Hamish and the gravity burp by Danny Wallace

Simon and Schuster, 2017. ISBN 9781471147128
(Age: 7+) The bright cover and illustrations covering the paper edges promises humour and fun, and they certainly deliver this for young children!
The story surrounds Hamish Ellerby, who begins by finding his family stuck to the roof through the strange happenings that is a 'gravity burp'. The whole town of Starkley is affected and obviously causes lots of questions and a then big town meeting.
It becomes up to Hamish and his friends (who are all in a gang called the PDF - Pause Defence Force) to save their town once again.
After some research I found that this book is part of a well established series, where Hamish and the PDF try to save Starkely (and the world) from Alien invasion. This made sense as although Danny Wallace gives information to the reader to allow this to be an interesting stand alone book, I feel that reading this series in order would be very beneficial to getting to know the long list of characters.
The story is consistently funny, with toilet/gross humour throughout keeping even the most reluctant reader or listener entertained.
My favourite character of the bunch was Madame Cous Cous (who couldn't love that name!) and her sweet shop. She is always doing something amusing like nailing down all the sweets in the shop, and through the wonderful illustrations I was able to form a great visual image to compliment the story.
This book would suit readers who love Roald Dahl and David Walliams, as it is clever, humorous and filled with little tidbits (like the flick-a-book illustrations!!) to delight every reader.
Suitable for readers or listeners from 7+
Lauren Fountain