Pokémon Story Quest – Hometown Hero

Farshore, 2024

128pp., pbk., RRP $A15.99

9780008615291

The blurb says, “Ash, Pikachu and friends head out on an adventure to discover an unusual Pokémon in the cold mountains of the Crown Tundra. Meanwhile Lillie searches for her lost father. Will they all succeed in their quests?

Find out in this exciting chapter book, with a puzzling twist. At the end of each chapter, readers will have to complete an activity to tell them where to find the next part of the story.”

I am the first to admit that I know nothing about Pokémon and Pikachu and company so reviewing this book is w-ay- out of my depth, but I do know that there is a whole world both in and out of the story that has captured the imagination of kids and adults alike, if the experiences of my granddaughters and D-I-L are a guide. And so, like The Goblin’s Revenge, this and any others that are proposed in the series has a place in the library’s collection for those who prefer gaming to reading and who think that there is nothing relevant to their interests in the print-focused library.

In the meantime, I ventured into this unknown world to discover just what it was about, and perhaps get inside the head of those I love to understand what on earth they are on about and so this explanation from Wikipedia was very helpful, and I can now see why Miss 12, particularly, and her mum seem to have no trouble swapping between the real world and the fantasy, even sometimes blurring the lines completely. They would not be alone…