Jenny Pearson explores family issues, always in a humorous and sympathetic way that is highly relatable. In this case Benji is convinced that his missing parents are not dead and that they will suddenly reappear in the lives of him and his brother Stanley. Stanley however is more accepting of the inevitable truth.
The boys go to live with their Uncle Hamish in Scotland by the Loch Lochy where Hamish has a tourism business. But when the boys realise that the business is close to collapse and that they may lose their home again, Benji comes up with an idea to save it - to prove that the Loch Lochy monster really does exist so that the tourists come flocking in. So together with his new and friend Murdy, along with the faithful Mr. Dog they go to huge lengths to prove the monster's existence.
A comical romp through the difficult topics of losing close family members together with the navigation of new family ties and new friends, this book entertains as well as accompanies anyone who has been in similar situations.

This is a funny and moving book about grief, brotherly love and mental health that nonetheless manages to be a light and gentle read. Pearson writes children and their relationships incredibly well and I can see this being really enjoyed by sensitive readers of Year 5 & 6.

A stunning read, this concentrates on Benji, a kid who, alongside his older brother, is forced to decamp to the side of a Scottish loch and live with an uncle they hardly knew after a boating accident. Everyone thinks both their parents have been killed off by the disaster, but Benji is adamant he can sense them waiting to return. But parents or no it's clearly not going to be that easy to have a proper childhood idyll, even at the loch, when he finds it occupied by a Nessie-like monster…

Things about this shouldn't work, but rest assured it so completely does. There is more cryptic foreshadowing here than in anything else I can remember – that shouldn't work. The way the elevator pitch is "A Monster Calls with added kid's-own-let's-make-it-happen-before-the-deadline enthusiastic creativity" really should not work. But that is what the book is – the gung-ho, domestic little beating-the-odds the kids end up engaged in seeming so provincial in blunt words but so engaging on the page.

I assume something else works – the arch look at a burgeoning friendship for Benji, which might require a knowing kind of reader to really succeed. Heck, even the slapstick and the overly-humanised dog work. Give me a film studio and I'd make this in a heartbeat, for it is a story that has it all – including an easy ride for a film director, given how immediate this is in creating the right storyboard in your brain. All told, a very emotional, heart-warming and gripping thing of wonder.

Loved this book. Love the Loch Ness Monster so instantly enjoyed reading this. Love how unique the brothers are and their relationship with their uncle. I cried a little. Would highly recommend this book and feel it is a must read - it deals with sensitive subjects sensitively.

Wow! I'm not sure how i feel after reading the last few chapter. Excited, scared, sad, tearful? All of them?

Benji McLaughlin is 10 and his brother, Stanley, is 13. One day something terrible happened when Stanley and his parents were out on their boat. Only Stanley was found. So the boys have gone to live with Uncle Hamish and his dog, Mr Dog, in Loch Lochy, Scotland. It's a long way from their home in London and they don't know Hamish - their parents and Hamish had a disagreement so the boys hadn't seen him. But he'd fought to be their guardian, and did everything social services had asked so here they were.
It doesn't take them long to find out that Uncle Hamish has money problems. Loch Lochy holidays doesn't have any visitors but where else is the money going?
Stanley isn't nice to Uncle Hamish at the start. He is still seeing a councillor but Benji doesn't think he needs to. When they get there Benji goes for a walk, what was that splash? Stanley won't go on the loch in a boat or swim. Benji thinks the boat is great, then he feels the presence of the Loch Lochy monster for the first time.
An idea to make money forms in Benji's brain. He and his new friend Murdy begin to make a Loch Lochy monster and photograph it. It doesn't go well.
Then, oddly Stanley wants to help. He's changed his mind about Uncle Hamish, but why? But Stanley's monster isn't much better than the first one!
Benji though feels the monster again this time with terrible results. He's angry when he finds Stanley's video shows no minster, only Mr Dog and Benji in the water. Just why can no one see Benji's monster?

Sadness and grief are powerful emotions that can take over your body. The boys have each otehr and Uncle Hamish plus Clara and Murdy for support. The ending in the tree is very emotional.

