Book Review: Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat (Middle Grade Anthology)

        An anthology of bedtime stories for all kinds of kids
 
Title: Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat
Author: Various 
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia 
Publication Date: 25th September 2018
RRP: $19.99
Pages: 208
Format Read: Hardback
Source: Courtesy of the publisher 

Once upon a time, there were 9 beastly bedtime stories.

Stories with vampires and bats, 

and a sleepover of doom; 

of a pirate dance party

and a zoo in a room.

There were bears who were scared,

and three bags of wool.

Kids who ate pasta till their tummies were full.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat features an entertaining collection of stories filled with terrific twists on the traditional and is sure to have kids (and adults) shaking with laughter in their beds!

With illustrations by J. Yi, the stellar line-up of storytellers includes:

Andy Griffiths, Katrina Nannestad, Morris Gleitzman, Judith Rossell, Tim Harris, R. A. Spratt Frances Watts, Tony Wilson, Jaclyn Moriarty.

 

These spooky stories will have your young reader hiding under the blankets, and giggling uncontrollably, well after lights out.

Sleepover of Doom by Andy Griffiths

A choose your own adventure in true Andy Griffiths style. Laugh out loud funny.

Read it over and over, each time a new adventure but be careful what you choose or there may be a deadly outcome. No matter what route you take you are in for lots of laughs.

Pirate Dance Party by Frances Watts

An annoying mosquito, a parrot that thinks it’s a chicken, a cheeky monkey and two dancing pirates makes this a hilarious night of no sleep for Lily.

Dracula by Morris Gleitzman

Corey’s little brother, Will, is sure their sister’s boyfriend is a vampire and Corey has to convince him that Jarrod isn’t a vampire but maybe the convincing goes the other way. This story doesn’t feature any real vampires because we all know that vampires aren’t real........right.

Wool by Jaclyn Moriarty

A twist on the nursery rhyme Baa Baa Black Sheep. Frankie’s dad needs three bags of wool for the knit-a-thon but Gabe has just bought the last three bags of wool. Frankie thinks that Gabe’s reason for wanting the wool doesn’t quite fit and someone may be in danger. Can Frankie work it out before it’s too late?

Things That Go Splat in the Night by Katrina Nannestad

Ruby and Harry don’t believe in ghosts but what happens when they enter Worthington Manor one dark night may quickly change their minds. A surprise filled story that will have you on the edge of your seat.

Zoo in a Room by Tim Harris

Everyone has brought their pet to school for special news day but Clancy had a cold last week, his ears were blocked and he didn’t hear the teacher properly. All the pets are introduced and pandemonium ensues. Can Clancy’s special news save the day?

Dreamo-Machino by Judith Russell

Gran is very inventive and loves making gadgets but her latest dream machine doesn’t make for a pleasant nights sleep.

Yellowhead and the Three Traumatised Bears by R A Spratt

Hear Grandma’s true story of Goldilocks and the three bears. Goldilocks (Yellowhead) wasn’t the cute, innocent little girl we are all led to believe.

St Reginald’s School for Children Who Only Eat Plain Pasta by Tony Wilson

Where do parents send their children that refuse to eat anything but plain pasta with butter? St Reginalds of course! Where every child goes home completely cured.

Well, I couldn’t wait to read this last story to Dot because she qualifies for this school. So does Ditto but I will save this for him when he is a little older.

Dot’s favourite story from the anthology was Pirate Dance Party. We have read this book over and over and she now walks around repeating “I’m a baaaad chicken” in a parrot voice. She thought this story was very funny.

My favourite was Sleepover of Doom. This story was so funny I was laughing all the way through. Andy Griffiths knows how to write a story that is outrageous and ridiculous but still seem to be completely feasible.

This crazy collection of scary, silly and addictive stories by some of Australia’s best known children’s authors would make the perfect Christmas gift.

 Suitable for ages 5 - 14 years and beyond.

My rating 5/5                                   🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Here is a short list of authors. I won't go into full details of each author or this post will be longer than the book.

Andy Griffiths: author of the bestselling and award-winning Treehouse series.
Katrina Nannestad: award-winning author of The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Rome.
Morris Gleitzman: acclaimed author and Children's Laureate.
Judith Rossell: winner of the Indie Book Award for Withering-By-Sea.
Tim Harris: author of the popular Mr Bambuckles' Remarkables series.
R. A. Spratt: bestselling author of the Friday Barnes books.
Frances Watts: author of the bestselling picture book Kisses for Daddy, and winner of the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Goodnight Mice.
Tony Wilson: author of The Selwood Boys.
Jaclyn Moriarty: award-winning author of The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone.

Featured in the back of the book is a little about each author and their books. Each author is also asked to name their favourite beastly bedtime stories.