'Dad is a Master Baker and Albert is expected to one day follow in his footsteps. There's just one problem ... Albert doesn't care about baking, he only cares about football, tennis, cricket and any other sport you can think of. When his dad invents The 'Doughmaster 5000' to help out around the bakery, it seems all their problems have been solved. But disaster is never far away and soon Dad's miracle solution is a rampaging nightmare! With just a pair of football boots, a tennis racket and a cricket bat to hand, can Albert really come to the rescue and fix this mess?'
Albert Johnson And The Buns of Steel is the latest book in the Barrington Stoke 'Little Gems' line, books designed for kids aged between 5 and 8. Written by Phil Earle, who has produced a number of books for the company before, it follows Albert Johnson, the son of a baker who wants to pursue sports instead of going into the family business.
The Johnsons have been bakers for generations, and his father is one of the best around, so is heartbroken when his son tells him that he doesn't want to follow in his footsteps. However, he's determined to help his son, so builds the Doughmaster 5000, a robot that will be able to help him around the bakery, giving him more time to help Albert with his sports. Unfortunately, when an accident sends the robot on a rampage it's left up to Albert to try and save the day.
This book isn't massively long, clocking in at just under 100 pages with large print and illustrations, which meant it's a quick read, and most parents will be able to get through it in a single sitting with their kids; which is good because the action moves at a breakneck speed, and younger readers will be left wanting to find out what happens next.
Despite being relatively short, and not getting a whole lot of time to spend with characters before the adventure really kicks off Phil Earle is able to establish the characters really strongly early on, and it's easy to identify the characters and what makes them tick. They have big, broad characteristics that not only makes understanding them easy, but allows kids to get to like them really quickly too.
The book is also packed with illustrations from Steve May, and every single page has something on it to grab children's attention, whether its a doughnut or a sports ball, there's something lurking on the pages that will quickly attract the kids eyes. The best pages, however, are the ones that show what's happening in the story. These illustrations are big and bold, and have a beautiful colour pallet to them. The artwork feels really crisp and clean, and stands out as some of the nicer work I've seen in a children's book for a while.
Whether reading it on their own or with a parent taking them through the story there's a lot to this book to keep them entertained, and capture their imagination.
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