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Max and the Millions
Max is used to spending time alone - it's difficult to make friends in a big, chaotic school when you're deaf. He prefers to give his attention to the little things in life... like making awesome, detailed replica models.
Then Mr Darrow, the school caretaker and fellow modeller, goes missing. Max must follow his parting instruction: 'Go to my room. You'll know what to do.'
There on the floor he finds a pile of sand ... and in the sand is Mr Darrow's latest creation... a tiny boy, no bigger than a raisin, Luke, Prince of the Blues. And behind the tiny boy... millions of others - a thriving, bustling, sprawling civilization!
Then Mr Darrow, the school caretaker and fellow modeller, goes missing. Max must follow his parting instruction: 'Go to my room. You'll know what to do.'
There on the floor he finds a pile of sand ... and in the sand is Mr Darrow's latest creation... a tiny boy, no bigger than a raisin, Luke, Prince of the Blues. And behind the tiny boy... millions of others - a thriving, bustling, sprawling civilization!
272 pages, Paperback
First published March 13, 2018
14 people are currently reading
228 people want to read
About the author
Ross Montgomery
33 books332 followersRoss Montgomery has worked as a pig farmer, a postman and a primary school teacher, so writing books was the next logical step. He spent his childhood reading everything he could get his hands on, from Jacqueline Wilson to Beano annuals, and it taught him pretty much everything that's worth knowing. If you looked through his pockets you'd find empty crisp packets, lists of things to do, and a bottle of that stuff you put on your nails to stop you biting them. He lives in London with his girlfriend, a cat called Fun Bobby, and a cactus on every available surface.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 1, 2017
This book was just so cute and fun! Reminds of why I love Middle grade ❤
April 11, 2019
This wonderful novel is a great read for 7-9-year olds; also, a great read for developing readers who are able to understand depth behind the principle of the story and what exactly is going on.
Max is a 10-year old loveable characters. Max has a hearing impairment and wears two hearing aids. Because of this, Max finds it very difficult to communicate with his peers. Max does, however, find a friend is the school caretaker- Mr Darrow- who shares Max’s love for miniature model making. Amazingly, after returning early from the summer holidays, Max returns to find Mr Darrow nowhere to be seen but his office overtaken by millions of tiny people.
The tiny people who greet Max are dividing into three groups, each with their own capes. We see plenty of trails and tabulations between these three camps, before Max realises he needed to leave the room, before the headteacher found out and removed the miniatures. Luckily, Max’s roommate Sasha is running a holiday camp, so Sasha and her team of 5-year-olds come along to help outmanoeuvre the headteacher.
As much of the story is about the tiny people and their inability to get along- with multiple threats of violence. Pupils will be able to relate their own experiences of not getting along to this novel.
Additionally, the developing friendship between Max and Sasha, will show pupils that everyone has others will understand their specific nature- in this case, Max’s trouble communicating- and you can overcome difference to make great friendships and help each other. This friendship is a reminder for readers that you shouldn’t make assumptions about people before you really get to know them.
In my opinion, this novel is definitely an adventure novel, best suited for those looking from excitement and elements of humour from their reading.
In practice…
In my opinions, this book would be highly effective as a discussion starter in PSHE, when looking at relationships and differences between each and every pupil.
On the other hand, this book has wonderful exciting, funny and emotive language which would really lend itself to great iotation when reading aloud- perhaps pupils in the class could take turns to read pages.
Additionally, the creative writing ideas this book could spur would be highly inclusive- for example, those pupils excited by the violent threats and tabulations between the three camps could take this element of the story further and story map/ write an alternative section focusing on these miniature groups. The more sensitive of pupils in the class could take on Max’s story for friendship and his difficulties communicating, perhaps how Sasha and his friendship develops in the next academic term.
Finally, this novel would work as an example material to scaffold pupils work: the dual narrative nature of the book would be highly useful to explore with a class. Pupils could write their own dual narratives, deduct more around points of view, and how important characterisation is in developing good narratives.
Max is a 10-year old loveable characters. Max has a hearing impairment and wears two hearing aids. Because of this, Max finds it very difficult to communicate with his peers. Max does, however, find a friend is the school caretaker- Mr Darrow- who shares Max’s love for miniature model making. Amazingly, after returning early from the summer holidays, Max returns to find Mr Darrow nowhere to be seen but his office overtaken by millions of tiny people.
The tiny people who greet Max are dividing into three groups, each with their own capes. We see plenty of trails and tabulations between these three camps, before Max realises he needed to leave the room, before the headteacher found out and removed the miniatures. Luckily, Max’s roommate Sasha is running a holiday camp, so Sasha and her team of 5-year-olds come along to help outmanoeuvre the headteacher.
As much of the story is about the tiny people and their inability to get along- with multiple threats of violence. Pupils will be able to relate their own experiences of not getting along to this novel.
