrea Reece
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About
The Boy Who Made Monsters Synopsis
A one-of-a-kind tale of love, loss, laughter and hope, from award-winning author Jenny Pearson.
Benji McLaughlin is a visionary. He believes in things other people think are impossible, like that he and his brother Stanley will be happy living with their uncle, and that the Loch Lochy monster is real, and that his parents will come home safely one day.
So when he finds out that Uncle Hamish's holiday business is struggling, Benji's not worried. He has a visionary plan. Together with his new friends, Murdy and Mr Dog, he sets off to prove that the Loch Lochy monster exists, and bring tourists flooding in. But Benji might have to confront different monsters to the one he expects.
A master in the craft of writing genuinely laugh-out-loud stories, Jenny always tugs at the heartstrings and her books touch on difficult issues that can be read at a deeper level. The Boy Who Made Monsters tenderly explores childhood bereavement in a wise and accessible way as Benji and older brother Stanley navigate the realities of loss and learn to find a way forward.
“Laughter through tears is possibly my favourite emotion. It’s a reminder of the possibility that joy can follow the despair. I want to show children that there is humour to be found, even at the darkest of times.”
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781474999892 |
| Publication date: |
6th July 2023 |
| Author: |
Jenny Pearson |
| Illustrator: |
Katie Kear |
| Publisher: |
Usborne Publishing Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
348 pages |
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Press Reviews
Jenny Pearson Press Reviews
Laughs, adventure, tears, and most importantly...heart - Jenny is one of the finest storytellers we have. - Phil Earle, author of When The Sky Falls
Visionary! A glorious, hilarious, and touching triumph of a book. No one writes humour and heart quite like Jenny Pearson. - Katya Balen, author of October, October
Praise for Jenny Pearson:
Breaks records for funny and touching storytelling. David Baddiel
As funny and tender as it could ever be. Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Heart-warming and genuinely funny. The Times
Author
About Jenny Pearson
Jenny Pearson's debut children’s novel, The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates, won the Lollies 2022 and was shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Book of the Year 2020, Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Bradford Boase and the UKLA Book awards.
When she’s not writing, Jenny enjoys inspiring young writers in her classroom and looking after her family and their many animals.
Jenny loves her job and is inspired by the children she has taught. She says, "If you're writing for children, it helps to know what they like but also what they're like. The characters I write are based on many children I have taught over the years and the friendships I have witnessed."
More About Jenny Pearson
