Ashleigh Barton, author of the CBCA Notable picture book What Do You Call Your Grandma?, makes her middle grade debut with Solomon Macaroni and the Cousin Catastrophe. Solomon is a young vampire – only 552 years old – left to stay with his cousins and Uncle Dracula in Transylvania after his parents decided to go on a holiday for a hundred years! He isn’t excited about it as all his cousins – except for kind Lucy – are mean pranksters. The story follows Solomon’s thwarted attempts to get home, the pranks his cousins pull on him, Uncle Dracula’s wacky half-baked inventions, and a magical mission that brings everyone together.

This book will suit confident junior readers interested in stories that are spooky (without being too scary – there are some nasty imps in a dark forest but otherwise this is a tame read), and who are looking to find their feet in middle-grade fiction. At times, the pacing is a little slow and character motivations can feel somewhat unclear – albeit neatly explained much later in the book – which may frustrate more attentive readers.

Solomon Macaroni and the Cousin Catastrophe is like Hotel Transylvania, The Little Vampire and the Funny Kid books all wrapped into one pleasant supernatural story. A sequel is already slated for 2023. For ages 8+.

Clare Millar is from Readings online.