'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Friday 10 September 2021

Review: Super Geeks #2 Planet Pancake

Zeek and Arnie are back to implement Plan B to take over the world. And this time it starts (and ends!) with pancakes.

Dynamic duo and best geek friends Zeek and Arnie want to take over the world. Well, really it’s Zeek’s obsession, but Arnie's happy to tag along and help his friend achieve his goals.

Plan B is about finding treasures at the edge of the world, because money equals power and power equals world domination!

So Zeek and Arnie build a ship and head out across the ocean in search of gold.

With Eleanor the fish and a sad Arnie in tow (Arnie has misplaced his pancake maker), Zeek navigates the seas in search of the edge of the world. But when a mysterious explorer turns up, and leads them to a strange ice wall, Zeek becomes suspicious.

What will they find at the edge of the world? Treasures, or something else? And will Arnie ever find his pancake maker?

This is book two in the Super Geeks series, but I found it really easy to pick up and read without having read the first book in the series, Fish and Chips. It’s a brilliantly designed book, in graphic novel style, with fully illustrated pages, loads of speech bubbles and only minimal narrative story. Truly, it’s a visual feast.

Kids who love more illustrations and less words will love this junior novel. It’s filled with action, adventure and splashes of mystery. And it’s so much fun.

James Hart is the illustrator of so many loved children’s books — D-Bot Squad, Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables and Little Legends, just to name a few — but Super Geeks is his first series as both author and illustrator. And he nails it.

If your kids like to be entertained, like whacky adventures and books with loads of illustrations, I highly recommend checking out this cool new series.

Title: Super Geeks #2 Planet Pancake
Author/Illustrator: James Hart
Publisher: Penguin Random House, $14.99
Publication Date: 2 July 2021
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781760895143
For ages: 6 - 10
Type: Junior Fiction