Hercules Hero to Zero
Tom Vaughan, illustrated by David O’Connell
Scholastic

Hercules Braver returns for a third set of adventures presented in the usual diary form and taking place during the school summer holidays. With his stepdad Ken having set off on an expedition to Canada, and his pals all going for holidays abroad, Hercules is sure he and his mum are going to have a great time, but then he hears his mum say that her job as a translator is now precarious, though he’s not really sure what this means. Could it be something exciting maybe? Not so, when Mum says she’s selling the family car.: Hercules decides he must make some money to help the situation, after all it can’t be that difficult to become mega-rich.

First, aided and abetted by Hatty, Pav and Natthew, he tries a genius invention he calls VegFund, a safe for valuables but he ends up making a loss and owing money. He then ‘borrows’ the money from the sale of Mum’s car, the intention being to buy raffle tickets and win a super-duper car.

Then comes a phone call from Zooey aka Zeus; he’s furious about people writing bad things about him on the internet, Natthew in particular who is unaware of the true identity of Herc’s Dad. There follow surprise news about the raffle winner; the next money-making project (Toybay website), Mum’s announcement about the Young Explorers Camp where she’s to be a camp leader and Herc. a participant, a discovery that others besides Natthew are writing about Zeus on the internet and shock horror! Mum has been busy writing a book, one that Hercules wants to get rid of pronto.

Once at the camp Herc decides it seems ‘kind of all right’ but that’s before he and Pav cascade over a waterfall and find themselves face to face with a a prankster saying he’s been sent by Zeus. It’s Hermes and he’s looking for the self-same hard-drive that has on it both a special book and the toybay website.
All this and we’re less than halfway through August. There’s still the camp play – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, more donkey dramas than the one in the play

and lots more.
Will Mum find out that Hercules.took her £400 and what of her book? 


Loosely based on the next three labours of Hercules, this is exceedingly funny, made even more so by David O’Connell’s liberal sprinklings of illustrations.