I’ve followed author Ben Davis for quite some time on Twitter. He’s a funny guy, one of those authors you find on the bird site that keeps you entertained. Equal parts amusing school visit stories and terrible dad jokes, he seems like a super-nice guy. When a copy of his book Lenny Lemmon and the Invincible Rat dropped through my letter box, I figured I ought to review it, even though it’s aimed at children younger than I usually review for (around 7 upwards).
What Is Lenny Lemmon and the Invincible Rat?
This book is in the genre of “amusing things happening to misfit kids” and is told with a mixture of zinging prose, changing fonts, and brash illustrations (supplied by James Lancett). Everything about the book screams fun.
Lenny Lemmon is at school where it is “olden days” day. All the children have to dress up as a character from history. (The sort of day that strikes fear into most parents’ hearts!) There is a prize for the class with the best costumes and Lenny, in class 5B, is determined that this year 5B will beat goody-goody class 5A.
To help bring victory Lenny, not unreasonably, has dressed as a street urchin. Less reasonably, he has brought a rat with him because that’s the sort of thing an olden days child might have. Inevitably, the rat escapes. When Jess, the new girl in the class, turns out not to be a new girl at all but an American agent on the trail of an invincible rat, the game is afoot!
Why Read Lenny Lemmon and the Invincible Rat?
Ben Davis is operating in a crowded space with this book, but Lenny Lemmon has enough about him to stand out from the crowd. The book has some great jokes and the story turns out to be subtly different from how we first expected. Let’s just say that Jess is not everything that she said she was.
The book takes the idea of class rivalry and the horror of school dress-up days and runs with them. Children will be able to identify themselves in the book’s characters and will definitely enjoy the caricatured portrayal of the teachers in the book. All in all, this a great book for newly confident readers to read alone or a great one to read aloud. It’s funny and engaging, rattling along at a great pace. Like the best children’s books for ages 7 and upwards, it doesn’t outstay its welcome. Jokes, action, and engaging characters—bang, bang, bang. Parents and teachers know exactly what they’re getting with a book like Lenny Lemmon and the Invincible Rat. Ben Davis has not only given us Lemmons, he’s made lemonade!
If you’d like to pick up a copy of Lenny Lemmon, you can do so here in the US and here in the UK.
If you enjoyed this review, check out my other book reviews.
Disclosure: Publisher Nosy Crow sent me a copy of this book to review.
