Forbidden Journal of Rufus Rumble by Nick Long & Robin Tatlow-Lord

Rufus Rumble lives with his Great Uncle Grumbo, sometime in the future where space travel is normal and there is a very strange group in charge of Earth. 

Rufus has a ticket to space aboard Captain Clewston’s rocket, which should be the adventure of a lifetime but there are a couple of issues. The rocket is held together with duct tape, the passengers make up the WORST SPACE CREW ever and there is no going back!!

What follows is a story of a crazy crew’s travels around space as they try to find Rufus’s mum who mysteriously disappeared one day, which is why he lives with his Great Uncle, and the crazy crew.  As each character gets introduced the weirder it gets; there is a merman and a pirate in the crew and a dragon. 

The story is told in the first person as you would expect from a journal or diary style and there are breaks in the story as the time passes, similar to Tom Gates and is highly illustrated which bring the story to life. The story moves quickly and draws the reader in from the first page with humour and the range of characters, making this a book that will appeal to the reader.  The story follows the misadventures of the crew as they discover the importance of friendship, teamwork and loyalty. 

This is a brilliant new series that will appeal to the young reader and the way that the book has been illustrated and written is sure to make even a reluctant reader want to have a look.  The Rufus Rumble series is bound to be a favourite on any library or home shelf and will be shared amongst independent readers who will enjoy the clever story, crazy characters, wild adventure and the clever use of hand-written notes and illustrations that lend themselves to the ridiculous, funny and occasionally disgusting events of the story. 

Themes: Friendship, Family, Space, Science Fiction, Space Travel, Adventure.

Mhairi Alcorn