A bit weird to say I loved it, but this is an amazing book and I would love a copy in school.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a beautiful and imaginative look at children dealing with grief. The story is set after a boat accident where Benji and Stanley’s parents have not been found. The two boys move to their Uncle Hamish’s house in Scotland next to Lochhy Loch.

Whilst at Locchy loch, Benji sees a monster just like in Loch Ness! He makes a plan to show the world and bring people to Locchy Loch so that his uncle won’t be in debt any longer and can keep their estate. But capturing a video of the Locchy loch monster is not as easy as it seems.

This book full of creativity and imagination, from building and creating their own Locchy loch monster, to the powerful imagination of the mind. It’s about friendship and family and love. But most of all it’s about dealing with grief and how Benji deals with the unknown fate of his parents, and how he eventually finds hope but not in the way he was expecting.

I loved this book as an adult, it’s fun with lots of humour and adventures! The characters are great and I am a big fan of Mr. Dog. I loved the relationships between the brothers and Benji and Murdy, and loved how the book took such a different look at a tough topic. I shed a few tears, but I was also snorting with laughter at points.

Also can I add books set in Scotland seem to be superior to other books!

The children adored this book. Benji could teach us all a few things about positivity in lifes ups and downs. Suitable for all of the family and great to read together as a family. Already the children are asking to read it again.

As with all of Jenny Pearson's previous books this is a hugely successful combination of bonkers humour, clever story threads and big issues that will shine a spotlight on some of her readers' real lives.
I thoroughly enjoy jenny's stories because they allow me to disappear into crazy capers and have a real giggle whilst also giving me tools to use when I come across children needing a mirror to show they're not alone or a window to breed empathy.

Loveable narrator, and a surprisingly funny story about grief and Scottish Loch monsters.

I instantly recalled the young narrator in Millions when reading about Benji. Not quite as religious maybe, but he does pray to every god going as well as Spiderman (admitting he's hedging his bets!).

Benji manages to remain upbeat and hopeful, despite his rather sad situation - his older brother Sidney survived a boating incident that swept their parents away several months ago. Benji expects them to show up, Sidney is now angry and withdrawn. They've had to move to live with their uncle, up to his Scottish loch-side holiday rental land.

Benji's optimism knows no bounds really, even as Uncle Hamish's business takes a Goonies-like dip and is threatened by the local land developer. Surely all he needs to do is prove that the Loch's monster is real and the tourists (with their money) will come flocking in? How hard can it be to find a monster in a lake?!

With some of the best character names out there (Mr Dog, Murdy McGurdy), Benji's spirited escapades and family tragedy will give readers both a lot of laughs and more than a few moments of reflection and sadness. The different stages of grief are reflected in Benji and Sidney, as well as their uncle, and this plot threads through the Monster adventure, we cannot forget just what they are both already battling.

Loved Benji's voice and personality, he finds a great sidekick/partner in Murdy (who gives him a new god to pray to), and it's one of those quick-to-race-through stories you feel completed by come the end.

For ages 8-13.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

This is such a touching and feel good book. Jenny's done it again! Benji is such a natural-sounding, funny, tender narrator. Alongside the sadness of the loss of Benji and Stanley's parents, the humour makes this book so relatable. It's a human story, despite all the monster-making, of family, friendship, and hope. Packed with wonderfully vivid characters (Murdy is a total class-act) it will touch your heart-strings and keep you entertained.

As ever, Jenny can be relied upon to write a cracking story that pulls at the heartstrings! I can’t wait to buy this and share it with my class. I think this has such important messages about family and love!

The Boy Who Made Monsters is an absolutely stuning new novel by Jenny Pearson.

I've loved Jenny's stories before, both her solo novels and her recent collaboration with Sam Copeland. She has that talent I admire so much in a handful of middle grade authors of blending silly humour with powerful emotion. Jenny does it so well, Sam does it too, which is why their collaboration is so brilliant. Jennifer Killick and Rachel Delahaye do it too. It's an incredibly effective way of telling a powerful, moving story without it being too heavy, or of telling rude jokes without it just being puerile.

