Published by Faber & Faber, 2024.

When the school-kitchen pizzeria disappears, newly-formed superhero duo Peng-tastic and Spanners know that only they can help the headmaster find his pizza restaurant in time before the school inspectors arrive to judge the Best School Dinners Award. They just have to defeat a massive pesky robot, avoid Cinderella the caretaker and break out of jail first.

The pair form an unlikely crime-fighting duo with Peng initially very unwilling to partner up with Spanners. However, soon they’re working together to solve the crime, having a series of hilarious mishaps along the way.

Spanners is a contradictory character. When it comes to solving crime or designing and building contraptions, he’s remarkably astute and talented. However, he seems to entirely miss the point in conversations with Peng, which leads to some hilarious crossed wires and miscommunication. Then there’s also his confusion about the names of famous comic-book superheroes and his ridiculous alternatives including: the Incredible Sulk, Batteryman and Soupman.

This is a very funny book. It’s delightfully silly and the jokes come thick and fast. The graphic novel format gives it high appeal and I know my class will be clamouring to read it.

Rating: 💙💙💙💙

Suitable for children aged 7+

Thank you to Faber & Faber for sending me this book to review.