The Breakfast Club Adventures: The Ghoul in the School

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MARTA: Little circles for the- for the pupils. We can add a little bit more definition on the top of the eye for, well, a bit of, er, lashes. MARTA: A bit of a half a broccoli, indeed. And then we do the same on the other side, keeping in mind we don't wanna go over the ear too much.

LAURA: Yeah. OK, Alex, another one for you. Do you have any tips for writing setting descriptions? How do you set the scene? This book is really good fun and kind of reminded me of Scooby Do with all the talks of a ghoul. The main theme of this book is around people putting pressure on themselves and others to be perfect and the importance of asking for help. Marcus wants the Breakfast Club Investigators to be the perfect team who can solve all the mysteries put their way. When they struggle to work out what's going on, he starts to worry that the club will end and he'll lose all of his friends. Meanwhile, the school basketball team have suddenly hit a bad run of form and their captain, Gbenga, is feeling the pressure to be the best. Both Marcus and Gbenga recognise that the pressure they're putting on themselves to be successful is taking its toll on them and the things they used to enjoy but they're not sure how to fix it. Thankfully for Marcus, his friends are there to support him and teach him that actually, asking for help is a strength and it can even mean you make new friends. MARTA: It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't even have to join together. Because, again, our eyes change all the time anyway.Dive into an exciting and mysterious adventure full of fun-filled friendships, fantastical creatures and incredible investigations by the #1 bestselling author Marcus Rashford! Alex Falase-Koya is a London native. He has been both reading and writing since he was a teenager; anything at the cross-section of social commentary and genre fiction floats his boat. He was a winner of Spread the Word's 2019 London Writers Awards for YA/children's. He now lives in Walthamstow with his girlfriend and two cats. He is the cowriter of Marcus Rashford's debut children's fiction title The Breakfast Club Adventures. ALEX: Well, um, this is the type of thing where we kind of do-, it's all a real team effort. So we have loads of book designers who, um, look really hard at the text and think about what are the type of things which, um, are words that can catch the audience's eye. Um, and they kind of help, er, put that all together.

When 12-year-old Marcus receives a mysterious invitation to join the Breakfast Club Investigators, little does he know that so many adventures await... and there are strange, curious cases that need solving! As he joins the Breakfast Club Investigators, he also makes new friends: Stacey, Lise and Asim. Together, they will have to use their wit, nerve and all their courage to solve some of the creepiest, weirdest and WILDEST mysteries their town has ever seen! And, you know, I look at that. I- I sort of think, oh, what are the good ones or the not. And usually I may have some of my own ideas, so then we have this dialogue and I suggest, oh, how about this? And then from that we have the proper solid list on to which I– Thank you so much. If you've drawn Marcus Rashford then send it in because we want to have a look. Thank you, Marta and Alex, for joining us in Book Club!MARTA: Little lines underneath, because he's smiling, and when we smile we've got these little lines. And last but not least... LAURA: Of course, the eyebrows. They give expression. Oh, and I see what you've done there. You've done it like Marcus' eyebrow. The second instalment of The Breakfast Club Adventures introduces a new mystery for the investigators as they try to uncover what is causing the school basketball team’s losing streak. The story builds nicely on the first book and provides sufficient recaps to jog your memory (which I appreciated!). MARTA: Exactly. And when you do both sides at the same time it's easy to find your way. Now we're gonna do the bottom...part. This is an easy to read and a well written book. I have seen some criticism recently of celebrities releasing books, however these books definitely have a place. Having the name ‘Marcus Rashford’ on the front cover will encourage many reluctant readers to select the book and the story within doesn’t disappoint. The illustrations and inclusion of regular humour keep the read nice and light. However some subtle mentions of visiting the school library, discussing current reading books amongst friends and a regular reading hour at home are lovely to see included.

LAURA: Hmm. We've got some questions about writing and illustrating books, but all we need is a writer and an illustrator. Ah! Marta! Alex! Perfect! A teacher’s guide with reading National Curriculum links, discussion questions, and follow-up reader-response activity ideas. LAURA: Yeah, that's good. Thank you. And finally, when you're writing, do you ever read the words out loud to see how it sounds? And do you think it's important to use lots of EXPRESSION when reading out LOUD?!MARTA: So, we look at the bottom of the six, again, and a little bit over the nostrils, just to find your way...somewhere here. In response to Marcus's End Child Food Poverty campaign, the British Government committed GBP400 million to support vulnerable children across the UK, supporting 1.7 million children for the next 12 months. The characters are extremely relatable and some of the issues they face will be welcomed by the younger reader - self-doubt, anxieties around friendships and in-school rivalries to name a few. But the main takeaway message is that it is ok to ask for help as we can’t all be good at everything. ALEX: Yeah! laughter Um, I definitely read out loud, especially because sometimes I may make a little mistake or miss out a word, and so it's good to read out loud to catch that. Um, but also when you read out loud you can really s-, um, sense the rhythm of a piece and how- and how it feels when you're reading it. So yeah, that's definitely something to do, maybe even with some EXPRESSION! England International footballer, child-poverty campaigner and now bestselling author Marcus Rashford MBE has come up with the perfect series for children aged 8+ who love a little bit of gentle horror and a little bit of humour in their reads!

OK, Marta, I've got another one for you here. How do you think illustrations add to the experience for the reader? MARTA: That's right. And it's a nice way because when you're using a pen like s- like this one you can't rub it off. So you just draw the line in there. ALEX: Mm-hmm, yeah. The thing that I always think about is, um, for getting my main character, um, to think about what are the things that they want and to um-, and to kind of show them trying to get that. Um, when you have a main character and you have a thing that they want, you immediately have, I think, a little bit of tension, which I think can really add to the mystery, um, and to the suspense of a chapter.As the mystery deepens and they uncover one surprising clue after another, they discover that someone - or something - has cursed the basketball team! Can Marcus and his friends solve the mystery in time? About This Edition ISBN: ALEX: So the first thing I think about is what do I want the setting to do in- as part of the story? Um, how do I want this place to feel? Um, how do I want the audience to feel about it? And then when you can go from there, when you know what you want, um, you-, how you want the place to feel, then you- you go through your senses. Think about your smell, um, the things you can hear, the things you can see. And then just really go through there, and, um, and using that you can really craft a- a setting. In June 2021, Marcus launched The Marcus Rashford Book Club in collaboration with Macmillan Children's Books. With MCB, Marcus chooses and recommends books he thinks children will enjoy, with the aim of encouraging and nurturing an early love of reading. This is a great story about friendship, working together and not being afraid to ask for help when needed. It has themes of learning from your mistakes and trying again. I love that Marcus and his friends all have different personalities and each brings a different skill to the club. The club is a mix of boys and girls and they all work together to solve the mystery, there is no defined leader and everyone's opinion is listened to.