Fast-paced and outrageously funny, James Davis’ Scarlet debut sees its eponymous heroine embark on a madcap intergalactic adventure that fizzes with energy and visual verve.
After amusing preamble around whether the reader might be “fantasising about bamboo” and “huge and cute and cuddly-looking” (in which case, they’re directed to “put this book down, because you are a panda, and this is not a book for pandas”), nine-year-old Scarlet’s story kicks off with a tap-tap-tap at her window. When she goes to investigate, she’s met by the strange sight of a floating boy. And all this the day after she’d responded to an ad in the Beano for a Defender of the Universe.
Turns out, the floating figure is a boy by the name of Jasper, who’s as “silly as a badger in the fridge”, and the current Defender of the Universe, no less. As his co Defender of the Universe has turned twelve, she’d had to relinquish the role, hence Jasper’s ad for a new comrade. Cue Scarlet stepping into the role and embracing a wacky adventure across the cosmos with Jasper, Pop-Pom the alien, and a super-smart AI robot.
Packed with brain-boggling digressions, Scarlet boasts an amusing narrative voice that feels alive, as if you’re being read to. As such, it’s sure to please readers who demand non-stop entertainment. Mention must also be made of Dotty Sutton’s delightful illustrations, which pepper the story with perfectly-pitched pandemonium.
The funniest book of the year from an incredibly exciting new voice in children's fiction!
Are you sitting comfortably? Are you fantasising about bamboo? Do you have black and white fur? Are you huge and cute and cuddly-looking? Well, put this book down, because you are a panda, and this is not a book for pandas.
This is a story about a girl called Scarlet. She's nine years old, just like you, if you're nine. If you're not nine, then she's more like someone else who is nine. She has red hair, just like you, unless your hair is brown. She is 127 centimetres tall, just like you, unless you're taller or shorter. Her favourite colour is green, just like you, unless your favourite colour is grey, although that seems highly unlikely. And she is as smart as a shiny button, just like you.
Scarlet only responds to the advert at the back of the Beano for the role of Defender of the Universe to prove to her annoying younger brother that it's not a real thing… so she's a little surprised to be told that she's got the job and is now responsible for the safety of the entire galaxy. Along with her co-Defender Jasper, Pom-Pom, the cutest alien in existence, and Bot, the cleverest AI robot that's ever been invented, Scarlet is thrown into a whirlwind adventure that takes her to the furthest reaches of the cosmos and back again, on a mission to prevent the destruction of planet Earth by an alien species who will do anything for a warm cup of hot chocolate.
Illustrated throughout in black and white by Dotty Sutton, and perfect for fans ofLoki: A Bad God's Guide to Being Good, My Brother is a Superhero, Charlie Changes into a Chicken andMr Gum, Scarlet: Defender of the Universe is the unbelievably funny, exciting, and action-packed debut by James Davis - a middle-grade Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
James Davis lives in Manchester with his two favourite humans: the one he married and the one that popped out of that one. He likes sprinting after balls, waterslides and other people's dogs. He has been known to perform stand-up comedy, but not very well known. He took his A-level Art when he was eleven years old. And failed it. Sometimes he misses having hair.
