When Dev finds a magical sketchbook that brings his drawings to life, he unleashes a mischievous, messy, and marvelous new world.
Flember 1: The Secret Book is an exciting middle-grade adventure byJamie Smart, the creator of the bestselling Bunny vs Monkey series, and Britain’s 2024 Illustrator of the Year. We meet Dev, a brilliant young inventor living in a village where books are forbidden. After one of his inventions goes haywire, he’s punished with cleaning out an old shop, where he uncovers a hidden book about Flember, the island’s mystical life force. Inspired, Dev brings his friend’s teddy bear to life as a giant robot named Boja. But when Boja’s huge appetite for Flember threatens to drain the entire village, Dev must take responsibility for his creation and find a way to save his community. It is like Frankenstien reinvented for kids.
Flember is engaging and supportive for readers with various challenges. The book’s design falls between graphic novel and traditional prose. It is packed with Smart’s energetic, comic-style artwork and even includes diagrams of Dev’s wild inventions. For visual learners, these illustrations are a huge help, making imaginary objects like “cheese-powered boots” and “smellkonics” understandable and fun. The new vocabulary and invented terms are supported by strong visuals and narrative context, allowing readers to tackle the more sophisticated themes of community and personal responsibility. As a high-interest story that doesn’t condescend to its readers, it is a valuable addition to any classroom library aiming to build reading confidence.
