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Kid Normal and the Rogue HeroesGreg James and Chris Smith
Kid Normal and the Rogue Heroes
by Greg James and Chris Smith
Murph is famous now, which is awkward when heroes start turning against the school and nobody knows who is next.
A story about children and a grown-up villain, funny and adventurous in tone. We would put it with children of 8–11, and at a reading age of about 9 for reading alone.
Worth knowing before you buy
- Mild peril
None of this makes it a bad book — often the opposite. It is here so you can decide whether it is right for your child now or in a year or two.
Part of a series
This is book 2 of the Kid Normal series, so there is more to read if it goes down well — which is worth a great deal with a reluctant reader.
Our take on this book
Murph Cooper is the one pupil at a secret school for superheroes who has no powers at all — 'Kid Normal' — but has a habit of saving the day through sheer nerve and quick thinking, and in this adventure a new threat means the powerless boy is needed more than ever. Greg James and Chris Smith (the Radio 1 duo) write with tremendous comic energy, and the series' winning idea is that ordinary cleverness and courage can outdo any superpower. It is fast, funny and full of daft villains and gadgets, with peril kept firmly in the exciting-not-scary register. For an eight- to eleven-year-old who loves superheroes and jokes, it is a hugely entertaining read that also, without labouring it, tells every child who feels unremarkable that they might be the one who matters most. This one works within the series' run and keeps readers gladly bingeing the lot.
If they like this, try these
Chosen by matching age, reading age, tone and subject — not by what is selling.
Kid NormalGreg James and Chris Smith
MatildaRoald Dahl
My Gym Teacher Is an Alien OverlordDavid Solomons
The Demon HeadmasterGillian Cross
Amari and the Great GameB. B. Alston
Amari and the Night BrothersB. B. Alston
Or let them write their own.
Nothing gets a child reading like a story they invented themselves. Your child plans the characters and the plot, and we write, illustrate and print it as a real book with their name on the cover as the author.
Find another book
Tell us the age, the reading age and what they like, and we will suggest a handful.