Additionally, the developing friendship between Max and Sasha, will show pupils that everyone has others will understand their specific nature- in this case, Max’s trouble communicating- and you can overcome difference to make great friendships and help each other. This friendship is a reminder for readers that you shouldn’t make assumptions about people before you really get to know them.
In my opinion, this novel is definitely an adventure novel, best suited for those looking from excitement and elements of humour from their reading.
In practice…
In my opinions, this book would be highly effective as a discussion starter in PSHE, when looking at relationships and differences between each and every pupil.
On the other hand, this book has wonderful exciting, funny and emotive language which would really lend itself to great iotation when reading aloud- perhaps pupils in the class could take turns to read pages.
Additionally, the creative writing ideas this book could spur would be highly inclusive- for example, those pupils excited by the violent threats and tabulations between the three camps could take this element of the story further and story map/ write an alternative section focusing on these miniature groups. The more sensitive of pupils in the class could take on Max’s story for friendship and his difficulties communicating, perhaps how Sasha and his friendship develops in the next academic term.
Finally, this novel would work as an example material to scaffold pupils work: the dual narrative nature of the book would be highly useful to explore with a class. Pupils could write their own dual narratives, deduct more around points of view, and how important characterisation is in developing good narratives.
June 28, 2019
There are some wonderful themes running through this book. It's coupled with a light sense of humour and the dialogue, although although a little unremarkable, will put a smile on your face.
That being said, I found it didn't pull me in. There are times when the book tries to be serious for a moment but it moves on too quickly.
The best moments in this book are the moments looking at and exploring the world created by Mr Darrow and its culture and history, but these are short lived in favour of moving on to the next plot point.
I enjoyed the story for what it is, a silly, light hearted children's book; but for a story all about looking at the little things and the importance of detail, I hoped there would be more of just that. Detail.
That being said, I found it didn't pull me in. There are times when the book tries to be serious for a moment but it moves on too quickly.
The best moments in this book are the moments looking at and exploring the world created by Mr Darrow and its culture and history, but these are short lived in favour of moving on to the next plot point.
I enjoyed the story for what it is, a silly, light hearted children's book; but for a story all about looking at the little things and the importance of detail, I hoped there would be more of just that. Detail.
May 13, 2018
A thrilling adventure with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Max and the Millions is a beautiful tale of courage, friendship and doing what is right. A great book to share with children in Upper KS2.
October 7, 2018
When I first picked this book up, I had a very distinct impression of what kind of story it would be: Arthur and the Invisibles meets Matilda in the 21st Century, and I was very happy to find that I wasn't far wrong.
Max is a lonely deaf boy who uses hearing aids and finds it difficult to communicate and make friends with the other boys at his boarding school. His only friend is the useless school caretaker, Mr Darrow, who shares his love of building intricate models.
When Mr Darrow disappears and has still not reappeared at the end of the summer holidays, Max begins to worry. Escaping the Sparkle Unicorn Club for little girls which has been hosted by the school over the summer, Max goes to Mr Darrow's room and discovers a tiny civilisation has come to life and grown all over Mr Darrow's room. But the miniature world is on the brink of war and Max must team up with his roommate Sasha and tiny King Luke to save the miniature world from the school's horrible headmaster.
This book was ridiculous fun! With sugar-crazed five-year-old-girl army, noble steed fleas, carrot thefts, sparkle-unicorn onesies, and a headmaster I would love to have pushed into a dustbin, Max's adventure is all kinds of hilarious. It also does a nice job of outlining some basic deaf awareness skills and some of the difficulties that deaf children face. I especially loved how receptive Sasha was to some of these things and the little nods to how the two boys adapted their communication to ensure both understood each other. I would definitely have preferred Max to have sign language knowledge or have used alternative communication with Sasha (such as writing) rather than him having lip-reading superpowers that enabled him to understand basically everything Sasha said (that's very unrealistic - only about 30% of speech can be lipread, and that's without accents coming into the mix). It's also rather inappropriate to have the hearing kid teaching the d/Deaf kid to sign. Despite this, I enjoyed how Max's hearing aids were an important part of the story and the focus on him making friends and developing confidence in himself and his ability to communicate. Sasha was wonderful, as was his sister and her sparkle-unicorn minions.
The plot was fast-paced, taking place mostly over the space of one day. It's packed full of humour and little nods to pop culture. I loved how Montgomery developed the miniature world and its scaled-down sense of history and cultural dynamics. I unfortunately couldn't get behind the ending. For a book with central themes of friendship and loyalty, Max's decision at the end came across as pretty selfish and unnecessary to me, even if Sasha was shown to be cool with it. It just seemed very hypocritical and against all the themes throughout the book. However, it was still a very enjoyable book. I'm not sure if this will be the start of a series, but I kind of hope it will be.
