CHILDREN'S BOOK REVIEW: ALBERT JOHNSON AND THE BUNS OF STEEL BY PHIL EARLE

Albert Johnson and the Buns of Steel

Publisher: Barrington Stoke

Pages: 99

ISBN: 978-1-78112-907-4

Reviewed By: Sandra Scholes

When the Johnson family have always been bakers, Albert's dad is shocked at his son's answer when he offers to pass on his family business to him. 

Albert prefers to eat the buns rather than make them, and he is too into his sports to want to be a family Baker, so what else can his dad do but to make an incentive. 

Phil Earle's other titles, Superdad's Day Off and The Unlucky Eleven have been written for young adults who are into superheroes and football, so we get the similarities to his other work in this, his new novel aimed at younger readers who enjoy fun, fast-paced reads.

Here Phil has put his main character into a tricky situation as his father has created the Doughmaster 5000 as a companion to Albert. If he gets bored with helping, he can leave the Doughmaster 5000 to continue his work well into the early hours. This sounds like a good plan at first, though he soon regrets it when Albert accidentally kicks a ball at him. 

Albert's dad is a man proud of his Baking heritage who doesn't want the family baking skills to go to waste, seeing his robotic creation as the only way to keep the tradition. 

Phil's novel is easy to read, exciting and proves to be an edge of the seat action with added extras such as a spot the difference, and that's before we get to the thrilling story!