This Wonderful Thing

Adam Baron's This Wonderful Thing is a funny, big-hearted mystery for 10 year olds about a filthy old teddy bear that two sisters fight over tooth and nail.

What happens

It's told by two narrators. Jessica is on a family day out at Cuckmere Haven when her little brother Benji needs a poo by the stream. What happens next is a game of Pooh Sticks with a REAL poo (yes, really, and Dad joins in).

Then Jessica spots something wedged in the water. It's a small, stinking teddy. Her big sister Milly grabs it first and the fight goes on all the way home. Mum, who has had enough, marches them straight to the wheelie bin.

Cymbeline Igloo's side of the story starts badly too. His big weekend in Barcelona falls through at the last minute. Then he gets home to find the front door hanging off its hinges and the house turned upside down by burglars.

And that's before a van pulls up outside. Mum's fiancé and his two girls are moving in. Today.

Cym's voice is a big part of the fun. He shouts in CAPITALS, argues with himself and tells you things you won't believe. One minute you're laughing about an Olympic-standard poo. The next you're standing in a wrecked living room with him, looking for his Lego Death Star.

It's the kind of book that swaps from giggles to a lump in your throat in a page. Both families feel very real, with squabbling siblings, a mum at the end of her tether and a lot of love underneath.

There's one scene to be ready for. Jessica's dad has been poorly, and the girls find him lying face down in the garden, not moving. If someone in your family is unwell, that bit might hit hard. The burglary is upsetting as well, although nobody is hurt.

If your reader likes funny books that aren't afraid to go somewhere serious, this is a great pick. Cym's friends Lance and Veronique are in it too.

What to read next

If Cym wins them over, go back to Boy Underwater, where he first turns up. He has never been swimming in his life, and he's just told his friends he's really epic at it.