About the Book

There are a lot of different types of monster. Some live at the bottom of lochs, some are found far out at sea and some swim about in the depths of your mind and these can be the scariest monsters of all – if you let them.

Benji McLaughlin is a visionary. He believes in things that other people think are impossible, like that he and his brother Stanley will be happy in their new home in Scotland, and that the Loch Lochy monster exists, and that his parents will come home safely one day, even though they’ve been missing for months.

When he finds out that his Uncle Hamish’s Loch Lochy tourist business is struggling, and it looks like Benji and Stanley might lose another home, Benji’s not worried. He has a plan. If he can show everyone that the Loch Lochy monster exists, people will flock to come and see it, and the business will flourish again.

Together with his new friend Murdy and Mr Dog, the best dog in the world, Benji sets off to capture evidence of the monster, even if he has to get a little creative. But Benji might end up confronting more monsters than he expects.

About the Author

Jenny Pearson has been awarded six mugs, one fridge magnet, one wall plaque and numerous cards for her role as Best Teacher in the World. When she is not busy being inspirational in the classroom, she would like nothing more than to relax with her two young boys, but she can’t as they view her as a human climbing frame. Her debut novel, The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates, was shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Book Award and selected as a Waterstones Book of the Month.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/J_C_Pearson

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/J_C_Pearson/

What I Thought

The Boy Who Made Monsters follows Benji and his brother Stanley up to a Scottish Loch to live with their uncle after their parents go missing. The story is told from eleven year old Benji’s perspective and as such I would say this is on the younger end of middle grade.

Benji is an entertaining narrator who despite all the upheaval in his life is willing to go all in to help his uncle’s ailing business and he takes us along for the ride with a lot of humour. I can’t help thinking that this is also a note to us all to look out for the people we think as coping well when something difficult happens. Under the surface all may not be well and their flippers may be paddling wildly.

The topic of grief is approached with sensitivity and we get to see a few different ways that individuals cope with it. The relationship between Benji and his brother Stanley was well developed, from standard sibling fights to fighting for your sibling.

Benji’s new friend Murdy McGurdy was a delight although I have to admit that I think Mr Dog was my favourite character, there is one illustration included in the book that made me want to give him the biggest boop.

There is a good mix of adventure and emotion in this story and I think it’s one that you would get even more from reading for a second time.

This is the third book by Jenny that I have read and enjoyed and she really is a master at mixing humour with the more serious experiences children may have to face.

See also my review of Freddie Yates here.

The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates – Blog Tour Guest Post by author Jenny Pearson

Thanks to Bee at Kaleidoscopic Tours and the publisher Usborne for the gifted copy. Opinions are all mine. Follow the tour by using the hashtag #TheBoyWhoMadeMonsters