The Problim Children by Natalie Lloyd, Júlia Sardà
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on February 6th 2018
ISBN: 0062428209
Pages: 304
Goodreads

The Problim Children

 

The seven Problim children were all born on different days of the week and have the special characteristics of those days.  But, their house went “Kaboom” so what are they to do but journey seven miles away to take possession of their grandparents’ house and find out what the hidden secret treasure is by following a series of clues.  Even though the Problims are kind and good and sympathetic the townspeople are not happy to have them.  The youngest Problim, Toot, communicates through a series of farts that each mean something different.  The Problims’ parents are on an archeological study in Andorra and don’t appear until the end.

The parents do finally reenter but the treasure is not found, leading to a sequel to be anticipated.  There is humor and this may appeal to fantasy fans, although there were too many unique farts that were explained in the footnotes and numbered.  It may resonate with fans of A Series of Unfortunate Events, but is not as well done.  The intended audience is ages 8-12.

 

Reviewed by Ellen Spring, Oceanside High School, Rockland