Monster Doughnuts

Gianna Pollero's Monster Doughnuts is a funny monster-hunting story for 7 year olds about a girl whose secret weapon comes out of a bakery.

What happens

Grace is ten and she comes from a long line of monster-hunters. The book opens with her halfway up a drainpipe on the way home from school, about to dust an Under The Bed Beast through a child's bedroom window. Then her phone rings. It's her big sister, Danni, wondering why she's late!

Danni runs the family bakery, Cake Hunters. Their parents went missing on a dangerous hunt two years ago, so the sisters keep things going together. Danni bakes. Grace hunts.

The family secret is baking powder. Put enough of it in a cake and a monster that eats it goes BANG. Better still, every monster has a favourite treat. Who knew Poo Shufflers love a Bundt cake?

The trouble starts with a crayon drawing from a little boy at school. It shows a big green monster with one yellow eye. He's a cyclops called Mr Harris. He smells of poo and mouldy cheese, rides a bicycle, and wears glasses with pretend eyes painted on. And he's heading for the Houses of Parliament, where he'd very much like to eat the Prime Minister. Sorry, MEET the Prime Minister.

Luckily Mr Harris has one weakness. Iced doughnuts. So Grace fills her rucksack...

This is such a fun read. The monsters have brilliant names (Sock Stealers, Homework Takers, Snack Snafflers) and Mr Harris is a terrible, spoilt, giggling baby of a villain. His Top Trumps style fact file is very funny (Kindness 0, Danger 100). And Grace herself is fearless and cheeky, with plenty to say for herself.

Underneath the jokes there's some heart too. Grace misses her mum and dad badly, and she's sure they're still out there somewhere. The two sisters look after each other in a way that's lovely to read.

A few things to be aware of. The missing parents are part of the story from the start. The monsters talk a lot about eating people, and one swallows a troll whole, all played for laughs. It's cartoon silly rather than scary, but very young or sensitive readers might want to know.

What to read next

If your reader loves the idea of monsters and food together, try Monster and Chips. Joe is only popping out for chips when he ducks through a door he's never noticed and finds a diner full of monsters.