I’ve always hated flushing the toilet.
I know it’s mad but I can’t stand the noise and the sloshing water. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been convinced that a poo-covered sewer monster is going to come flying out of the toilet bowl and grab me with its slimy claws.
Okay, it’s stupid, I admit it. But be honest, are you really sure there’s nothing living in your toilet?
Matthew has what everyone else in his house considers to be an irrational fear of flushing the toilet, particularly at night. Now, since his tenth birthday, for some reason he needs to use the toilet every night. Every night he has the same dilemma – to flush, or not to flush. But things are getting worse. His aim, apparently, is one of them. But that’s just the beginning. Next is a story about a birthday present cat. Then there’s the chatterbox bird, and a found diary. There are twelve stories in this collection of weird and wonderful tales, each more spooky than the last. There are spooky cats, dunnies of doom, magic tricks, diabolical diaries and Santa solutions.
Do you like to be scared? This is the collection for you. There’s something to horrify everyone, and to give you nightmares. Imagine the worst nightmare you’ve ever had, where inanimate objects come to life and things return from the dead. Then take control and see what you are capable of. Will you overcome your fears, or is more still expected of you? Ideal for the reader who likes their adventures wild, and their stories weird and twisty-turning. Recommended for middle-primary and beyond. Just don’t read them at night time!
Not Bog Standard and Other Peculiar Stories, Mark Pardoe
Omnibus Books 2012
ISBN: 9781862918634
Reviewed by Claire Saxby
Children’s writer