This is the next adventure for Max and his best friends
Written for children, where the joking never ends!
However, there's also danger and peril for the three
As they work to get the old people's home ghost free.

There's plenty of toilet humour to put a smile on your face
And excitement too, as Max ends up in disgrace!
As Max falls out with his friend and his cat gets kidnapped, too,
What's a boy who can turn into a monster got to do?

Even though the timing is rough,
It is time to ‘Protect and Do Good Stuff!’
Get ready for gadgets with the weirdest of names
And daring exploits, too, no time for games!

This middle grade reader is lots of fun
With humour, excitement and getting things done.
I highly recommend this to children, parents and teachers, too,
After reading my complementary copy and writing this, my honest review!

The boy who can burp himself into a monster and then sneeze his way back into human form returns in another monstrously exciting gross-out adventure. Along with his equal best friends Frankenstein and Peregrine, Max is determined to use his unique talent to ‘Protect and Do Good Stuff’ and will need all of his crime-fighting, evil-defeating skills if he is to save his town from the terrible Marmalade Ghost.

The summer holidays have been nowhere near as exciting as Max was hoping. With a lack of protecting and doing good stuff needed, Max and Peregrine find themselves volunteering at the local day centre for old people. But trouble is afoot. The old people are acting really, really bizarrely and Max’s monster senses are on high alert. Max and his friends need to stop the madness and fast.

But with the local community and his mum under threat and a gloopy marmalade ghost turning into a sticky Godzilla things are not looking good. Will ‘Protecting and Doing Good Stuff’ be enough or will Max, Frankenstein and Peregrine come to a sticky end…

The Monster Max series is ideal for children who love getting lost in action-packed, ridiculous silly, laugh-out-loud stories. Max and his friends deliver a thoroughly madcap and bonkers adventure filled with sticky situations, daring exploits, gadgets with slightly naughty acronyms, kidnappings, fallings out and an out of control breakfast-spread spectre. Quirky for sure, ROAR-some…absolutely! There’s even room for themes of bravery, taking responsibility and navigating friendships within this deliciously gooey mess.

Robin Bennett’s zany narrative along with Tom Tinn-Disbury’s brilliant illustrations are a winning combination and everything comes together in one big gloopy bundle of fun that will delight young readers who are keen on mayhem, monsters and madness.

With huge thanks to Firefly Press for the copy I received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Recommended for 7+.

Max and friends are back in a brand new adventure...and as previously mentioned, things are about to get rather sticky. You see, it seems there are a few folks in his mom’s past that can’t quite let things go, and this time, they’re sending in the “troops” to accomplish their dastardly mission. Meanwhile, Max has taken his “do good” motto and applied it to the local old peoples’ home. Why there? His monster senses were going off the charts, and if there’s anything he’s learned from the first adventure in monstering...TRUST THE MONSTER SENSES. Good thing too because things take on a seriously possessed turn...including Reggie’s marmalade. Yep, that’s right. It’s become the host of a particularly nasty spirit that wants nothing more than to gum up the works...which he does rather well...leaving out stalwart neighborhood heroes at a loss on how to take him out. A little ingenuity, a spoonful of humble pie, a heaping serving of friendship, and a good shake of courage….all add up to their recipe for success...and a grand adventure for readers!

I love how the author brings Kritt to life, even if most everyone they’ve met thus far wants to kidnap or maim them. It’s fun, funny, and interesting to meet the cast of critter characters thought up and really puts the imagination to work with the descriptions. I appreciate that despite the evil-ish influence over them in their homeland, we’re shown that a people should not be taken as a whole. One apple does not in fact spoil the bunch...you just have to remove the bad one. Seeing the turn from bad to good reminds us that we are not what others make us to be, but the result of our decisions and choices. Last, but certainly not least, the friendship factor. The author shows us that a strong friendship can survive disagreements, and that that coming back together through understanding, acceptance, and maybe even a little bit of concession on both parts, helps infuse it with its own powerful brand of magic.

Monster Max and the Marmalade Ghost is the second book in a series, but it was my first book. Because of that, I was unfamiliar with the characters, and I wasn't quite sure about them at first. But the story is a humorous middle-grade read, with plenty of entertaining things going on to keep young readers enthralled.
Max and Peregrine are ready to Protect and Do Good. They find themselves at a day center for elderly people, and while there, things get really strange. Even Max's cat gets kidnapped while the boys try and solve the mystery of what's going on.
The book tackles the themes of friendship, working together, and helping others. It's also just utterly amusing and fun to read, for both kids and adults alike. The story is well-written. The plot is engaging. There are illustrations that bring the story to life. And the characters are quite likeable.
Overall, an enjoyable read, even if you haven't read book one.
4.5 stars!

