Minecraft Stonesword Saga 2 – Mobs Rule!

Nick Eliopulos's Mobs Rule is a Minecraft adventure for 7 year olds about a boy who wants to be class president a little bit too much.

What happens

It's the second Stonesword Saga book. Po and his friends have VR goggles, souped up by their science teacher, that take them right inside Minecraft. Their friend the Evoker King, an AI who lives in the game, needs their help, and a trail of odd butterflies is their best clue.

The book opens on a huge swarm of red-eyed mobs closing in on the gang in the dark. They turn out to be bunnies (very cute ones).

This time the trail leads underground, and the animals start turning nasty. A llama spits at Jodi. Then the axolotls Po was happily swimming with go for him! Behind it all is a giant cave spider with a skull on its back and a green fog that changes how mobs behave.

Back at school, Po announces he's running for president and then finds out about the paperwork. Shelly Silver hands out free ice cream with spoons that say Vote for Shelly. So Po brings a whole ice cream truck. It does not go to plan!

Po is brilliant company. He's dramatic and silly, he plays basketball and he campaigns from his wheelchair with a megaphone.

And he is ridiculous. He wants Harper to hack the morning announcements and Theo to lead a flash mob. The class hamster gets his own campaign T-shirt. Harper even jokes that Po has a lot in common with the mind-bending spider (and he doesn't totally hate the idea).

That's the real heart of it. Have you ever watched your child get SO carried away with a plan that they forget to listen to anyone? His friends keep trying to tell him, very kindly, and it's lovely to watch.

Minecraft fans will love spotting the axolotls, dripstone and a hidden amethyst geode. Non-players needn't worry, because the friends explain as they go. Harper's trick for remembering stalactites from stalagmites is a good one to borrow!

The fights are video-game fights, where players flash red when they take damage, so it's exciting without being too much.

The gang have been on this quest for a while, and a few things from earlier are talked about as if you were there. The last page sets up the next adventure, too.

What to read next

So if your reader is new to the gang, start at the beginning with Crack in the Code, where Theo, the newest member of the club, has been secretly tinkering with the game's code.