Lenny Lemmon and the Invincible Rat; Ben Davis, illustrated by James Lancett

I’m going to let you into a sec-rat…this first in a new series of lively, illustrated reads is totally rat-ical! Children, adults, librarians and teachers are always on the look-out for funny chapter books and this is definitely one to add to the shelves.

The pupils in Ms Bottley’s year five class are excited for Olden Days Day at school - it’s a chance to experience school as it was a long time ago. There’ll be no modern technology, lots of old-fashioned lessons, weird rules and a moody, strict and excessively loud teacher. Dressed up in Victorian attire, several children have bought in something to celebrate the day. Lenny has his own special contribution hidden in a box. But when Ratty escapes, mayhem ensues. With chaos descending throughout the school, can Lenny, along with best friend Sam and new arrival Jess, catch the elusive rodent and put an end to the madness…  

School-based comedies are always a hit and this is a great example of how glorious, silly and pleasurable they can be. Bursting with hilarious hijinks, Lenny Lemmon and the Invincible Rat serves up rodent mayhem in abundance with Ratty leading Lenny and friends on a carnage-filled chase around the school. There’s chaos in the classroom, pandemonium in the playground, a hullabaloo in the hall and karnage in the kitchen with plenty of gruel (or is it sick), flour and cheese thrown in for good measure. Brilliantly written and superbly illustrated, this is sidesplittingly funny, revels in silliness and has wonderful friendships at its heart. It is certainly up there with Pamela Butchart’s Baby Aliens series which is one of my absolute favourites.

The mischievous rat is a show-stealer and you can’t help but root for him, hoping he avoids the clutches of Jess who is all-too-keen for a game of Splat the Rat. The trio of kids are awesome; their friendship dynamic is so typical and will have children smiling knowingly. Lenny is full of crazy ideas, all action Jess is more than happy to bring big and often misguided plans to fruition, and then there’s sensible Sam. Trouble averse, he knows things are not a good idea but invariably gets dragged along for the ride as a reluctant participant - spit swears tend to have that effect.

Lenny’s first-person narration is spot on. His authentic voice will easily resonate with children as he passes comment on all of the school goings-on and gives his hilarious views on life a hundred years ago. The confusion over the huge black square on a wooden frame had me in tears - it reminded me of a scene in the movie Grown-Ups when a child discovers a television from yesteryear and yells out, ‘Hey Dad, what’s the big box attached to the the back of the TV?’.

Fresh, anarchic and hugely appealing, Ben Davis and James Lancett really hit the mark with a fast-paced and very accessible read that caters for a wide audience and will be an attractive draw for reluctant readers. Crammed with energetic black and white illustrations, over-sized text, different fonts and snappy chapters, this throughly enjoyable ‘tail’ delivers page after page of LOLs and rat-tastic action.

A riotous start to what is sure to be a hit-series and is one of my favour-at reads of the year for lower key stage two. Rat-isfaction is guaranteed so do yourself a favour and pick-up a copy, you’ll have no reg-rats! Lenny will be back for more adventures in the Trail of Crumbs.

Recommended for 7+.

With huge thanks to Nosy Crow for the copy I received in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.