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The Marvellous Submarine
In this very funny and irresistibly silly junior fiction book, The Bad Guys meet The Treehouse series, but in a brilliantly invented submarine.
Readers, be warned!
This book is set on Monkey Island and contains a super-smart gorilla called Harold, two regular kids called Poppy and Billy, and the world's greatest inventor, who happens to be their mum.
BUT it also features a villainous kidnapping, a secret volcano, pirates on yachts, a hungry blue whale, exploding basketballs – and a whole lot of water.
Plus, there's Mum's greatest invention a Marvellous Submarine.
Readers, be warned!
This book is set on Monkey Island and contains a super-smart gorilla called Harold, two regular kids called Poppy and Billy, and the world's greatest inventor, who happens to be their mum.
BUT it also features a villainous kidnapping, a secret volcano, pirates on yachts, a hungry blue whale, exploding basketballs – and a whole lot of water.
Plus, there's Mum's greatest invention a Marvellous Submarine.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 3, 2025
I may be bias as my brother wrote this book, but I LOVED it and am so proud of how it turned out! This is exactly the sort of book I would have loved to read as a kid, it is so fun and entertaining- still is even now as an adult. My only issue is that I'm now too invested in these characters and want more. Can't wait for the second one!
February 2, 2026
The Marvelous Submarine ended up being a really lovely surprise of a family read.
At its core, it’s a classic “we need to save someone we love” story - Poppy and Billy setting out to rescue their mum - but it puts a genuinely creative spin on that familiar setup. Instead of feeling tired or formulaic, it leans hard into imagination: strange inventions, a crew of animals, and of course the Marvelous Submarine itself, which becomes both a vehicle and a symbol of the book’s playful creativity. Travelling across the ocean, meeting odd and memorable characters along the way, it fully commits to its whimsical premise.
What stood out most to me was how well it works on two levels. There are a surprising number of adult jokes and little nods that kids will completely miss, but parents reading along absolutely won’t. I caught myself chuckling out loud a few times while my son stayed engaged pretty much the whole way through. It has that great “kids’ movie” energy, where you love it as a child without understanding everything, and then come back years later and suddenly realise how much was slipped in just for the adults. I can already picture my son re-reading this one day and appreciating it in a totally different way.
The pacing felt right for a children’s book. We read it piecemeal, roughly 10–15% each night, and still got through it fairly quickly because it’s so easy to read. The story moves along without dragging, and it never felt like a struggle to pick back up the next evening. The worldbuilding is solid - not overly dense, but enough to give the journey a sense of place - and the characters really shine. Even the animals feel like distinct personalities, helped by some genuinely funny and memorable names that stick in your head.
Visually, the book is strong too. The art style is unique and appealing, and each character feels visually distinct, which really helps younger readers stay engaged. It all adds to that feeling that this is a fully realised, slightly odd, very imaginative world.
Overall, this was just a really nice family read. Creative, funny in ways I didn’t expect, easy to read, and enjoyable for both kids and adults. It’s the kind of book that works now as a shared reading experience, and later as something a child can come back to on their own and see through a completely new lens.
At its core, it’s a classic “we need to save someone we love” story - Poppy and Billy setting out to rescue their mum - but it puts a genuinely creative spin on that familiar setup. Instead of feeling tired or formulaic, it leans hard into imagination: strange inventions, a crew of animals, and of course the Marvelous Submarine itself, which becomes both a vehicle and a symbol of the book’s playful creativity. Travelling across the ocean, meeting odd and memorable characters along the way, it fully commits to its whimsical premise.
What stood out most to me was how well it works on two levels. There are a surprising number of adult jokes and little nods that kids will completely miss, but parents reading along absolutely won’t. I caught myself chuckling out loud a few times while my son stayed engaged pretty much the whole way through. It has that great “kids’ movie” energy, where you love it as a child without understanding everything, and then come back years later and suddenly realise how much was slipped in just for the adults. I can already picture my son re-reading this one day and appreciating it in a totally different way.
The pacing felt right for a children’s book. We read it piecemeal, roughly 10–15% each night, and still got through it fairly quickly because it’s so easy to read. The story moves along without dragging, and it never felt like a struggle to pick back up the next evening. The worldbuilding is solid - not overly dense, but enough to give the journey a sense of place - and the characters really shine. Even the animals feel like distinct personalities, helped by some genuinely funny and memorable names that stick in your head.
Visually, the book is strong too. The art style is unique and appealing, and each character feels visually distinct, which really helps younger readers stay engaged. It all adds to that feeling that this is a fully realised, slightly odd, very imaginative world.
Overall, this was just a really nice family read. Creative, funny in ways I didn’t expect, easy to read, and enjoyable for both kids and adults. It’s the kind of book that works now as a shared reading experience, and later as something a child can come back to on their own and see through a completely new lens.
April 25, 2025
Such an amazing book for anyone and everyone to read. The illustration is amazing and the story is hilarious. I will definitely recommend this book to everyone I know!
April 3, 2025
Truly a great read for any age!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews