Max and the Millions: 1

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This book shifts between many perspectives; from Max, to Max’s new friend Sasha, to Sasha’s sister, to Ben the King of the Blues. It is handled seemlessly, with different fonts and characterisation throughout which makes this book easy to follow. See Faber authors in conversation and hear readings from their work at Faber Members events, literary festivals and at book shops across the UK. The book has some strong themes from friendship and fitting in to the importance of co-operation. These messages are made very explicit by Max and Luke's attempts to bring together the three floor tribes but, fortunately, the surreal storyline prevents this sounding in any way preachy. Max's disability is also well used in the plot, making his lip reading into a skill that's akin to a superpower rather than a negative necessity. This book was ridiculous fun! With sugar-crazed five-year-old-girl army, noble steed fleas, carrot thefts, sparkle-unicorn onesies, and a headmaster I would love to have pushed into a dustbin, Max's adventure is all kinds of hilarious. It also does a nice job of outlining some basic deaf awareness skills and some of the difficulties that deaf children face. I especially loved how receptive Sasha was to some of these things and the little nods to how the two boys adapted their communication to ensure both understood each other. I would definitely have preferred Max to have sign language knowledge or have used alternative communication with Sasha (such as writing) rather than him having lip-reading superpowers that enabled him to understand basically everything Sasha said (that's very unrealistic - only about 30% of speech can be lipread, and that's without accents coming into the mix). It's also rather inappropriate to have the hearing kid teaching the d/Deaf kid to sign. Despite this, I enjoyed how Max's hearing aids were an important part of the story and the focus on him making friends and developing confidence in himself and his ability to communicate. Sasha was wonderful, as was his sister and her sparkle-unicorn minions. I loved the characters, both good and bad. Max is a loveable character who you routing for the whole way. Mr Pitt on the other hand is a character that you love to hate. He is delightfully horrid and is willing to do anything to get what he wants. It is deliciously satisfying what happens to him in the end.

Max and the Millions | Faber

Take The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett, Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, and Gregor the Overlander by Suzann Collins, mix them together, and add a surprising twist. What kid hasn’t pretended there are microscopic people living microscopic lives right under our noses?A totally off-the-wall story that combines a fast moving plot with some great characterisation and truly wonderful scenes. An absolute must-read for children aged between 8 and 12.” Night Mayor Franklefink has vanished from the Transylvanian Express - and it's up to you to solve the case! Part of the Solve Your Own Mystery seri... Think ‘Honey I Shrunk the Kids’ in Book form. This was a new book for me and as the text for Y4 on T1 I’ve battled to read it over the holidays, ready to get some planning done. Max is a lonely deaf boy who uses hearing aids and finds it difficult to communicate and make friends with the other boys at his boarding school. His only friend is the useless school caretaker, Mr Darrow, who shares his love of building intricate models.

Max and the Millions by Ross Montgomery | Goodreads

Adventure Stories (Children's/Ya) Fantasy & Magical Realism (Children's/Ya) JUVENILE FICTION--Action & Adventure--General JUVENILE FICTION--Fantasy & Magic JUVENILE FICTION--General Children's stories Fiction Juvenile works JUVENILE FICTION -- General JUVENILE FICTION -- Fantasy & Magic JUVENILE FICTION -- Action & Adventure -- General Solid state physics Quantum theory Chemical bonds SCIENCE Physics Condensed Matter Física do estado sólido Mecânica quântica Faber Members have access to live and online events, special editions and book promotions, and articles and quizzes through our weekly e-newsletter. The best moments in this book are the moments looking at and exploring the world created by Mr Darrow and its culture and history, but these are short lived in favour of moving on to the next plot point. In my opinion, this novel is definitely an adventure novel, best suited for those looking from excitement and elements of humour from their reading.

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Caitlin’s desperation for friendship is palpable, and the book powerfully conveys the longing for connection that drives her to risky actions. This British import is earnest, often quietly thoughtful, and quirky.”— The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books From Costa-shortlisted superstar, a highly anticipated standalone adventure about what happens when you find a tiny, living, breathing civilization on the floor of your school dorm room.Max is used to spending time alone - it's difficult to make friends in a big, chaotic school when you're deaf. He prefers to give his attention to the little things in life . . . like making awesome, detailed replica models. Then Mr Darrow, the school caretaker and fellow modeller, goes missing. Max must follow his parting instruction: 'Go to my room. You'll know what to do.'There on the floor he finds a pile of sand . . . and in the sand is Mr Darrow's latest creation . . . a tiny boy, no bigger than a raisin, Luke, Prince of the Blues. And behind the tiny boy . . . millions of others - a thriving, bustling, sprawling civilization!'A fast-paced and enjoyable adventure that encourages readers to appreciate the small things in life.' Kirkus'A delightful whiff of Monty Python . . . Ross Montgomery's writing is often pure Douglas Adams.' SFX'Totally off-the-wall story. The world building is superb.' The Bookbag'A funny, well plotted tale.' Sunday Express'Marvellously funny and original . . . it's the tiny details that make the story work.' Financial Times'An inventive and funny adventure.' Inis Children Books Ireland There are some wonderful themes running through this book. It's coupled with a light sense of humour and the dialogue, although although a little unremarkable, will put a smile on your face.

