Baby Aliens Got My Teacher; Pamela Butchart, illustrated by Thomas Flintham

Izzy and her friends, Zach, Jodi and Maisie, are completely confused when their class teacher starts acting strange. Miss. Jones, who usually shouts a lot and makes them do Maths, is being nice, letting them watch films, is handing out treats and giving them all pet names. She’s even wearing make-up and actually smiling. The kids are convinced that the only logical explanation is that Miss. Jones has been taken over by aliens and if they’re not careful they’ll be turned into aliens too…

Baby Aliens Got My Teacher is brilliantly bonkers and a whole lot of fun from one of the best writer’s of funny books for children. With a familiar primary school setting and full of friendship, drama and misunderstandings, readers will be laughing-out-loud at the crazy antics of Izzy and her friends.

When Maisie isn’t fainting and Zach isn’t freaking out about peas, the kids frantically hunt for alien evidence to prove that their teachers are experiencing an alien takeover, convinced that if they cannot work out what is going on then they could be next. Cue secret meetings, hastily concocted plans, imaginations running wild and a very surprising ending. All of this is brilliantly illustrated by Thomas Flintham.

Written by a teacher, Pamela Butchart perfectly captures so many aspects of school life and as a teacher I was smiling and nodding along at many things; the ‘I-Had-an-Accident Clothes’, the three-legged race on ‘Fun Day’, a game of ‘Heads Down, Thumbs Up’, the very common ‘Tipsy Disease’. With its conversational tone, quirky characters and very relatable scenarios, primary school children of all ages will love joining Izzy and her mates in this fast-paced, laugh-till-your-belly hurts read. No one does fun and silliness quite like Pamela Butchart!

Recommended for 7+.