Bone Head: Guardian of the Underworld

Demise, known to his friends as Bone Head, is determined to prove that he is a brilliant guardian of the underworld. But after failing to read the Bestiary – a guide to the weird and awful creatures of his realm – he squares up to a deceptively cute beast, and the resulting chaos causes a huge amount of damage to Hades’ castle. Bone Head and his weary boss, Mort, are demoted to the kennels to take care of Cerberus. The three-headed dog is not as ferocious as feared, but when it escapes Bone Head is banished from the fortress altogether. Scholastic pre-empted Gregory’s debut in a six-figure deal and it is easy to see why: Bone Head is a gloriously anarchic, silly and adventure-filled romp, told in a diary-format (defaced with snarky asides by the weary Mort) and illustrated with graphic-novel style artwork. Fans of Louie Stowell’s Loki will find much to enjoy here, but so will comic fans who eagerly devour the Phoenix every week. Bone Head is compulsively readable, so will appeal to reluctant or easily distracted readers, but its intelligence and wit will gain it fans from children who adore reading longer, more complicated books too.