Just So Stories

Big Sky Publishing

March 2024

ISBN: 9781923004948

RRP: $14.99

Romeo Fortez, aka the Super Sloth, continues his wacky and wild adventures in New York in this new offering from Aleesah Darlison. Newly independent readers, gaining confidence in their first exploration of easy chapter books, will once again enjoy this one.

The machinations of Weird-Warp to gain control of the city via his mutant creatures now takes the form of stampeding, raving chick-oats – an odd and voracious combination of chicken and goat. These hordes of mindless eating machines are running rampant throughout Central Park and across the metropolis. Romeo, Tulip, Beth and Ham are once again on the case but not without complications.

Tulip’s mother, who abandoned the sidekick as a cub, suddenly appears on the scene, purportedly as part of the Central Park Zoo team but is, in fact, working in league with Weird-Warp. Romeo and Tulip are betrayed in their quest, and it is only down to the forward thinking of Ham (you know that pigs are highly intelligent animals!) that they are able to escape the clutches of the evil mastermind of mutations.

With vocabulary that includes lots of repetition but also the introduction of some higher level words, this is a good testing ground for those younger readers, and at around just 90 pages, it’s not too demanding. I can easily see this series being a popular read for classroom bookboxes and Daily 5 read-to-self sessions.Needless to say, while Romeo and crew forestall Weird-Warp’s chick-oats plan, the evil genius has more to come, so stay tuned for the next instalment.

Recommended for readers from around 7 years upwards.