Max is a lonely deaf boy who uses hearing aids and finds it difficult to communicate and make friends with the other boys at his boarding school. His only friend is the useless school caretaker, Mr Darrow, who shares his love of building intricate models.
When Mr Darrow disappears and has still not reappeared at the end of the summer holidays, Max begins to worry. Escaping the Sparkle Unicorn Club for little girls which has been hosted by the school over the summer, Max goes to Mr Darrow's room and discovers a tiny civilisation has come to life and grown all over Mr Darrow's room. But the miniature world is on the brink of war and Max must team up with his roommate Sasha and tiny King Luke to save the miniature world from the school's horrible headmaster.
This book was ridiculous fun! With sugar-crazed five-year-old-girl army, noble steed fleas, carrot thefts, sparkle-unicorn onesies, and a headmaster I would love to have pushed into a dustbin, Max's adventure is all kinds of hilarious. It also does a nice job of outlining some basic deaf awareness skills and some of the difficulties that deaf children face. I especially loved how receptive Sasha was to some of these things and the little nods to how the two boys adapted their communication to ensure both understood each other. I would definitely have preferred Max to have sign language knowledge or have used alternative communication with Sasha (such as writing) rather than him having lip-reading superpowers that enabled him to understand basically everything Sasha said (that's very unrealistic - only about 30% of speech can be lipread, and that's without accents coming into the mix). It's also rather inappropriate to have the hearing kid teaching the d/Deaf kid to sign. Despite this, I enjoyed how Max's hearing aids were an important part of the story and the focus on him making friends and developing confidence in himself and his ability to communicate. Sasha was wonderful, as was his sister and her sparkle-unicorn minions.
The plot was fast-paced, taking place mostly over the space of one day. It's packed full of humour and little nods to pop culture. I loved how Montgomery developed the miniature world and its scaled-down sense of history and cultural dynamics. I unfortunately couldn't get behind the ending. For a book with central themes of friendship and loyalty, Max's decision at the end came across as pretty selfish and unnecessary to me, even if Sasha was shown to be cool with it. It just seemed very hypocritical and against all the themes throughout the book. However, it was still a very enjoyable book. I'm not sure if this will be the start of a series, but I kind of hope it will be.
June 21, 2022
Read to my class. We really enjoyed Max and the millions, especially all of the funny jokes! It was a great premise and the children loved reading about the millions. Some of it was a little bit hard to follow for my class but overall a good class book to read.
June 30, 2022
Love love love this book! So wonderful and hilariously funny. So many underlying themes especially friendship, such a heart warmer I think many children would enjoy reading or even during book talk!
March 21, 2021
My students wanted me to read this and I am so pleased I did. I loved it - it grabbed me from the first page. I can’t wait to tell them all about it this week.
September 6, 2020
For my final book I thought I would try a book that was more light hearted, and Ross Montgomery’s book delivered.
Max, a hard of hearing boy attends a boarding school where he feels none of the pupils or staff understand him. That is except for the school janitor, who nurtures Max’s talent for model building. As Max returns from the summer holiday, he finds that not only has his friend gone missing, but his staff bedroom is full of thousands of red, blue and green haired people who must be saved from the headmaster and his school renovation plans.
This book shifts between many perspectives; from Max, to Max’s new friend Sasha, to Sasha’s sister, to Ben the King of the Blues. It is handled seemlessly, with different fonts and characterisation throughout which makes this book easy to follow.
Seeing how the ‘floor people’ inhabit the room and survive in it is highly creative, from the models and bins being used as homes and flies being used as war machines. The mythology that is developed in this world, such as the book of the floor, to the janitors clothes being seen like holy temple is also very engaging and adds depth to this world.
At time this books violent language startled me; it’s been a while since I’ve read the line ‘how many blood sacrifices would you like?’. But it never becomes distasteful. I had to remind myself that I am a very different reader from an eight year old. It is always handled with a pinch of humour. It may feel like too much for an overprotective adult reader, but not for a child.
The overarching theme of this book is certainly tolerance and understanding, that it may be natural for people to separate from one another because of our differences, but it is also in our nature to find common ground and come back together. The reds, greens and blues as a metaphor for societal divisions is a simple metaphor, but well executed.
My biggest problem in this book is the ending. Max decides to shrink down and join the small people in their new vegetable paradise. I personally would have preferred it if Max kept his bond with the people, but used his new social skills to realise that he could find a place in the boarding school. However, it is still a charming ending.
Elements that may not be my cup of tea, but still a lot to offer for lower KS2 children as either a distracting story with a smooth introduction to the divisions of society.
Max, a hard of hearing boy attends a boarding school where he feels none of the pupils or staff understand him. That is except for the school janitor, who nurtures Max’s talent for model building. As Max returns from the summer holiday, he finds that not only has his friend gone missing, but his staff bedroom is full of thousands of red, blue and green haired people who must be saved from the headmaster and his school renovation plans.
