'The Boy Who Made Things Up' Early Reader book review

Our latest review from Orion Books Early Readers is The Boy Who Made Things Up, which is written by Margaret Mahy and illustrated by Jenny Williams. This is a Red Band book, suitable for readers who are just becoming confident at reading alone, and it suits our 6 year old perfectly.

This book is really quite different to most of the Early Readers I've reviewed, as it gives a real message to parents who may be reading, and I found it quite poignant. It isn't soppy or sad, it's simply a reminder that children are young for a very short time, and they have gifts to give us if we only have the time to see them.

Michael is a boy who has a fantastic imagination, and a very busy Dad. Circumstances come together that mean Michael and hid Dad get to spend some time together, and this is when the parent really gets to know his child, and realises what he's been missing out on.

Michael uses his imagination and conjures up a far more interesting walk than his Dad was expecting, and teaches his father a thing or two about just enjoying life for a while, with whatever it offers us.

My 4 and 6 year old boys both love this book, the illustrations are colourful and inventive, and the level of language and reading is spot on. It's easy to understand, and both of my boys were whispering we're making it up, remember' by half way through. A delightful book, a very positive book.

The Boy Who Made Things Up is published by Orion Books. It has 58 full colour pages and has an rrp of £4.99. Available at all good bookshops or online from Orion Books.

We've reviewed several other Early Readers from Orion Books - they can be found on my book review page...

I'll be reviewing two more Early Reader books over the next few days, and giving away a copy of Horrid Henry's Christmas Lunch! 

We were sent our book for review.