Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up!

Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up by Thomas Flintham is a dungeon quest for 5 year olds, played out on the TV in one family's front room.

What happens

It starts with a letter. King Viking has had enough of Super Rabbit Boy, so he's off to find the legendary Super Power Up and build an unbeatable robot. He signs off with "YOU SMELL!" (charming).

So Super Rabbit Boy has to get there first. The Wisdom Tree hands over an old map and off he bounces, through a quick run of mini adventures (grown-up gamers will spot the answer to one of the riddles).

Then comes the Secret Dungeon. One huge door with three locks, and three little doors underneath. Behind each one is a key and a mini boss. A giant spider in a room full of cobwebs. A boss made of flames. A grinning shadow in the pitch dark.

Super Rabbit Boy runs away from all three! The first time, he says he just wants to "try one of the other doors first". It's a VERY good excuse.

Plib the Plob, a friendly ghost who giggles "Tee hee" at everything, sends him down to the levels below. Three power ups are hidden there, each one just right for one of those rooms.

The best bit happens on the carpet, though. Sunny is holding the controller, and Rue has been told it's a one-player game. When the last power up won't show itself, the grown-ups have a go and get nowhere. They even want to look it up online (Rue says that's cheating). Guess who works it out?

So it ends up being about sharing a game as much as winning one. And King Viking still has a sneaky trick saved for the end.

Every page is a bright picture with a few short sentences in big, clear print and short speech bubbles. The game is drawn in chunky pixels and the family in a softer style, so your reader always knows whether they're in the dungeon or on the sofa. Lots of the jokes are in the faces. Ten short chapters make it easy to finish in a sitting for a child just starting to read alone.

If you've got a reader who's ever been told to wait their turn, they'll be cheering for Rue.

What to read next

It's the second Press Start! book, but the game and its hero are introduced again on the opening pages, so it stands on its own. If they want to go back to where it all began, try Game On, Super Rabbit Boy.