Funny kid stand up by Matt Stanton

HarperCollins, 2017. ISBN 9780733335983
(Age: 7+ years) Highly recommended. Max Walbert is the boy who can make others laugh, the funny kid. Only . . . he's lost his funny. On the eve of Redhill's local talent quest, Max pulls a prank on his new teacher, but nobody laughs. By the time the auditions come around, Max has managed to put a lot of people off side, including the other entrants. His best friend Hugo remains on his side, but after a few poor life choices of late, Hugo is now angling to be Max's life coach. Begrudgingly and after being spectacularly heckled by a clown named Tumbles, Max accepts that to win the talent quest he is going to have to find some new material. But then his grandpa goes missing from the nursing home, and Max suddenly has a lot more serious matters to consider; especially when he is the one who discovers that his Grandpa has been kidnapped.
Children from about seven or eight will find the style of this book very easy to read.
This novel is for fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Tom Gates and similar. It took me a little while to work out that the speech used by comic pictures in the book was part of the text and not separate from it, but kids familiar with this style would pick it up straight away.  From the outset, the novel will have readers laughing out loud. Max's narrative, for a book about a kid who is unfunny, is definitely fun to read. Author Matt Stanton is definitely creating a reputation for himself in comedic prose, including upcoming titles in the Funny Kid series, Fart Monster series and This is a Ball series.
This book comes highly recommended for middle Primary years students and also for reluctant readers.
Clare Thompson