Orchard Books ISBN 9781408347072 £4.99
This is the first in a series of books about characters from a popular TV cartoon show. The Powerpuff Girls, after an error in their production by their father the Professor, have superpowers and use them to fight baddies. In this tale, each is out for herself as they try to win the competition organised by Townsville’s ice cream parlour to create a new flavour. Things begin to get out of hand as they use their superpowers to deliver their ice cream all over town and an almighty mess is created. Meanwhile, Mojo Jojo, the bad monkey, plots to take over the town with the aid of a series of monsters which he brings in. It is only when the girls work as a team that they are able to defeat them and restore order to the town. Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup were created as examples of girl power when Ben 10 was popular with boys. Described as ‘super cute, super fierce’, I found them self-centred, impetuous, hideously drawn and full of ‘dude’, ‘awesome’, ‘way to go’ expressions. Thoroughly irritating! On the plus side, the narrative is pacy, fun, augmented by black and white illustrations and suitable for young readers moving into chapter books. The characters are introduced at the beginning, so that it can stand alone from the TV series. Even the narrator is introduced and makes contributions in speech bubbles throughout the story, many of which add to the humour. The monsters are imaginative, with unexpected qualities such as a penchant for the opera or museums. At the end there are puzzles, quizzes and the first chapter of the next book in the series. A class library book for Y2 upwards.
Sue Barrett, retired teacher and lecturer