Genie and Teeny Wish Upon a Star
Steven Lenton
Harper Collins Children’s Books

This is adventure number four in the cracking Genie and Teeny series for newly independent readers.
After another case of incompetence Grant is back in Genie World but hiding at home in the tea-lamp with his family, having been banished from Wishaluzia by Queen Mizelda because he accidentally turned her into a snake. With her royal guards always on the lookout for the little genie, others in his family have just disguised him as a guard when trouble appears in the form of a huge fire-breathing cat monster. Before you can say ‘chaos’ , which is what immediately ensues in Wishazulia, Grant is swept away with some of the royal guards and finds himself face to face with the Queen and promising to protect her from the monster.

He quickly learns that his ‘Alaka-blam-a-bumwhistle’ incantation is not going to get rid of the beast

and that another plan is required. A plan that involves his family (including some of Dad’s ‘Jim-a-jam-a-jumplebumps!’ chanting and a helping paw, or four, from his best friend in the entire universe, Teeny the Earth dog.

As with previous titles, this thoroughly engaging story has a plethora of puns, some burps and farts, those splendid chants and Steven’s wonderful drawings at almost every turn of the page. Those new to the series can start here as the events of previous books are outlined in an introduction before the story begins, and I imagine having read this, newcomers will want to seek out the first three and giggle their way through those too. They also work well as read alouds to those not quite ready for their first chapter books. Steven concludes this one with a lesson on how to draw Queen Mizelda.