Now that being said, there's something a little different about this book. The jokes and humour are still there, and there are certainly plenty of amusing moments, but this time they're a little more subdued. The emotional content steps up and takes centre stage in The Boy Who Made Monsters, and it is gorgeous and powerful and heart breaking and inspiring.

The Boy Who Made Monsters is a story about grief and hope. Benji and Stanley have lost their parents at sea. Stanley was there when they went overboard, Benji wasn't. While most people have accepted they are dead, months after going missing, Benji hasn't. He still feels they are out there and will come home soon, and anything that happens in the meantime is just an interim measure. Like moving to Scotland to live with his Uncle Hamish.

It's a story about how we cope with loss and grief, through withdrawal into isolation and anger, or through denial. Through therapy, and family, and with visions of hope and with deep pain. It's about guilt, whether because we were there and didn't stop it or because we weren't there at all. It's about mourning the people we lose, and it's about not being ready to let go of them and mourn them as we should.

It's also about monsters, both literal and figurative, and the analogy of the monster is stunningly weaved through the story in subtle and beautiful ways. The best plan (and I use that term quite loosely) to save Uncle Hamish's land and business is to prove the existence of the loch monster, or, failing that, to fake evidence of its existence. This is the source of a lot of the humour in the story, as various plans and constructions fail in different ways, with often catastrophic results. It's fun and it is light hearted and humorous, and it does help to lighten the tone of the story.

There's a great supporting cast too. I love Murdy McGurdy, and how much it feels like she's got her own story going on that's somehow gotten wrapped up with Benji's. Her attitude and fierceness is superb. Mr Dog is a wonderful sidekick, and Uncle Hamish is a really interesting character. I'd have liked to have seen more things from his perspective, but he's the very model of the man trying to put on a brave front despite all setbacks and it's very interesting seeing how that changes through the story.

Honestly, if you want to know how beautifully moving this story is, I'm in tears just writing the review. One of the best books I've read dealing with loss, grief and hope. I can't recommend it highly enough.

The Boy Who Made Monsters
By Jenny Pearson
Published by Usborne Publishing

Another award-winning tale of family struggles told through love, loss, laughter & hope from author Jenny Pearson.

Benji McLaughlin sees and believes in things other people think are impossible. So proving his ideas, point of view or what he believes he sees is tricky and frustrating.
So when he & his brother Stanley find themselves living with their uncle in Scotland after tragically losing their parents things look bleak. But believing in the Loch Lochy monster is all Benji can focus on in order to turn his life around.

His parent’s are lost at sea, his Uncle Hamish's holiday business is struggling and his brother won’t believe in him. But Benji's not worried, he has a visionary plan and together with his new friends, Murdy and Mr Dog, he sets off to prove that the Loch Lochy monster exists in order to make some changes in his life. 

Praise for Jenny Pearson who deals with the tricky subjects of grief, mental health and honesty in such a tender manner. A fabulous story that will touch your heart, your mind and your soul. 

Joanne Bardgett - teacher of littlies, lover of Children’s literature.

#Netgalley
#Usborne
#JennyPearson

I had heard lots of people recommend this book and I was intrigued, so decided to give it a read. I did enjoy it but found it a little slow in parts and it didn’t completely grip me. That said, I enjoyed seeing the story play out and especially the ending. The themes of grief and loss are sensitively explored, but I would recommend being mindful of these themes for younger children.

A fun book to pass the time. I am not the target demographic for this book and yet I loved it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I am a weepy mess….
Jenny Pearson is one of the loveliest authors out there and she has such an incredible voice when writing books. Filled with humour but sensitive subjects and heartfelt moments- all are woven through with a plot that has you fully invested.
Her characters are wonderfully written and relatable, funny yet heartfelt. This story got me right in the feels…..grief, hope, family and coming to terms with our inner monsters is written beautifully.
Stanley and Benji have lost their parents several months ago and neither is coping overly well though they both portray someone coping better than they are. Sent to Scotland to live with Uncle Hamish, they discover a pigeon faced man threatening to bulldoze their new home and the holiday lets. Uncle Hamish owes McGavin a lot of money and the worries are mounting.
New friend Murdy and Benji believe their to be a monster in the Loch they live near, the Loch Lochy Monster and set about trying to prove it in order to save Uncle Hamish’s house and business. A few hiccups along the way are expected, some quite funny and there are a trio of girls, who Jenny compares to a pedal bin when they laugh. It is quips like that which had me giggling aloud.
As we discover through the story, Benji and Stanley both need to deal with their emotions, grief and new family before they can move on to rediscover happiness and laughter.

