A wacky sweet wholesome book about the robbersons family that specialise in stealing sweets.

The robbersons drive all true the country with there bandit van on the lookout for the next big sweet heist. They have a couple of tricks to steal the sweet the fastest and everyone in the family has a special role to preform. One day when they heist another car for sweets they accidentaly steal a child. Maisie ( the stolen child) swears to herself to escape on the bandit festival but sooner if possible. But will she? Or does she rather stay with the robbersons when she gets to now them?

This was such a quick and cute read! its full of adventures and you better have a lot of candy with you while reading cause this book will make you hungry. ?I highly recommend this story if you like whacky adventures, Sweet and unlikely friends

Me and the Robbersons is an award-winning Finnish middle-grade read that was published in 2010. Translated into many languages, it is finally available in English thanks to The Little Tiger Group, Stripes Publishing and translator Ruth Urbom.

Summer is going nowhere and has been the usual disappointment of broken promises for Maisie. A trip to grandma’s was about exciting as things were going to get and was complete with family arguments and Maisie getting blamed, as always.

But before they have arrived at grandma’s, bandits have robbed the car of clothes, beauty products, sweets and most surprising of all, Maisie. Finding herself aboard a van driven by a lady with a liking for speed and a family led by Wild Karl, Maisie is about to have the adventure of a lifetime. An adventure that she has been seeking her entire life and she is determined to enjoy it. So much in fact that when the police, rival bandits and her parents are closing in, Maisie is not quite ready for everything to come to an end just yet…

Given the harsh lockdowns and stay at home orders that we have all had to endure over the last year and a half, the Robbersons bring a wonderful dose of freedom and adventure that children have so desperately been craving.

The Robbersons deliver a thrilling and fast-paced madcap adventure full of hijinks and hilarity. Far from being your typical bandits, the Robbersons bring anarchy and their own unique brand of crime to the country roads of Finland and readers will love being part of their world. They’re not interested in money or valuables, above all else they value sweets, especially the ever-so-rare alien puke, and will pretty much go to any lengths to satisfy their sweet-teeth. Speeding around the country roads, stopping off for a swim whenever they feel like it, regularly indulging in a rather unhealthy diet of crispbreads, pasties, meatballs and sweets, and evening games of Yahtzee to decide sleeping arrangements are all part of daily life. It is a very unconventional life of freedom and frivolity centred around family and whose days are determined by their needs, be it food, another Barbie doll or a new cardigan (captain’s coat) for Wild Karl.

You’d think that being abducted by bandits and thrown into the back of a van would be enough to frighten and concern most kids. But Maisie isn’t most kids and she quickly finds the Robbersons are the perfect counterfoil to her rather boring and all too ordinary life at home and are able to offer her the adventure and excitement that she has longed for. Like Maisie, readers will find themselves warming to the memorable bandits and despite their law-breaking ways it is hard not to root for them. Young Charlie wants to forgo a life of crime on the road for a more regular childhood experience of school. Something that his older sister, Hellie, is completely baffled by. She rather enjoys the bandit lifestyle and has become an expert in knife skills and in giving make-overs to stolen Barbie dolls. She has her sights firmly set on on leading her own gang of bandits. Their parents, Wild Karl and Hilda are awesome. Hilda is the speed-freak who longs to spend a night in a proper bed and Wild Karl is the chief bandit who everyone just goes along with to keep him happy, no-one likes a grumpy Karl. Together, they make quite the dysfunctional team.

Me and the Robbersons is pure enjoyment and escapism and is a read that allows children to live adventurously at a time when the global pandemic has severely limited our own adventures on the roads with sweet-stealing loveable bandits.

Recommended for 9+.

This was the best summer ever. This was the summer I became a highway robber....I read this book about Maisie who is kidnapped by a band of hilarious highway bandits that travel around Finland with my 9 year old son. He laughed out loud and loved the story of this quirky family that live an unconventional lifestyle. Many thanks to Netgalley and Little Tiger Group for this ARC.

Fun, fast paced and filled with sweets.

Maisie is in the car with her family when the Robbersons' strike. They steal sweets, her sister's sunglasses, and - to the surprise of everyone - Maisie herself. Maisie is unsure what to make of her new life on the road, making notes in her diary as the Robbersons steal food and clothing from cars, spend days swimming at the beach, and eat endless amounts of sweets. When a trip to the bandits' Summer Shindig ends in a chaotic getaway, Maisie may be the only person who can help the Robbersons stay on the road and out of jail - but will she want to?

Maisie was a wonderful protagonist, bringing readers into the unconventional world of the Robbersons in a way that can't fail to delight. The characters were all individually brilliant. I couldn't possibly pick a favourite, from knife throwing, barbie-customising Hellie to quiet, determined Charlie, and romance author Kate.

Me and the Robbersons is a story children will love. There is so much fun to be had on every page, with plenty of silliness along the way. Filled with unexpected delights like Yahtzee to determine sleeping arrangements and the endless pursuit of Alien Puke.

While they may not be the best role models in the world (on account of their criminal activity!) The Robbersons are a great example of how to be a family. Their interactions were refreshing in a world of mobile phones and individual tech. They work together, spend time with each other and, when one of them needs something, it's a family effort to get it.

Thank you Little Tiger for sending me an advanced copy to review.

“Robbing’s our thing. That’s what we know how to do.”

Maisie is kidnapped on the way to visiting her Grandma. This might sound like the beginning of a traumatic experience for Maisie but it turns out to be just the adventure she’s been looking for during the summer holidays.

