Funny Kid Spookytime

Funny Kid Spookytime

Matt Stanton

ABC Books, 2024

240pp., pbk., RRP $A16.99

9780733342011

Horror Night 3 is the talk of the classroom but Max won’t be going to see it because why pay good money to have something scare you.  You don’t go into the shops to buy something to make you cry – or worried, jealous, frustrated, guilty… After all, a movie is just flat pictures on a screen and you’re sitting in a comfy chair, dribbling ice cream down your shirt, spilling your popcorn, as safe as safe can be.

Abby says she has seen it, Pip’s going on the weekend, Hugo’s not allowed and Tyson thinks it’s a joke.  But, no, Max isn’t going to see it – he’s not scared – he just has something else on that night…

But then Miss Sweet has set the class an assignment to make their own movie, and while Max’s teammate Hugo has an idea about a love story between a bath and a toilet, Max has a much better idea… why not make a horror movie that will make the entire class scream and wet their pants, especially Abby…

Since 2017 when young readers were first introduced to Max, the kid who likes to make others laugh, in Funny Kid for President, this series has been entertaining young independent readers and this is now the 13th in the series. Unlike other series like Harry Potter where the characters naturally age and mature, Max and his mates are stuck in time and so each new episode just continues on the laughter and shenanigans that the fans expect.

Stanton is very much in tune with what kids in those middle years like to read about, particularly characters that they can relate to and secretly wish to be.  The place that the edgy humour of Jennings, Gleitzman and Milne played in their parents’ childhood is now being filled by him with great success, demonstrating that good stories with lots of humour and over-the-top situations are always winners, particularly if they have a slightly serious side that anchors them in reality and adds depth to the story. He now has his own YouTube channel that features lots about his writing and drawing that value-adds to his stories.  

This is one not only for those who are already fans of this series, and Stanton’s works generally, which also include the Fluff, Bored, and The Odds series, but one to recommend to parents to encourage their children keep reading. After all, reading is much less scary than watching horror movies…