Cuphead in Carnival Chaos

Ron Bates's Carnival Chaos is a caper for 8 year olds set in the world of the Cuphead game, where even the alarm clock has opinions.

What happens

Cuphead will not get out of bed. So the alarm clock puts on his own bell like an army helmet, waves a flag, and the whole bedroom goes to war on him.

The radio plays marching music. The socks are the foot soldiers. The dresser opens a drawer and a battalion of French berets parachutes out on handkerchiefs. By the end of it Cuphead has been catapulted across the room and landed neatly in yesterday's clothes.

That's the opening, and it tells you exactly what sort of book this is.

Today matters because it's Elder Kettle's birthday, and Cuphead and Mugman have been collecting money from the whole of the Inkwell Isles to buy him something proper. There's a gold pocket watch in Porkrind's shop and the shop shuts at four.

Getting the money out of Piggy the piggy bank takes a chase, a tackle and one carefully waved rhododendron.

Then the carnival arrives in town.

Elder Kettle tells the boys about the last time it came, when a clown offered to guess his weight, shook him upside down until every coin fell out of his pockets and never did guess it. Stay away, he says. It's full of liars and thieves.

They promise. They mean it, too. Then the big striped tent goes up in the town square, everyone at school is going, and there's a roller coaster in it.

The voice is the best part. The narrator chats away to you, stops to explain what a cloud flower is, apologises for the state of the local hens, and keeps up a running commentary on the schoolhouse clock, which is out to get Cuphead personally.

There's a lot of slapstick. Three children build dummies out of mops and lost property to fool their teacher, and a small apple called Mac decides to help by doing voices.

If your reader already plays the game, they'll spot Hilda Berg and Ms Chalice and be very pleased with themselves. If they've never heard of it, nothing here needs explaining.

It's a cartoon on paper. Fast, silly, and for a good long stretch the worst thing that could happen is a spoiled birthday.

What to read next

For another town that throws everything it has at a carnival, try Hotel Flamingo: Carnival Caper. Anna has one week, a hotel full of animal staff and a rival hotel that wins the parade prize every single year.