The Swivel-Eyed Ogre-Thing

Barry Hutchison's The Swivel-Eyed Ogre-Thing is a daft, action-packed monster adventure for 7 year olds, starring a boy who can't say no to trouble.

What happens

Ben Blank lives in the village of Lump with his uncle Tavish, a blacksmith with a mechanical arm and a wooden nose. Ben has a home-made wooden sword, a magical metal glove he hasn't quite worked out yet and an enormous appetite for adventure. Even on a school night.

This particular night starts with a furious goat smashing up the village. Then a troll turns up. His name is Scumbo, he smells like feet and he wants a hug.

Someone has been snatching trolls from under their bridges, and Scumbo seems to be the only one left. So off Ben goes to find them, with his two best friends. Paradise can find anything (and never lets Ben forget it). Wesley was thrown out of wizard school and can mostly only make custard.

There are exploding toads, a LOT of troll farts and a huge ogre with a metal leg and a telescope for an eye. It's gross, very silly and very fast.

The best bit is the three friends bickering. Ben decides that nearly being blown to pieces just means not being blown to pieces. Wesley copes with sheer terror by picking holes in the ogre's grammar!

Ben has already had one big adventure before this (there's talk of beating some Shark-Headed Bear-Things), but everything your reader needs is explained as they go.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

It's cartoon violence, but there's plenty of toad guts, and Scumbo cheerfully admits trolls "mostly" eat people. There's also one old-fashioned line about Paradise being tough "for a girl", which she'd definitely have something to say about.

If your reader likes their jokes gross and their heroes cheerfully reckless, they'll probably love it.

What to read next

If they want more of Ben, Paradise and Wesley, try The Moon-Faced Ghoul-Thing. It's a later adventure, set on the darkest night of the year, when the three of them go out in costume (Wesley, unhelpfully, as a butterfly).