This is my first Monster Max book and myself and my son also called Max absolutely loved this book! He found the toilet humour hilarious (as did I to be honest). Despite not having read the first Monster Max book, we found this book easy to get into – the character Max turns into a monster by burping, which I just thought was a great concept, as well being a funny thing to happen to him.

When Max and Peregrine who are volunteering at an old people’s home, discovering some strange goings on along with some haunted marmalade – they go into detective mode and try to work out what is happening! Is the marmalade really haunted or is something else afoot?

The humour is very appropriate for younger children and the pictures sprinkled throughout the book I thought were engaging and relevant to what is happening. Monster Max and the Marmalade Ghost is a great book that will engage and delight your children!

Such a funny read and I cant wait to read more of Max’s adventures!

5 stars

This is the second book in the Monster Max and what a book it is ! With a mixture of a descriptive storyline and wonderful illustrations this book has everything a young reader needs!

This is a fantastic read , it takes you head first into the crazy world the author has created , monster max is one of the characters that you wish was real , he is such a lovely character to read about . The story is fast paced, descriptive and really draws the reader into it, at 192 pages it soon flies by and you are left wanting so much more ! I would highly recommend for young readers

4☆ A Fun Monster Adventure, with plenty of giggles along the way!

Monster Max and the Marmalade Ghost is a quirky, fun, madcap adventure with plenty of humour and a good few spooks along the way!

This is my first encounter with Monster Max and he's bestie Peregrine and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Monster Max is a fantastic character that young readers will love. Especially how he turns into a Monster, it certainly had me giggling. But most importantly how he tackles the madcap situations they find themselves in...but will they save the day!

I think this book is absolutely perfect for middle grade readers aged 7+  it has just the right amount of length to each chapter, which will hold the readers attention just right and the illustrations that I didn't have the pleasure of seeing as this was an early copy, will indeed bring the story to life.

If you love middle grade books that are a quick and easy read, that have an element of magic, Adventure, a dash of danger, some crazy Antics, a sprinkle of mystery but plenty of Laugh out loud moments, then you will definitely love Monster Max and the Marmalade Ghost by Robin Bennett!

Posted as part of the blog tour!

Monster Max and the Marmalade Ghost is a fun little tale which my two 7 year olds really enjoyed reading. Max has a very cool secret.. he can turn into Monster Max and use the powers gained to do good assisted by his faithful friend Peregrine! Which is exactly what they set out to do when it appears the marmalade in the old people’s home seems to be haunted!

The style of writing is easy to read with kids and the illustrations break up the tale nicely to allow the kids time to absorb the story without overloading them. The page count too helps, it’s a god length being over 100 pages but I broke it down and read the story over 3 nights, each nights the girls eager to see what would happen next.

There’s lots of humour added to give the kids a little laugh too, burps a plenty 😊

When asked what the girls enjoyed it was a resounding success for Max’s monster transformation! And they loved the illustrations.

It’s a fun little kids mystery adventure and my two loved following Max’s journey!

It’s 5/5 Stars from my two!!

I said this last time, but… we LOVE Monster Max!

This is the second Monster Max book – the first was Monster Max and the Bobble Hat of Forgetting – and we recommend reading the first one first, as it sets the initial relationship between Max and Peregrine, and the background behind Max’s family history with Krit and his very unusual house. Plus, it is just as super-funny as this one!

We all – but especially Minishine (9) and BabyBows (6) – have been eagerly anticipating Max’s return and are glad to say that he did not disappoint in the slightest. This adventure is just as action-packed, silly and laugh-uproariously-funny as before. In fact, we all felt it was even better, as we already knew the main characters and their *ahem* little quirks (Peregrine’s genius inventions with their rude acronyms; Max burping and sneezing his way from hairy to nuddy and back again). The kids adore the slightly toilet, slightly slapstick humour, and us adults appreciated the subtler quips along the way.

The book is middle-grade reading level, so ideal for Minishine to read independently or for reading together as a family… BabyBows has been utterly absorbed with Max’s adventures since he was five, with no squirming or fidgeting, and lots of giggling. And as the main bedtime performer for this series, I have the MOST fun doing the different voices for the characters!

