Yuck! Some crazy man just dabbed mascara on my cheek!!
‘Get back, you freak!’ I waved my arms. ‘Do I look like a girl? I’m Erasmus James, boy genius!’
‘You must wear pancake make-up.’ the man pouted. ‘Or your face will glow like a red-nosed reindeer under the studio lights.’
I pointed at the guest in the next chair. ‘Does that bloke have to wear make-up too?’
‘Yep. Tom Cruiser does.’
Tom Cruiser waved.
‘Okay,’ I grumbled. ‘But no lipstick.’
Make-up man dabbed. I coughed on powdery fumes and tried to think about anything except rates…
King of Kid’s Paradise is the sequel to Erasmus James and the Galactic Zapp Machine. In this instalment, twelve year-old Erasmus Jones is sure that his status as the most famous boy alive is going to help him with the school bullies. Wrong. The only thing that’s changed is that he’s more visible to bigger bullies. By the time Dad collects him after school, Erasmus is sure this is the worst day ever. But Dad has a surprise. He and Erasmus can zapp one more time while they have the only working galactic zapp machine. After Dad’s factory begins productions, thousands then millions will be able to explore their own ‘unique zapp universe, filled with worlds created from the same subconscious cauldron that generates dreams in bubbles of hope and fear.’ Erasmus and his father zapp to Kid’s Paradise, which is populated by kids aged between eleven and sixteen. Initially, Erasmus is happy to accept the wonder of Kid’s Paradise and the fact that they want him for their king. But eventually he discovers trouble in paradise.
King of Kid’s Paradise is a rip-snorter of an adventure – plenty of hot air and not a little snorting. It’s an empty-your-pockets, hold-on-to-your-seat roller-coaster journey through a pre-adolescent’s imaginings and into the world beyond his own. The first person narrative voice keeps the reader buckled in for the ride. There are puns for both young and older readers. The print is large and the chapters are short, an added inducement for readers challenged by longer novels. Recommended for mid- to upper-primary readers.
Erasmus James, King of Kid’s Paradise, DC Green
Barrel Books 2008
ISBN: 9780980348828