“The truth about monsters is they’re real.
They lie in wait, ready to drag you under, if you don’t face up to them.”

With all the warmth and wit we have come to expect from Jenny Pearson, this is a story about love, loss, family, friendship, and hope.
After their parents are killed in a boating accident, Benji and his older brother, Stanley, move to Scotland to live with their Uncle Hamish, beside Loch Lochy. Hamish rents out holiday accommodation on the shores of the loch on land that has been in the family for generations, but business has not been going well since the opening of a swish new holiday complex nearby. Benji and Stanley have already lost so much; Benji us determined they won’t lose their new home too. Along with his friend, Murdy, and his inexorable visionary optimism, Benji makes it his mission to save his uncle’s business and their new home. All they have to do is find evidence of the Loch Lochy monster. How difficult could it be?
Heart-warming and heart-breaking all at once, I laughed and cried in equal measure. Every vividly drawn character captures your heart and I was totally invested in them from the start.
Their grief is so perfectly written to be real and raw, but never sentimental. We are gently shown how grief is experienced differently each character.
I thought the idea of depicting Benji’s sadness as a monster within was such a great metaphor to convey to younger readers how unexpressed or unacknowledged feelings can affect people, and how important it is to accept and talk about our emotions. But the absolute greatest message in this book is the one of hope. Even in the darkest, most desperate situations, with the help of those who love and care for us, there is always hope.
This would make a great book to explore those ‘big’ feelings with children. This cast of characters and their beautiful message will stay with me for a long time.

The Boy Who Made Monsters is everything that's good about children's literature. It is engaging, funny, heartfelt and speaks truth. It does not hide from issues faced by children. Instead, it approaches them with gentleness and hope. Jenny Pearson has found a way to support children through what may be the most difficult time - the loss of their parents.

Following a boating accident, Benji and his big brother, Stanley, are left on their own. Every day, they hope their parents will come home but it's been months. Sent to live with Uncle Hamish in their dad's childhood home in Scotland, they have the opportunity to make a fresh start - but grief is a monster that won't leave them alone.

It turns out Uncle Hamish is having money troubles. Perhaps if Benji and his new friend Murdy can draw in the tourists with tales of loch monster sightings, there will be enough income to save their new home and make it somewhere they can stay forever.

Benji is a visionary. Sometimes you need to have the vision to believe the most unlikely things can happen. While Stanley is overcome by grief and the memory of what happened, Benji is determined not to let sadness take over. His hope, faith (praying to all sorts of gods to cover all the bases) and unwavering surity that everything will eventually be alright, set him on a charming and very funny course of misadventures. Uncle Hamish's dog, Mr Dog, is the perfect sidekick (and provides the hugs Benji so desperately needs) while Murdy supports Benji through every hair-brained scheme with just the right amount of teasing.

Readers will fall in love with Benji, cheering him on and hoping with everything they have that he will find happiness once more. They will develop empathy for those who have experienced loss and see that friendship can make so much difference - but sometimes you need to go to adults when things get to be too much.

Gentle, heartbreaking but also heart-warming too. With a main character who has such a great voice. Loved it.

Where to start... This is a wonderful story of love, grief, hope and friendship that made me smile, laugh and cry.
Benji and his brother move to Scotland to live with their uncle following the death of their parents. Both boys are struggling to cope with their loss in different ways and set about trying to make a Loch monster to help save their new home.
A great array of characters including Uncle Hamish, Murdy and Mr. Dog.
This is a big hearted book I highly recommend.