This book shifts between many perspectives; from Max, to Max’s new friend Sasha, to Sasha’s sister, to Ben the King of the Blues. It is handled seemlessly, with different fonts and characterisation throughout which makes this book easy to follow.
Seeing how the ‘floor people’ inhabit the room and survive in it is highly creative, from the models and bins being used as homes and flies being used as war machines. The mythology that is developed in this world, such as the book of the floor, to the janitors clothes being seen like holy temple is also very engaging and adds depth to this world.
At time this books violent language startled me; it’s been a while since I’ve read the line ‘how many blood sacrifices would you like?’. But it never becomes distasteful. I had to remind myself that I am a very different reader from an eight year old. It is always handled with a pinch of humour. It may feel like too much for an overprotective adult reader, but not for a child.
The overarching theme of this book is certainly tolerance and understanding, that it may be natural for people to separate from one another because of our differences, but it is also in our nature to find common ground and come back together. The reds, greens and blues as a metaphor for societal divisions is a simple metaphor, but well executed.
My biggest problem in this book is the ending. Max decides to shrink down and join the small people in their new vegetable paradise. I personally would have preferred it if Max kept his bond with the people, but used his new social skills to realise that he could find a place in the boarding school. However, it is still a charming ending.
Elements that may not be my cup of tea, but still a lot to offer for lower KS2 children as either a distracting story with a smooth introduction to the divisions of society.
August 15, 2018
'Horton Hears a Who' for an older market - excellent 'tiny world' tale.
Who hasn't wished they had a world of tiny people in their bedroom? I know I used to imagine my toys came to life, that my Duplo characters moved around at night, wished I could talk to the Tooth Fairy - the size difference, the power difference fascinated me.
With some similarities to both The Indian in the Cupboard (morality of wielding power over those smaller than yourself) and Horton Hears a Who (tiny world and believing in the impossible), Montgomery has conjured up a modern-day setting - a pretty posh school - and an 'everyboy' - Max, with his hearing aids and penchant for building tiny models, just wanting to be left alone.
Max's school treats him as somebody apart, he hates being made to stand out, to feel inferior due to his deafness. He has no friends, apart from the school caretaker, with whom he shares a passion for designing and building small models. When Mr Darrow suddenly goes missing, Max checks on his room and finds a tiny boy model... who is alive. And a whole civilisation of other tiny people alongside him...
Excellent premise, totally involving, and much more clever than the above would suggest. The historical documents of the Floor are great satire, the story of the warring factions and their place within Max's world gives a new perspective on his own problems.
This will make children think a lot about the size of things, the interpretations and different viewpoints in a situation. Max's size gives him a new stature to the Floor people, their world is seen as something tiny and insignificant by some full-size characters.
I loved the summer school group (I won't spoil it, but they are hilarious), and the two best-characterised Floor people have a predictable relationship and story arc but it works alongside other fresh features.
The ending, I wasn't sure about, but I did come to terms with Max's decisions and saw his reasoning. It fitted.
Fantastic premise, nice to have a hearing impaired hero, loved the multi-perspective narrative. This would make a really effective children's TV series.
I read this as a librarian but would try it with my 7-year-old in a year or two, I think some of the humour is a little old for him just yet. I would recommend this to ages 9-13.
Who hasn't wished they had a world of tiny people in their bedroom? I know I used to imagine my toys came to life, that my Duplo characters moved around at night, wished I could talk to the Tooth Fairy - the size difference, the power difference fascinated me.
With some similarities to both The Indian in the Cupboard (morality of wielding power over those smaller than yourself) and Horton Hears a Who (tiny world and believing in the impossible), Montgomery has conjured up a modern-day setting - a pretty posh school - and an 'everyboy' - Max, with his hearing aids and penchant for building tiny models, just wanting to be left alone.
Max's school treats him as somebody apart, he hates being made to stand out, to feel inferior due to his deafness. He has no friends, apart from the school caretaker, with whom he shares a passion for designing and building small models. When Mr Darrow suddenly goes missing, Max checks on his room and finds a tiny boy model... who is alive. And a whole civilisation of other tiny people alongside him...
Excellent premise, totally involving, and much more clever than the above would suggest. The historical documents of the Floor are great satire, the story of the warring factions and their place within Max's world gives a new perspective on his own problems.
This will make children think a lot about the size of things, the interpretations and different viewpoints in a situation. Max's size gives him a new stature to the Floor people, their world is seen as something tiny and insignificant by some full-size characters.
I loved the summer school group (I won't spoil it, but they are hilarious), and the two best-characterised Floor people have a predictable relationship and story arc but it works alongside other fresh features.
The ending, I wasn't sure about, but I did come to terms with Max's decisions and saw his reasoning. It fitted.
Fantastic premise, nice to have a hearing impaired hero, loved the multi-perspective narrative. This would make a really effective children's TV series.