Max and the Millions by Ross Montgomery: 9781524718848

Max, a white boy who is the only deaf student and hearing-aid user in his English boarding school, loves building models, but his world changes when his brilliant mentor, Mr. Darrow, the school janitor, inexplicably disappears. Become a Faber Member for free and receive curated book recommendations, special competitions and exclusive discounts. Summary: A totally off-the-wall story that combines a fast moving plot with some great characterisation and truly wonderful scenes. An absolute must-read for children aged between 8 and 12.Max is used to spending time alone – it’s difficult to make friends in a big, chaotic school when you’re deaf. He prefers to give his attention to the little things in life . . . like making awesome, detailed replica models. Then Mr Darrow, the school caretaker and fellow modeller, goes missing. Max must follow his parting instruction: ‘Go to my room. You’ll know what to do.’ There on the floor he finds a pile of sand . . . and in the sand is Mr Darrow’s latest creation. A tiny boy, no bigger than an ant. Luke, Prince of the Blues. And behind the tiny boy. . . millions of others – a thriving, bustling, sprawling civilization! A civilization that needs Max’s help . . . While Max and his newfound friend Sasha fight to protect the Floor from their evil headmaster, the people on the floor must fight to save it from being destroyed by all-out war. Together they have to learn to work together to save the tiny world in this hilarious, fast paced adventure. The day before summer vacation, Max’s closest friend at boarding school disappears, leaving behind his amazing model collection and a handful of sand on his bedroom floor. Like Max, the eccentric janitor Mr. Darrow is a genius at building tiny models. Eight weeks later, Max finds that the sand has magically transformed into a whole desert kingdom–filled with millions of tiny people!

Max and the Millions | Book reviews | RGfE Max and the Millions | Book reviews | RGfE

A fast-paced and enjoyable adventure that encourages readers to appreciate the small things in life. Luke made his way miserably to the stables and found his prized flea, Excelsior. She was the finest steeds on the Floor: sleek, polished and intelligent.

After all his kindness, Max feels he owes Mr Darrow. Can he save the tiny people from war? Can he find out what happened to Mr Darrow? And most of all, can he keep Mr Pitt, the evil headmaster away from Mr Darrow’s room while he does it? And on and on the story goes. Max is helped by his roommate Sasha, who didn't go home for summer break, but is still at school running a summer camp for fifty 5-year-old girls. The girls, fueled by candy, also help Max and Sasha in their attempts to outwit the schoolmaster. Much of the story, though, is about the tiny people and their inability to get along. There is lots of violence and threats of violence, although it doesn't seem like anyone actually gets genuinely hurt. There is also the developing friendship between Max and Sasha, as well as Max's attempts to get him to understand the difficulties he has communicating with others. All and all, it is quite an adventure, and I would only recommend it to children who like adventure stories. In addition, those who like witty type humor certainly may appreciate many of the author's attempts to get laughs. A fast-paced and enjoyable adventure that encourages readers to appreciate the small things in life. ( Kirkus) It's also a strange statement to make in that Max has spent much of this book lipreading incredibly tiny people with no sound input. The majority of successful speechreaders do use residual hearing to supplement their lipreading, and it's clear that Max does as well. But even without this use of residual hearing, Max is able to successfully communicate. So he's been relying on lipreading alone for quite a while, without complaint. As this brief summary indicates, this is a totally off-the-wall story and is characteristic of the vivid imagination that we've come to associate with Ross Montgomery. The world building is superb, particularly when we first meet the miniature civilisation shimmering beneath the bulb light. Adults may notice a few inconsistencies. For example, at one point Luke is described as a tiny boy, no bigger than a raison and yet he can ride around on a flee. Similarly, I couldn't help wonder how the Floor Tribes acquired such a comprehensive knowledge of traditional English terminology. How do the Red Tribe know they live under the bed and how do the Green Tribe know what a bin or a banana is? This is, however, a petty point that is probably necessary for understanding the story and I'm confident child readers won't notice or care. Instead, they are likely to be swept away by the story.