Peter Millett is an New Zealand author who has written almost 80 books for children, and his latest is a knockout, which will appeal to kids from 7 to 12. If you like David Walliams or Andy Griffiths, you will enjoy these books! The Invincibles: Power Up is the first in a new series.
The premise of the books is a great deal of fun. Five children, Tana, Scotty, Zinnia, Andrea and Muzza are struck by lightning on the rugby field, which gives them superhero powers and transforms them in to a team called The Invincibles.
But there is a catch. They can only keep their superhero powers for 80 minutes, the same length as a rugby game, and then their superhero powers disappear and they are back to being regular kids again.
Meanwhile retired sports star and celebrity Tricky Ricky comes up with an evil scheme to ruin the reputation of the national team, The All Greats. It is only The Invincibles with their superhero powers who can save the day – but when they lose their powers, what can they do?
Watch out for super sheep falling from the sky in this humorous story, that will appeal to both boys and girls with its superpower spin. It’s got appealing illustrations throughout by Myles Lawford, and there is a bonus of collector cards in the back. This is an action-packed read, with zany humour that gets the balance just right between all the different elements of sport and superheroes, regular kids and the villain, toilet humour and crazy costumes. It is highly entertaining. Book two is out in September so children won’t have long to wait for the next instalment.
Reviewer: Karen McMillan
Scholastic, RRP $14.99