I read this as a librarian but would try it with my 7-year-old in a year or two, I think some of the humour is a little old for him just yet. I would recommend this to ages 9-13.
January 15, 2018
Max is a 10-year-old orphan who has to wear two hearing aids. He goes to a boarding school where he has no friends his own age, because he finds communicating with the other boys too difficult. He is good friends, though, with the totally inept janitor, Mr. Darrow, and they share a love of making miniature models. While Mr. Darrow is a sorry janitor, he is a brilliant miniature model maker. Right before the end of the school year, however, he disappears. Max goes to his room and leaves a secret message, before he returns to the home of his elder aunt for the summer.
When he returns from summer vacation, and returns to Mr. Darrow's room to see if he was back or saw his message, he discovers something astounding. There are millions of tiny people living on the floor of Mr. Darrow's room, who are divided into three warring camps--the Blues, the Reds and the Greens. The Reds are led by a no-nonsense Queen, the Greens by a nasty guy, and the Blues by the slacker son of their recently deceased king. Luke, the son, soon realizes, however, that slacking was going to get both him and all his people killed. Max soon realizes he has to get all the tiny people out of Mr. Darrow's room before the vain, foolish headmaster has the room cleaned out.
And on and on the story goes. Max is helped by his roommate Sasha, who didn't go home for summer break, but is still at school running a summer camp for fifty 5-year-old girls. The girls, fueled by candy, also help Max and Sasha in their attempts to outwit the schoolmaster. Much of the story, though, is about the tiny people and their inability to get along. There is lots of violence and threats of violence, although it doesn't seem like anyone actually gets genuinely hurt. There is also the developing friendship between Max and Sasha, as well as Max's attempts to get him to understand the difficulties he has communicating with others. All and all, it is quite an adventure, and I would only recommend it to children who like adventure stories. In addition, those who like witty type humor certainly may appreciate many of the author's attempts to get laughs.
(Note: I received a free ARC of this book from Amazon Vine.)
When he returns from summer vacation, and returns to Mr. Darrow's room to see if he was back or saw his message, he discovers something astounding. There are millions of tiny people living on the floor of Mr. Darrow's room, who are divided into three warring camps--the Blues, the Reds and the Greens. The Reds are led by a no-nonsense Queen, the Greens by a nasty guy, and the Blues by the slacker son of their recently deceased king. Luke, the son, soon realizes, however, that slacking was going to get both him and all his people killed. Max soon realizes he has to get all the tiny people out of Mr. Darrow's room before the vain, foolish headmaster has the room cleaned out.
And on and on the story goes. Max is helped by his roommate Sasha, who didn't go home for summer break, but is still at school running a summer camp for fifty 5-year-old girls. The girls, fueled by candy, also help Max and Sasha in their attempts to outwit the schoolmaster. Much of the story, though, is about the tiny people and their inability to get along. There is lots of violence and threats of violence, although it doesn't seem like anyone actually gets genuinely hurt. There is also the developing friendship between Max and Sasha, as well as Max's attempts to get him to understand the difficulties he has communicating with others. All and all, it is quite an adventure, and I would only recommend it to children who like adventure stories. In addition, those who like witty type humor certainly may appreciate many of the author's attempts to get laughs.
(Note: I received a free ARC of this book from Amazon Vine.)
April 26, 2018
What kid hasn’t pretended there are microscopic people living microscopic lives right under our noses?
In Max and the Millions Ross Montgomery takes readers in to the tiny world of Floor that the Blues, Reds and Greens call home. They are at war for the control of Floor but little do they know there is something much bigger that could mean the end of their civilisation. Demon is coming and he is bringing his vacuum cleaner! There is one person who can save them and his name is Max. Although Max needs hearing aids to hear it is his ability to lip read that helps him to communicate with these microscopic people and help them when they need it the most.
I absolutely loved Max and the Millions! Ross Montgomery had me captivated from the first page. The story cast a spell on me and I couldn’t stop thinking about what might happen next. There is lots of action, both in Max’s world and in the land of Floor, as the story switches between the points of view. There is also a touch of mystery as you are trying to figure out what happened to the School caretaker, Mr Darrow, and where the people of Floor have come from.
I loved the characters, both good and bad. Max is a loveable character who you routing for the whole way. Mr Pitt on the other hand is a character that you love to hate. He is delightfully horrid and is willing to do anything to get what he wants. It is deliciously satisfying what happens to him in the end.
I was sad to say goodbye to Max, Sasha, Luke and Ivy but I can’t wait to push this book in to the hands of young readers at my school. It’s perfect for fans of M.G. Leonard’s Beetle Boy.