Here is what the main audience had to say about it:

Minishine (MS, 9): It is really good and funny! I like all the characters—

BabyBows (BB, 6): —No! Not Fanghorn, ‘cos he’s really scary, especially at the end! And I was sad when the day centre had to be shut because then all the people had nowhere to go. What happens next though? When can we read the next one?!

MS: Yes! When is Book 3 coming out?! I love this series! The books are very imaginating!

BB: I love Timmy, and I like it when Max breaks a window. I didn’t like it when Max and Peregrine weren’t friends any more though. Max should just do what he said he was going to do and then they could be friends.

MS: I like how the characters are all different and unique.

BB: It’s funny, and a bad guy becomes a good guy and an arch-enemy becomes a best friend.

MS: Read this book! If you don’t believe us that it’s funny, read it for yourself and it will be your favourite book. And it’s written very well, as well.

BB: Yeah! And Peregrine’s BUM is funny too!!!

As you can see, we found plenty to enthuse about here, and Minishine adores this series so much that she has taken the books in to school to try to persuade all her classmates they need to read it too.

Like she said: read it – it will be your favourite book!


'‘Well, that went well,’ said Peregrine as they wandered home, after they had said goodbye to Reg and thanked him for tea.
‘Hmm,’ said Max.
‘You’re not still annoyed about making you carry all the shopping bags?’
‘Nope,’ said Max (who was a bit). But mainly he was wondering if they would get something more interesting to do than carrying shopping bags – you didn’t need to be a monster for that.
At that moment, the hair stood up on the back of his neck again, just as they passed the same bins as before. He still couldn’t see anything obviously dangerous, so he shrugged and they turned to cut across the park.
‘It’s probably nothing,’ he said to no one in particular. But it was a bit weird: his Monster Danger Sense didn’t normally make mistakes.
Behind the boys’ backs, a lid lifted on a wheelie bin at the corner of the street. A pair of black eyes blinked in the darkness, watching as Max and Peregrine headed home.
‘Gotcha!’ rasped a scratchy voice, as long bony fingers stroked a long, bony chin.'

– Robin Bennett, Monster Max and the Marmalade Ghost


Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

What can you do when even your marmalade seems to be haunted? You may be joking...Actually not, and if you don´t believe me, ask Max and his friends. Max Who? Monster Max, this boy who turns into a monster when he burbs...

Created as a kind of detective story, Monster Max and the Marmalade Ghost, written by Robin Bennett and illustrated by Tom Tinn-Disburg is the kind of book that a 2nd grade and even a bit older will take it very seriously. It resonates fully with the age - of the boys, but some curious girls can get into the game as well - when mystery is all around. But not the magic kind of mystery, but the one who happens now and then and where your strength and intelligence is required to be solved. After all, little people at this age are full of responsibility anyway.

My son is a couple of months away from this age, but after reading him some fragments - after all, I could not have been so selfish and keep this delicious, marmalade-tasting book only for myself - he sounded very serious about how and where the monster(s) can be found. I can see him in a couple of years time devouring my crime novels as well, I am very serious about it.

In addition to the story in itself, the pace and the vocabulary are perfectly matching. The characters are exactly how do you expect some naughty boy to be like. Even the monsters seem to have something from them, the kind of boys you don´t want to meet when they had a really really bad day.

The alternation between text and illustration is perfect for a limited attention span. The little reader can figure out what the Max and the boys are dealing with and the illustrations are too funny to not like them. Even if they are not so friendly monsters, anyway.

The book has a story, animated characters of all kinds and a mystery on the go. It is a perfect weekend companion, including when the boys do have a sleep over. Who knows, they can solve the mystery faster...

This was a cute adventure story where two boys seem to keep running into problems or adventure trying to help a older gentleman .. I think children between 7-9 will enjoy this monster max book. What boy does like to burb

This is my first Monster Max book and I thought it was hilarious. It had humor appropriate for middle elementary and younger children with acronyms such as FART. The pictures were really good and well and were sprinkled throughout the book. A great book that will engage younger children and delight them!

I received an early digital review copy from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Another brilliant instalment from Max and Peregrine.

This book is one that will have you laughing along as Max and Peregrine set about to do good and protect. Finding themselves up against a Marmalade Ghost that is terrorising the local day centre for the elderly the boys have to seek help if they are to overcome it. With a lot of mess, a few accidents and a life lesson in responsibility and friendship along the way this really is a must read books for fans of Monster Max.

A perfect read aloud book for children age 7+ get the whole family or class involved with the mischief.