Max Magic: the Sunday Times bestselling debut from Stephen Mulhern!

Product Information

I love the fact the book is part-autobiographical and based on Stephen, his childhood, and his family. As well as his TV career, Stephen is an experienced all-round entertainer, having performed his very own magic and one-man variety shows up and down the country for the past 12 years. Inspired by Stephen Mulhern’s incredible story of his journey to becoming a magician, performer and TV star. Then a run-in with Bottley at his parents’ market stall gets Max into even bigger trouble – now the notorious East End gangsters the Crayfish Twins are after him! I much prefer stories that are fun and you can learn from the characters situation at the same time and this book didn't achieve that in my opinion.

Although there is a lot of fun interwoven into the story, there are also themes and references which are dark and disturbing (bullying, intimidation, extortion, the use of knives and guns) and for this reason I’d be concerned about a young child reading it on their own. How this book made me feel: I see that this book was written by a famous person (have no idea who he is) but the story was not something extraordinary. The larger text size within was an interesting change and then to learn it was to make the book dyslexia friendly was a great idea. However, read aloud by (or with) an adult it offers lots of opportunities for some difficult topics to be explored as the young reader/listener follows Max’s adventures and learns how he deals with the various dilemmas he faces.What follows is a magical adventure where Max, his friends and his dog, Lucky, create the greatest plan to get the money and save Max's dad's stall. He lives in Surrey with his wife and three children and in his spare time works as a Production Manager for Hachette Children's Books. The plot is fun, quick moving and highly imaginative, and the reader is drawn in to the magical adventure that Max and his band of loyal friends have. I would note that guns and knives do get a very brief mention, and that's what's keeping a star off for me. Then a run-in with Bottley at his parents' market stall gets Max into even bigger trouble - now the notorious East End gangsters, the Crayfish Twins, are after him!

Then a run-in with Bottley at his parents’ market stall gets Max into even bigger trouble – now the notorious East End gangsters the Crayfish Twins are after him! Stephen Mulhern is one of the most in-demand television presenters today, with a string of smash-hit television shows including Catchphrase, In For a Penny and Rolling In It.

The author has written this in a first person narrative but it reads like a dairy account and it is a child's perspective. The chapters felt a little long for me, but the beautiful illustrations made the reading experience more enjoyable.

An UNBELIEVABLE new book in the MAX MAGIC series from superstar TV presenter and magician, Stephen Mulhern.I loved every minute of this story, as it brought back my own memories of when I was a young child, doing magic tricks from a magic box set I had. That said, the illustrations are fun and I particularly liked the blue page edges and the magic top hat images with the stars as you flick the pages.

I'm sure there will be more Max Magic adventures to come, hopefully without any mention of guns or knives. Luckily for Max, anything is possible but he'll need his friends and a pinch of magic to get the bullies off his back this time around! Max Muller an ordinary boy living an ordinary life, in an ordinary world, who loves magic, with a dream to be a magician, Max The Magnificent!I liked that there is a trick you can learn in the back of the book, which was part of the story, me and my daughter tried to learn it too. For further information about your statutory rights, contact your local authority Trading Standards department or consumer advice center (for example the Citizen's Advice Bureau if you are in the UK). Then a run-in with Bottley at his parents' market stall gets Max into even bigger trouble—now the notorious East End gangsters the Crayfish Twins are after him! The Crayfish Twins are safely tucked behind bars too but Max still has a lot to learn about his magical abilities. With a threat to destroy their toy stall its a race against time for Max and his friends to pay back the money they owe for the suit.