Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Bumpfizzle the Best on Planet Earth is a odd and quirky illustrated novel for young readers (ages ca. 7-10 years) by Patricia Forde. Originally published in 2018, this reformat and re-release is out 31st May 2022 by Little Island Books. It's 128 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook format. 

There are a lot of giggle/groan out loud moments in this strange little book. Bumpfizzle is an alien warrior sent to Earth to gather intelligence on the local lifeforms. Or, it's just remotely possible that he's actually a 10 year old human boy named Daniel who's less than thrilled with the attention claimed by "The Baby" and the resultant change in the family dynamic. It's set up as a diary, where Bumpfizzle sends his reports back to his boss on planet Plonk with his observations about Earth and the lifeforms which call it home. 

There are genuinely funny moments which honestly surprised an audible chuckle. There are also some alarming moments which were questionable in the extreme. No spoilers, but I don't think animal mistreatment is ever funny under any circumstances. Ever. That being said, despite the odd ending, it's an engaging and fun read.

The spelling and vernacular are UK/RoI English, so North Americans will notice some differences such as "hoover" instead of "vacuum" and "washing" instead of "laundry". None should pose any difficulties in context however. The language is full of whimsy and wordplay and is a lot of fun to read.

Three and a half stars. Odd, but will likely appeal to kids in the same way that Lemony Snicket and Holly Grant's League of Beastly Dreadfuls books do, with a small dash of Captain Underpants. for good measure.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Bumpfizzle the Best is a very, very, very important warrior from another planet who has infiltrated a human family, posing as a 10 year old boy named Daniel (the family's memory has been altered to make them believe he's always been there). His "family" has a mom and a dad, an older brother, and The Baby, a foul creature that has taken over the house. Another creature lives there, a small hairy thing called Sooty that bites and hisses and scratches. Bumpfizzle later finds out that Sooty is not an odd human at all, but a cat who has taken a dislike to the alien warrior (the memory alteration doesn't work on animals). Our intrepid warrior then does a very bad thing: he puts the cat in a bag and puts it in a bin in the park (more on this later), thinking he has now saved the mom from its malevolence. Sigh. After that, The Baby has its first birthday, and Bumpfizzle meets the grandparents, who are unusual creatures, but nice. I should mention here that Bumpfizzle had no way of knowing that onions and daffodil bulbs look very much alike and he shouldn't be blamed for getting them mixed up, as the planet Plonk doesn't have either of these things, and how was our poor hero to know the difference? At any rate, things go on like this through the book, we the readers reading Bumpfizzle's exploits, discoveries, mishaps, etc as he makes reports to his superiors back on Plonk. He does get himself into a lot of trouble! It's mostly funny and cute, with a bit of middle child angst. The story is told in diary form over the course of about two months, and it does become apparent that Daniel is having trouble adjusting to the new baby getting so much attention, and is feeling forgotten and unloved (or at least, less loved), and has cast himself as an alien invader to help himself deal with his imagined outsider status. The thing with the cat, though - that wasn't cool. That was very, very bad. I would've preferred a less harmful revenge where the cat doesn't get thrown into a bin, not a good idea to put into kid brains. The cat does come back, but still. Not cool.
I will recommend this book, as it deals with some important issues kids deal with in a funny and imaginative way, but I sincerely hope any adult that gives this book to a kid will discuss this troubling incident and explain why it's unacceptable.

#BumpfizzletheBestonPlanetEarth #NetGalley

This book, as the saying goes, is either about Bumpfizzle, an alien sent to earth to see if humans are a good source of food. Or it is the story of a boy, Daniel, who is pretending to be an alien, because he is jealous of the new baby.

This is an odd book. Because, really, you can read it both ways, especially with the ending the way it is.

It is all fun and games until he puts the cat in a bin in the park. I wouldn't want kids to do that.

Fortunately, the cat is able to come home, but sheesh, what a thing to include in the book.

Other than that, it is a mostly funny story of Bumpfizzle growing to like the baby, and trying to tell his boss that humans are not good to eat after all.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. </em>