But this is no ordinary kidnapping; Maisie is stolen from the family’s car in front of her parents and older sister. And these are no ordinary kidnappers; the Robbersons are a family of bandits.

Wild Karl is the chief bandit and his wife, Hilda, is a reckless but enthusiastic driver and champion cook. They have two children: nine year old Charlie and twelve year old Hellie. Charlie wants to attend school, whereas Hellie embraces the bandit lifestyle completely. Hellie (my favourite character) is good at everything, although repurposing Barbie dolls is one of her specialties. Golden Pete, a friend of the Robbersons, is loyal to Wild Karl.

As a hijacked person, Maisie quickly learns all about the various ways to get the best loot. She also becomes part of the family, using initiative to come up with new ways of doing things. She knows that she’ll need to return home at some point but she’s not ready yet.

“I was their prisoner, the loot from a robbery, and so I tried to look glum. Whenever I remembered.”

Sweets are mentioned so much in this book that it’s possible you’ll get a sugar high just from reading. Kids will love the freedoms enjoyed by this family, who eat what they want when they want, can decide to go swimming on the spur of the moment and don’t have to do anything routine or normal, like work or attend school.

I found Maisie’s response to her kidnapping quite implausible. I can’t imagine a ten year old who wouldn’t be traumatised by being taken from their family by a bunch of strangers. The fact that Maisie didn’t even seem to miss her family and treated her kidnapping like a fun adventure added to this unreality. I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn’t supposed to be taking any of this seriously. As a kid I would have simply been along for the ride, no questions asked.

This book, the first in a series, has been translated from Finnish. I want to know how Golden Pete became involved with the Robbersons. I’m assuming this will be mentioned later in the series. I’d like to spend more time with the other bandit clans. I’m interested in reading the next book to see what’s next for Maisie and the Robbersons.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Stripes Publishing, an imprint of Little Tiger Group, for the opportunity to read this book.

Me and the Robbersons was a beautiful whimsical book that middle grade readers will adore!

The story followed Kaise as she is stolen by the Robbersons and learns to live life the bandit way while also learning meaningful lessons and forming a strong bond with the family.

This book was funny, unique and brilliant in all ways! The writing had a sort of magical feeling to it that gripped the reader and didn't let go. The plot was very creative and definitely very unique! The characters were incredibly well rounded and funny which made me root for all of them.

Overall this was an delightful book and a pleasure to read. I would definitely recommend it!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the E-arc!

Funny and full of crazy adventures! Children will relate to sensible Maisie as she unexpectedly finds herself attached to the colourful characters making up the Robberson family. Lots of challenging descriptions and amusing situations for young readers to embrace with humour! I had the movie going on in my head with this engaging book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Little Tiger Group

I had already drawn the comparisons between this book and Pippi Longstocking before I read the note from the author in the back where she says that she set out to capture the spirit of Lindgren's books. This is an anarchic, funny, fresh story which is blissfully free from any heavy handed moralising. The story is told from Maisie's point of view after she is 'kidnapped' by the Robbersons family and goes on a Summer robbing trip with them in their van. The family mainly rob for food (mostly sweets) and knick-knacks and are uninterested in money (which they call 'Mouse Farts', you'll have to read it to find out why). They drive wherever they want to, eat a huge amount of junk food and pretty much do whatever they like- it's easy to see why reading this book and indulging in the fun of it feels like a holiday from real life. They don't get heartburn, toothache, stomach aches or other poor-diet related afflictions, they don't have to go to work or school, they don't seem to particularly upset anyone that they rob (so there are few consequences) and this new life for Maisie is clearly a lot more fun than the one that she was previously living. I really hope that the other books in this series are translated soon because I would happily read every single one of them.

Thank you to Stripes Publishing and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

This books is such fun and very random. A family of bandits hijack a car and steal a girl to stop their own kids from bickering, scared at first Maisie soon feels the rush of fun the family have stealing, robbing and hijacking people and finds she is much happier with them than she would be at home with her own family, giving her the best summer holiday ever.

Okay I knew this would just be a fun read and it really was, though it was so odd and so random but so funny and really easy to read. It’s such an adventure and somehow the way it is written makes what these bandits do sound fun and exciting. Which is what’s great about the story, you feel exactly what Maisie feels.

The book holds such a strange array of characters, the leader Wild Karl the boss and the discussion maker, the crafter of all crimes. Charlie who wants to be a grown up bandit but also wants to go to school and have a normal life. Hellie the fast, knife throwing don’t cross me girl who likes taking Barbie dolls and giving them makeovers in her own strange ways. Hilda the mother and reckless getaway driver who is way tougher than you’d imagine. Golden Pete the most odd ball character in the story, I’ll let you find out about him. Maisie who changes her thoughts on everything she ever knew and learns everything there is to know about being a bandit. These characters just some how all managed to work and added something uniquely themselves into this story.

I think this book would be so great for children who are just looking for something so odd and funny and just an escape book that will take you on the most random but fun adventure ever. It will make them laugh, they’ll want to finish it once they start and they’ll really get stuck into Maisie’s adventure.

I didn’t love this story but I did enjoy it, it was an interesting and different read and I liked the adventure the story took me on, the unique characters that we met along the way. It’s was a good read.

I received an advance copy of, Me and the Robbersons, by Siri Kolu. Being kidnapped by robbers sounds like it would be an interesting book, but its not.