Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

What we're reading

Find your new favourite book or recommend one on our Book forum.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Flip

1 2

MNHQ

Find out what Mumsnetters' children thought of Martha Mayhem by Joanne Owen

28 replies

SorchaMumsnet · 01/08/2017 17:25

Looking for a magical new adventure to keep your child occupied this summer? Welcome to the wacky world of Martha Mayhem a new series for readers aged five to seven.

Martha Mayhem (real name: Martha May) can't help it, chaotic things just seem to happen to her. Enter Griselda - a bedraggled-looking witch in a ditch who wants her to help retrieve a ghastly ghoul... Can Martha, with the help of Gramps, her pet hog Elvis and her best friend Jack, track down the ghoul and prove herself to Griselda?

We ask all winners to share their child’s thoughts about the book on this discussion thread. Everyone who gives detailed feedback on Martha Mayhem by midday, Wednesday 27 September will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Love2shop voucher.

Buy the paperback on Amazon for £4.99

This giveaway is sponsored by Piccadilly Press

Book giveaways T&Cs apply

Find out what Mumsnetters' children thought of Martha Mayhem by Joanne Owen

OP posts:

BetterEatCheese · 09/08/2017 19:41

My daughter has just started reading longer books herself and would love a copy of this to entertain her at the end of the holidays

TellMeItsNotTrue · 22/08/2017 11:19

This arrived yesterday and was a nice middle of the holidays bonus we have started it but will wait until we finish to leave feedback so far so good though, and thank you for the book and the perfect timing!

Amaksy · 23/08/2017 03:22

Received my copy, thanks - can't wait to start reading with LO

shelaghh · 23/08/2017 11:53

The ideal Bedtime book, especially for dark and windy nights. The book brought" floods of Howls and Laughter"- A proper " RIB-TICKLER".

pennwood · 25/08/2017 19:37

Martha Mayhem & The Witch From The Ditch by Joanne Owen was read & enjoyed by an eight year old. The illustrations were perused & added to the enjoyment of the book, even though just black sketches. Considering the book was advised as suitable for5 - 7 years of age there are numerous words an eight year old struggled with, such as pandemonium, mayhem, disturbance, imagination etc. All a learning curve I realise, (I got the job of explaining them!) A nice book, fun to read, that was found to be amusing, so great to have especially as the long school holiday is drawing to a close when the 'bored' word appears!

busymummy0411 · 28/08/2017 14:43

DD enjoyed reading this and found it funny. I think it may be more suitable for slightly older children, she is 6 and a very confident reader and still asked what some of the words meant. Having said that, it was a good length, chapters were a good length for each reading time and it was nice for a book to challenge her vocabulary but still be enjoyable. A few more pictures would have been nice too.

Dsiso · 30/08/2017 08:45

My son is 6 and really enjoyed this book. We tend to read the books together and then he goes back over them, so we can address the longer words. It is really very funny and we were crying with laughter at some points. For kids who love magic, this is a real hit. Thanks for the free copy, will definitely look out for more in the series.

Mumzimoo · 05/09/2017 12:48

My 7 son has just finished reading this book. He struggled with some words but overall good for his age group. Sometimes the size of the words on the page can be too small/too large but I felt they were just right for a child this age. The book is a great story and will be great for Halloween time. There are lots of laugh out loud moments. This is one of the books my older children will like to read too, and one we will definitely read over again.

SatsukiKusakabe · 06/09/2017 19:56

My 6 year old son and I are reading this together - it seems maybe to be pitched for slightly older as others have commented; he is a fluent reader but it is dense with text so we have been taking turns reading chunks. He was unsure at first whether he would enjoy it as the main character is a girl (!) - but he soon forgot about that and got stuck into the story. The situations are comical and he likes the realistic school setting combined with spooky and strange goings on. Great for children who are fascinated by the idea of witches and ghouls, but who do not want anything too scary.

JuneFromBethesda · 06/09/2017 20:47

My daughter is 9 and loving this book. I didn't realise it was aimed at 5-7-year-olds! So it's not a difficult read for her but equally I don't think it's too young - she's really enjoying it. (Actually she says there are several words she struggled with too).

First feedback from her: 'It's hilarious, it gets you stuck in immediately. The first sentence you read, you want to read more'. She liked the fact that the book launches straight into the story without spending a chapter introducing the characters.

She hasn't finished it yet so I'll post again with more feedback once she has! But a big thumbs up from here - she got stuck straight into it as soon as it arrived and has needed very little encouragement to continue. Thank you very much Piccadilly Press and Mumsnet

TellMeItsNotTrue · 06/09/2017 21:55

With all the back to school chaos, I forgot to come back and review!

This was read by a 7yr old and 10yr old and I think the age range needs to be raised a little, we think it's more 7-10 or even 8-10 because of some of the words used. I think the 7yr old was a bit frustrated at not being able to read it by herself because of needing help with some of the words, but we do still read to them all at bed times so we just made it a bedtime story instead.

They both really enjoyed the story which makes a change! and I feel it suits that range of ages if there is an adult to explain some of the words. I think it's hard to decide whether to use the harder words or not, if you speak only with simple words then they will never learn more advanced vocabulary, but I think stopping to explain the words did interrupt the story.

As a parent I was happy to see a strong female character, and thought it was great to find a story that they could both enjoy together.

It was enjoyed that much that I've actually already preordered Martha Mayhem Goes Nuts (out January for anyone else who is interested in preordering) the vocabulary wasn't enough to put us off as it was such a great story

kateandme · 07/09/2017 07:41

very funny book.
beautiful illustrations and perfect reading for both her to read to us and us to want to read to her.
thankyou.

diri1947 · 07/09/2017 16:40

My granddaughter (8) absolutely loved this book...I've never heard her giggle so much! The vocabulary was sometimes challenging but then that's what dictionaries are for. Thank you Mumsnet for giving us the opportunity to share this delightful story.

Narnianescape · 07/09/2017 20:18

My daughter 7 found this book hilarious and really can't wait to read the Martha Mayhem goes Nuts

Ogochukwu27 · 14/09/2017 19:42

My daughter loved this book. She struggled with some words but it was nothing a dictionary could not solve. Most times we read the book together rephrase that she read it to me and her little cousins who came over for the hols. It was such a funny and exciting book that her father became jealous of the bonding time and had to join us.
I love the fact that the protagonist is female. Something for my girl to look forward to. Good job Piccadilly press.
My family is grateful

CoffeeandChocolateplease · 20/09/2017 20:28

We really enjoyed this book! My daughter is 6 and a very good reader, and the book was a nice challenge for her - definitely one for more confident readers.

We ended up with me reading it to DD and DS (8) as our bedtime story. DS is more of a Harry Potter fan but he loved this too and I think it could also be aimed at a slightly higher upper age than 7.

They particularly liked the silly names and knickers references! The story was a dream to read out loud - there seemed to be several tongue twisters. I couldn't quite tell if they were deliberate or not but it made it really fun to read and held their attention.

They enjoyed the storyline and found it easy to follow. We will definitely be looking out for sequels!

Hopeuk · 21/09/2017 09:46

This is a very enjoyable book with a good story. My 5 year old grandson is a confident reader and loves to read to himself but it is still lovely to cuddle up and read books together. We usually take alternative paragraphs. This book was a winner from the start when he saw the word '..bottom' on the first page! He had no major problems with the reading and there were plenty of new words to extend his vocabulary and silly names to giggle at. I don't think it matters whether the lead character is a girl or boy. Thank you for sending the book.

starlight36 · 24/09/2017 12:31

My daughter loved this book. She is 6 and new to reading chapter books on her own. There were a few words which challenged her but that is no bad thing.
She really laughed at some of the adventures and loved both the character of Martha Mayhem and Griselda Gritch. She thought the illustrations by Tony Ross matched the story well.
The theme was brilliant for encouraging our daughter to venture outside her current obsession with a well-known fairy series. From the chapters I've looked at it was much better-written as well.

starlight36 · 24/09/2017 12:33

Forgot to say that the second book has been placed on her birthday list as she can't wait to read another adventure.

Blahblahblueblee · 25/09/2017 10:04

I read Martha mayhem with my 5 year old. Although we read together a lot, this was the longest book we had attempted to read yet. I found it was a bit long and had many complicated words for my 5 year old.
I would recommend it though- it is very funny and my daughter giggled a lot at the names used! There were lots of funny descriptions and the pictures went well with the story.
I think we will re read this maybe in a year when my daughter is a bit older. It is a well written book that had a great theme, thank you for sending it to us!

Poguig · 25/09/2017 11:11

Slightly too old for my 4 year old (who's just started learning to read), so we're still fairly early on in the story, not helped that when he hears a funny bit, I have to repeat it several times while he hoots & giggles, but I'm hoping it'll help him learn to read some of the longer words, and it's great for making him grin before bedtime

awakes · 25/09/2017 13:05

Ruby and her sister, Sophia, love this book that they read at night with their father. Retelling the story they giggle as they explain and they really like the illustrations. In fact they both try to continue reading the story if they fall asleep whilst it is being read to them. Thank you very much for all the pleasure it has given.

Electriccircus · 25/09/2017 16:50

Thanks for the copy of Martha Mayhem, I have been reading it to my young son and we have both been really enjoying the story. There are illustrations on most pages which help to hold his attention through the funny exploits of Martha.

user1506080917 · 25/09/2017 16:55

My 8 year old niece has been reading the book and really liked it. It was very detailed.

Amaksy · 25/09/2017 21:53

Oh gosh, thought i had posted my review.

Funny bed time read - took a few nights but was worth it and my son was looking forward to it. Great adventure story and love the rhymes - makes sense too was a pleasure to read.

Flip

1 2