Danny Best: Full On: Book One (Jen Storer, illus by Mitch Vane, ABC Books)

Danny Best, age eight and three quarters, is the kind of kid you wanted as a friend growing up: the kid who was bossy, never wrong and always changing the rules, but who also knew how to make the best fun. When you’re with Danny Best an empty lot isn’t just an empty lot, it’s the Lot of Pain—a Tough Guy Obstacle Course, a Tortured Warrior’s Racetrack or a Wilderness Survival Camp complete with snowy cliffs. His friends, a motley collection of neighbourhood kids, are his faithful, obedient playmates and perfect foils to his plans. The stories are short and simple and will make you laugh. Danny Best is truly funny—the funniest boy in the history of the whole world or the most famous comedian in the universe, he might say. At the end of each story is a little multiple choice quiz to make sure you were paying attention while Danny was regaling you with his escapades. I was thoroughly entertained and will enjoy recommending it to boys aged seven and up, especially ones with mischievous twinkles in their eyes! I look forward to the next books in the series. 

Dani Solomon is a bookseller at Readings Carlton