Game On, Super Rabbit Boy!

Thomas Flintham's Game On, Super Rabbit Boy is a bright, bouncy adventure for 5 year olds that's really a video game in book form.

What happens

It starts with a boy in his messy bedroom pressing START on his handheld console. Then we're inside the game. Animal Town is full of happy animals who dance, play and have a party every day.

King Viking can't stand it. He's never danced and he's never played games (he's only ever been mean!). So he builds a Robot Army, grabs Singing Dog and ties him up. No songs means no fun.

Simon the Hedgehog runs for help, and out of Carrot Castle steps Super Rabbit Boy. A magical carrot he ate as a baby means he can jump really high and run really fast. There are six levels between him and King Viking's factory.

This is where it gets clever. When a giant Robo-Fish gobbles him up, we're suddenly back with the boy holding the console. Two lives left. Super Rabbit Boy is back at the start of the level, a little confused and wondering if he's been here before. This time he knows where every trap is.

Anyone who's ever played a video game will know this feeling! The Robo-Basher Brothers beat him again and again and again. The boy plays on the sofa, in bed and in the back of the car, and it's GAME OVER every time. Who hasn't felt like giving up at that point? He doesn't. He decides he will NOT give up and works out the robots' punching pattern instead.

There's a very funny surprise waiting at the end of the final level too (and King Viking really doesn't want anyone finding out about it).

Reading it alone is very doable. Every page has a full-colour picture and only a few short sentences in big, clear print. The characters talk in speech bubbles, and there are noisy sound effects like CHOMP! and SNAP! to shout out. The chapters are short with game-style headings, so it can easily be finished in one sitting.

If you've got a reader who loves games, or a little one who's just starting to read chapter books on their own, this is a super fun place to begin. The baddies are much more silly than scary.

What to read next

If they want more, Super Rabbit Boy is back for another adventure in Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up! It's the second Press Start! book, and it's in the library too.