Funny Kid Prank ninjas by Matt Stanton

The 10th in the Funny Kid series, Prank Ninjas is another hilarious look inside the kid-centric world of Max Walburt. The writing is punchy and irreverent. Black and white cartoon-style illustrations are scattered throughout and while long, the story is fast-paced and easy reading.

It's the school holidays and Max is determined to get revenge on his friends, including number one enemy: Abby Purcell. 'She ruins everything and I'm fairly sure, when you say her name out loud, flowers curl up and die'. Unfortunately for Max, most of his pranks against Abby backfire and the pranks against him are becoming increasingly elaborate. Is this all Abby's doing or is there someone else involved? 

The pranks are mostly harmless and inspired: grabbing a hand through the bottom of a popcorn box in the cinema and fake spiders but there is also a war of sorts in a shop that involves pulling cans, balls and other items off shelves and rolling them down the aisles. For the most part the adults are bit players in the story: authority figures who lack control over the wild, free-running children. The humour is suble and witty with lashings of slapstick and toilet humour thrown in for good measure. This is a wildly entertaining read with a surprise twist at the end. Readers will love how powerless the adults in the story are.

Fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid will adore this series, which is also a perfect next step with longer text for lovers of the Treehouse or other heavily-illustrated series. 

Themes: Humorous stories.

Nicole Nelson