Incredible storytelling yet again from one of the best out there!

When life takes an unexpected turn, Benji and his brother Stanley find themselves living with their Uncle Hamish. Benji, along with his new friends Murdy and the perfectly named Mr Dog, embark on an adventure which will not only cement their relationship but enable them to discover more about themselves at the same time. The reactions of the characters to each other and the situations which arise are very realistic and children will definitely relate to them.
There was a superb twist to this story which I did not see coming at all but thoroughly enjoyed. What a super way for children to think about those big emotions which do seem overwhelming.
I'll certainly be looking out for more stories by the amazing Jenny Pearson.

The parents of Benji and Stanley are missing, presumed dead after a boating accident when Stanley was found clinging to the side of the boat. Counselling had been arranged for both boys but Stanley wouldn’t talk about it and Benji talked nonstop to his, convinced their parents are still alive. Now the boys were being taken from London to Scotland to their uncle’s, with whom they’d had little to do previously after Uncle Hamish and their Dad had fallen out.
Stanley, the elder, is sullen but Benji grateful to Hamish and keen to see where his Dad had grown up.
It soon becomes clear that Hamish is in financial difficulties and his neighbour wants to buy him out with plans to erase Hamish’s holiday lets in need of some T&C and expand his own luxury hotel accommodation.
A friend of Hamish has a daughter who will be in Benji’s class and she is very independent, forthright and somewhat challenging towards Benji but the two end up collaborating on a plan to entice visitors to the area so Hamish can make a living and save the family home.
Stanley, until the accident, a perfect brother, is living in his own world and Benji longs for the closeness they used to have.
It’s only when matters come to a head do both brothers have to face up to reality and each deal with their own demons.
A book about grief and the different ways we each deal with it with great characters.

Another great story by Jenny Pearson. They always make me laugh out loud and this one was no different. Benji and Stanley have lost their parents in an accident at sea and are sent to live in Scotland with their Uncle Hamish. Benji settles in well it seems and has graduated grief counselling as he puts it. He soon makes a friend in local girl Murdy and they set about trying to prove the Loch Lochy monster exists. Uncle Hamish is about the lose his home and land if they cannot get visitors to come and stay in his holiday lets and Benji thinks this will get scores of visitors. Along the way there is a blossoming friendship with Murdy, a great dog sidekick and Stanley starts to settle in. The ending is wonderful with lots of meaning about feelings and dealing with grief. Wonderful.

The Boy Who Made Monsters is a funny, action-packed but tender tale about two brothers facing monsters - both real and fantastic - after the disappearance of their parents. Benji and Stanley move up to Scotland to stay with their uncle Hamish and his delipidating series of lodges by the side of a loch. Benji decides to try to save the site, where his father grew up, alongside discovering and facing the monster lurking nearby. He is ably (often hindered!) by Murdy, his forthright, imaginative neighbour, and Mr Dog. This is a wonderful tale of visionary ideas and facing up to terrible truths and, just like Jenny's other books, makes you laugh and cry in equal measures.

I did love Benji and his infectious optimism but the other characters were equally enjoyable to read about and all brilliantly formed, from the wonderfully honest Murdy McGurdy and Benji's brother, Stanley, to the BFG himself, Uncle Hamish.

This is such a perfect story to teach children about grief in the comfortable and cosy surroundings of a hilarious, exciting and well-paced tale of adventure and a monster of the loch. I adored it and can't wait to share this at school. Another perfect KS2 book from Jenny Pearson. Thank you Usborne and NetGalley in allowing me to read this in advance and in exchange for an honest review.