(2) 4-6 Prez (who's in foster care--just until Granddad gets "sorted out" in a nursing home) joins alien Sputnik on a mission to find ten things worth saving Earth from destruction. A madcap series of cinematic action sequences provides nine things; with the tenth, the novel finds its philosophical bearings. The characters bond as Prez searches for his beloved granddad and Sputnik strives to save the world that contains them.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2017

(2) 4-6 Rory inexplicably turns broccoli-green and wonders if his dad could be right: "The Incredible Hulk, Swamp Thing...all superheroes. It seems to me that if you turn green, there's only one possible diagnosis." Shenanigans ensue as Rory and bunkmate Tommy-Lee, Rory's real-life bully, escape the hospital, wreaking havoc around London. Boyce's mash-up of comic-book tropes and coming-of-age struggles is funny--sometimes painfully so.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2015

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Joe Berger. In their final adventure, the Tootings meet the Potts, time-traveling car Chitty's original owners, and the families work together to defeat evil villain Tiny Jack, who has stolen landmarks from all over the world. Incessant conflicts, though too neatly resolved, keep the stakes high and propel the madcap plot forward. Berger's black-and-white spot art is nicely matched to Boyce's vivid descriptions.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Joe Berger. In their second adventure, the Tooting family (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again) and their time-traveling car return, stopping this time in dinosaur-rampaged prehistoric lands, Prohibition-era Manhattan, and the lost city of El Dorado. The story is packed with quirky details, but the stake-raising events have quick resolutions that stall the plot. The accompanying black-and-white digital illustrations are expressive and fluid.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Joe Berger. When the inventive Tooting family attempts to refurbish a 1960s-style van, they discover they must replace the engine. Little do they know that the vintage Zborowski engine once belonged to Ian Fleming's automotive icon. Searching for all its parts, the car takes the quirky Tootings around the world in an adventure that never quite takes off but offers amusing family dynamics.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(3) 4-6 Photographs by Carl Hunter & Clare Heney. Brothers Chingis and Nergui suddenly appear in Julie's classroom. They appoint her their "Good Guide" and learn to blend in, all the while spinning tales of Mongolia and a demon that's trying to make Nergui disappear. Told from Julie's perceptive, compassionate perspective and accompanied by numerous photographs, the U.K.-set story is poetic, bittersweet, and a little bit mystical.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old Liam, tall for his age, is often mistaken for an adult, a fact that he uses when he finds himself in a group of children on the first manned spacecraft since Apollo 17. When things go wrong, some quick thinking by the kids averts a disaster. Likable characters, gentle humor, and the far-fetched adventure will hold readers' attention.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2010

(2) 4-6 When paintings from London's National Gallery, which has suffered flood damage, are temporarily relocated to narrator Dylan Hughes's Welsh hometown, it seems to be just what the former slate-mining community needs to improve its self-image. The comedy of misperception reigns in Dylan's endearingly ingenuous account of his town and family's struggle for financial and emotional stability. Eccentric supporting characters enhance the vivid tableau.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2006

(3) 4-6 As Britain prepares to adopt the Euro, Damian finds over 200,000 pounds sterling, thrown from a train during a robbery. Somewhat eccentric Damian (he has visions of saints) and his brother, still grieving over their mother's recent death, debate what to do with the money and try to evade one of the robbers. This fresh, funny wish-fulfillment story both entertains and satisfies.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta