Louie Stowell’s Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Being Good (Walker Books) and its two sequels (the third book is out in June) features a young version of the Norse trickster with enough mischief up his sleeves to satisfy the most anti-authoritarian child, complete with doodles and drawings by the author, and constant references to uptight Thor as the God of Bum Thunder.
The Dream Team: Jaz Santos vs. the World (Puffin) by Priscilla Mante is perfect for young readers fired up by the Lionesses’ success last summer: an inspirational tale of a girl who sets up a football team and has to battle against the odds – and prejudice – for them to be accepted. There’s plenty of excitement and internal wrangles as the Bramrock All-Stars, all from very different backgrounds, learn to work together. The first in a series with the third book out this year.
For older children with a taste for the dark and chaotic, The Borrible Trilogy by Michael de Larrabeiti (Macmillan) will tick lots of boxes. Originally published in the 80s, some of the references might go over modern readers’ heads (the Borribles are essentially a down-and-dirty satire of The Wombles) but the feral children’s thrilling battles with the police unit dedicated to taking them down will strike a chord.
A House Called Awful End by Phillip Ardagh with illustrations by Dave Roberts (Scholastic) also bears a resemblance to Dahl’s work. When his parents are struck down by a terrible disease, young Eddie Dickens must go and live with his sinister Uncle and Aunt, when bizarreness ensues in the style of Lemony Snicket shot through with a rather more British grotesqueness.
The Mr Gum series, beginning with You’re A Bad Man, Mr Gum! (Egmont), by Andy Stanton and illustrated by David Tazzyman – about a man who hates children meeting a little girl called Polly – have all the Dahl hallmarks, even down to the illustrations, and are pitched at the same age group.