In Max and the Millions Ross Montgomery takes readers in to the tiny world of Floor that the Blues, Reds and Greens call home. They are at war for the control of Floor but little do they know there is something much bigger that could mean the end of their civilisation. Demon is coming and he is bringing his vacuum cleaner! There is one person who can save them and his name is Max. Although Max needs hearing aids to hear it is his ability to lip read that helps him to communicate with these microscopic people and help them when they need it the most.
I absolutely loved Max and the Millions! Ross Montgomery had me captivated from the first page. The story cast a spell on me and I couldn’t stop thinking about what might happen next. There is lots of action, both in Max’s world and in the land of Floor, as the story switches between the points of view. There is also a touch of mystery as you are trying to figure out what happened to the School caretaker, Mr Darrow, and where the people of Floor have come from.
I loved the characters, both good and bad. Max is a loveable character who you routing for the whole way. Mr Pitt on the other hand is a character that you love to hate. He is delightfully horrid and is willing to do anything to get what he wants. It is deliciously satisfying what happens to him in the end.
I was sad to say goodbye to Max, Sasha, Luke and Ivy but I can’t wait to push this book in to the hands of young readers at my school. It’s perfect for fans of M.G. Leonard’s Beetle Boy.
July 5, 2018
This book is funny and exciting!
Take The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett, Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, and Gregor the Overlander by Suzann Collins, mix them together, and add a surprising twist.
#1 Wonderful characterization. Even the bad guy, Mr Pitt, is very entertaining.
#2 Hilarious dialogue
#3 Exiting plot with rising stakes
#4 Great writing. Multiple point-of-views are handled so well.
#5 Imaginative story concept, right down to the tiniest detail.
Just read these excerpt lines to get a flavor of this book:
"... you'll never win, Mr Pitt: because you'll never understand that details matter."
"The world is filled with millions of miracles that no one sees."
"Luke made his way miserably to the stables and found his prized flea, Excelsior. She was the finest steeds on the Floor: sleek, polished and intelligent.
Luke had found her when she was just a pupa and raised her himself. She was his best and only friend."
Take The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett, Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, and Gregor the Overlander by Suzann Collins, mix them together, and add a surprising twist.
#1 Wonderful characterization. Even the bad guy, Mr Pitt, is very entertaining.
#2 Hilarious dialogue
#3 Exiting plot with rising stakes
#4 Great writing. Multiple point-of-views are handled so well.
#5 Imaginative story concept, right down to the tiniest detail.
Just read these excerpt lines to get a flavor of this book:
"... you'll never win, Mr Pitt: because you'll never understand that details matter."
"The world is filled with millions of miracles that no one sees."
"Luke made his way miserably to the stables and found his prized flea, Excelsior. She was the finest steeds on the Floor: sleek, polished and intelligent.
Luke had found her when she was just a pupa and raised her himself. She was his best and only friend."
May 14, 2019
Max and Mr. Darrow, the janitor at his boarding school, have a special friendship built on their shared fondness for models. When Mr. Darrow goes missing, Max realizes that something is wrong. Little does he know that Mr. Darrow's experiments in building a miniature kingdom have succeeded, and that he is the catalyst for what is to come. When he returns from his school break, Max realizes that the kingdom is filled with tiny humans, and they are divided into three different warring camps-the Blues, the Reds, and the Greens. Along with his new friend Sasha, Max figures out how to communicate with Luke and save the various kingdoms from each other as well as from the evil headmaster who is trying to get rid of everything associated with Mr. Darrow. The fact that Max wears a hearing aid enables him to hear what's going on, and his own patience and persistence insure that he won't let Mr. Darrow down. I was a bit surprised by the ending, but glad for Max in some respects. Fifth and sixth graders are sure to enjoy this book and get a kick out of the comeuppance of Mr. Pitt, the untrustworthy headmaster who clearly hates children and is only interested in profit and making a name for himself.
November 26, 2018
Max doesn’t enjoy being the only orphan at St Goliath’s Boarding school. That and his hearing aids make him different to his classmates. The only person who he feels at ease with is Mr Darrow, the school caretaker. They both love modelling, but Mr Darrow has taken his a huge step further – he has tiny people in his models, and they are alive!
Mr Darrow has gone missing, and Max follows the instructions he was given if that ever happened. Max is shocked and awed by what he finds in Mr Darrow’s room, but in the caretaker’s abscence, his model people have built their own world, at war with itself.
After all his kindness, Max feels he owes Mr Darrow. Can he save the tiny people from war? Can he find out what happened to Mr Darrow? And most of all, can he keep Mr Pitt, the evil headmaster away from Mr Darrow’s room while he does it?
This story was funny, fantasy and full-on action. Fleas, friendship and a gaggle of five-year olds pumped up on birthday candy make this even funnier. The two worlds are connected by Max and a brave prince just trying to save his people. Great read!
Mr Darrow has gone missing, and Max follows the instructions he was given if that ever happened. Max is shocked and awed by what he finds in Mr Darrow’s room, but in the caretaker’s abscence, his model people have built their own world, at war with itself.
After all his kindness, Max feels he owes Mr Darrow. Can he save the tiny people from war? Can he find out what happened to Mr Darrow? And most of all, can he keep Mr Pitt, the evil headmaster away from Mr Darrow’s room while he does it?
This story was funny, fantasy and full-on action. Fleas, friendship and a gaggle of five-year olds pumped up on birthday candy make this even funnier. The two worlds are connected by Max and a brave prince just trying to save his people. Great read!
June 16, 2018
This is the story of Max, who is deaf and attends a boarding school, as he discovers an incredible miniature civilisation (created by his school caretaker) who are desperately in need of his help (which I think is such a cool concept!). The story is told in a dual narrative, with 3rd person POVs of Max and Luke, who is the prince of the Blue group within the civilisation, and I found seeing both perspectives really interesting. The budding friendship between Max and Sasha was absolutely adorable and drives home the message that you shouldn`t make assumptions about people before you really get to know them. The humour in Luke`s sections provided plenty of chuckle-worthy moments, and I was a big fan of side character Ivy in his sections and Sasha`s sister/ the builders in Max`s. Even more than all this, I loved the fact that Max wore hearing aids. While my hearing loss is less profound than his, a lot of his experiences resonated, and it was amazing to have that as part of the book. 4/5
August 9, 2018
I had a good idea what this book was about as I bought it at an author talk, but it was so much better than I expected. Max is a reserved boy who does not mix well due to being deaf and wearing hearing aids. He has a fascination for making miniature models and forms an unlikely friendship with the school caretaker, who mentors Max in his model making. One day the caretaker vanishes and a whole new world opens up for Max. This book has warmth, friendship and so much humour. The ability to write from the perspective of a flea and create a whole new world in a bedroom works really well and the author does it brilliantly. This is such an enjoyable book and the Sparkle Pony Summer Club that Max and his friend, Sasha, were put in charge of – well, that was just hilarious. I loved it, an absolute joy for both children and grown-ups.
February 11, 2019
Max is a lonely orphan shunted off to boarding school by his great aunt. He’s also deaf which isolates him even more. His only friend is Mr. Darrow, the school janitor. Max and Mr. Darrow share a love of model-making. Mr. Pitt, the evil headmaster would like nothing more than to get rid of Mr. Darrow and when Mr. Darrow disappears, it is up to Max to find him. When Max returns from summer break, he discovers a miniature world come to life in Mr. Darrow’s room. Max and his roommate Sasha must save the tiny people and entertain Sasha’s baby sister and her summer campmates while keeping Mr. Pitt away from Mr. Darrow’s bedroom. A fun -- and funny -- fantasy.
June 20, 2018
This was such an adventurous read and mostly everything happened in a small room and in the vicinity of a boarding school. Thoroughly enjoyed the miniature characters as well. I'm glad Max had a reliable friend in Sasha. I wish Max and Sasha's characters were slightly more developed. I would have been happy to read more about their personal stories before moving on to the miniature adventures.
June 1, 2019
Max is lonely. Sent to a boarding school by his Great-Aunt, he has struggled to make friends due to being deaf. His love of small models leads to an unlikely friendship with the school caretaker, Mr Darrow, who nurtures Max's talent in model-making. But when Mr Darrow goes missing, it is up to Max to save the day.
A delightfully quirky read, with messages of friendship and acceptance.
A delightfully quirky read, with messages of friendship and acceptance.
Read
July 20, 2019Read this book for my interview and really enjoyed it. It enables children to use their imagination and creativity in believing in magical things. It also teaches children about hearing loss and the best way of talking to a deaf children. As well as demonstrating to them that no one should be isolated because of it
February 12, 2018
A great book filled with adventure and laughter! Certainly made me laugh out loud more than once. Brave main characters, an excellent portrayal of disability and a mean head teacher. This is accessible and fun, kids will love it!
June 30, 2019
4.7 stars
February 5, 2020
Loved this. I choose it for book club with year 4’s. Made us all laugh!
May 20, 2023
Deaf reader reviewing books with deaf characters. This book is listed on my ranked list of books with deaf characters.
This book is Horton Hears a Who meets Honey I Shrunk the Kids meets MacGyver. It features a deaf boy named Max, who wears bilateral hearing aids. Overall, it's an excellent representation. My only issue has to do with the hearing aids. Let's get into it.
Max was deafened at age four, and initially mainstreamed at a small school that provided communication support. (Note that elementary schools generally have more support and peer interactions are less complex, so this is highly realistic.) But then Max is sent to a large boarding school with no support.
He is singled out by Mr. Pitt, who interacts with him patronizingly and shows him off to visitors like he's a circus attraction. Mr. Pitt raises his voice and overenunciates at Max, and does things like having a chair set up at the front of assembly with a sign in large red letters, "special seat." Every deaf child knows a well-meaning but clueless adult like Mr. Pitt.
Max has few friends and rarely interacts with his peers at all, because it is too difficult to keep up with the speechreading. He's also not interested in sports activities, so he has even less interaction than many deaf children would have with hearing peers. His peers, all fellow kids, of course don't realize how fatiguing speechreading is, and the emotional and intellectual labor of repeatedly explaining this and asking for repeats is just as exhausting.
He does a friend in his American roommate, Sasha, who tries to use ASL with him before realizing they ought to be using BSL, an entirely different language. But Max doesn't know any signed language at all, which realistic for mainstreamed children.
Max's hearing aids squeal with feedback from loud noises, and the author also references a broadened spatial distribution—i.e., Max notices things most people miss because he’s always paying attention.
All this is to say that we start off with a perfectly realistic representation of a deaf and mainstreamed child. Once the magic comes into play, the deafness remains realistic, but the hearing aids take on magical qualities through the ministrations of Mr. Darrow, who is some kind of technological genius.
Mr. Darrow fixes one of Max’s aids so that he hears better in that ear (including things he’s never heard before) and can pick up radio. Ehhh. While it's certainly possible for modern digital hearing aids to pick up signals via FM loops or Bluetooth, these are already built-in functions. What it seems like Mr. Darrow has done is re-mapped Max's aid so as to increase the amplification of sounds, suggesting that the audiologist whose responsibility it is to do this is entirely incompetent. That, or Mr. Darrow somehow entirely replaced the aid's internal mechanisms with new equipment that aid manufacturers, audiologists, and innovators do not have access to.
Moreover, Mr. Darrow later manufactures a new pair of hearing aids for Max from scratch, ones that perform better than any aids on the market that are created, fitted, and adjusted by professionals. Given how well done the deafness is, the unrealistic savant MacGyvering HAs (reminiscent of Tony Stark’s “magic” HAs for Clint Barton) is disappointing. Like Kate DiCamillo, Montgomery’s use of miracles enables the deaf character to experience an inexplicable ease of communication access.
Without his aids, Max believes that “he would have to rely on lip-reading alone from now on.” This, despite his explicit knowledge that signed languages exist, and the fact he can read and write fluently. He uses gesture and writing multiple times throughout, so he's not clueless or helpless. It's not too difficult to at least come up with a signed system (like a visual Morse code). The melodrama of this statement is, of course, childlike, but again, it becomes a non-issue in that Mr. Darrow is able to create magical hearing aids that practically dissolve all communication barriers.
It's also a strange statement to make in that Max has spent much of this book lipreading incredibly tiny people with no sound input. The majority of successful speechreaders do use residual hearing to supplement their lipreading, and it's clear that Max does as well. But even without this use of residual hearing, Max is able to successfully communicate. So he's been relying on lipreading alone for quite a while, without complaint.
Montgomery had consultants and sensitivity readers, so Max is overall an excellent deaf representation, minus my issue with the hearing aids.
This book is Horton Hears a Who meets Honey I Shrunk the Kids meets MacGyver. It features a deaf boy named Max, who wears bilateral hearing aids. Overall, it's an excellent representation. My only issue has to do with the hearing aids. Let's get into it.
Max was deafened at age four, and initially mainstreamed at a small school that provided communication support. (Note that elementary schools generally have more support and peer interactions are less complex, so this is highly realistic.) But then Max is sent to a large boarding school with no support.
He is singled out by Mr. Pitt, who interacts with him patronizingly and shows him off to visitors like he's a circus attraction. Mr. Pitt raises his voice and overenunciates at Max, and does things like having a chair set up at the front of assembly with a sign in large red letters, "special seat." Every deaf child knows a well-meaning but clueless adult like Mr. Pitt.
Max has few friends and rarely interacts with his peers at all, because it is too difficult to keep up with the speechreading. He's also not interested in sports activities, so he has even less interaction than many deaf children would have with hearing peers. His peers, all fellow kids, of course don't realize how fatiguing speechreading is, and the emotional and intellectual labor of repeatedly explaining this and asking for repeats is just as exhausting.
He does a friend in his American roommate, Sasha, who tries to use ASL with him before realizing they ought to be using BSL, an entirely different language. But Max doesn't know any signed language at all, which realistic for mainstreamed children.
Max's hearing aids squeal with feedback from loud noises, and the author also references a broadened spatial distribution—i.e., Max notices things most people miss because he’s always paying attention.
All this is to say that we start off with a perfectly realistic representation of a deaf and mainstreamed child. Once the magic comes into play, the deafness remains realistic, but the hearing aids take on magical qualities through the ministrations of Mr. Darrow, who is some kind of technological genius.
Mr. Darrow fixes one of Max’s aids so that he hears better in that ear (including things he’s never heard before) and can pick up radio. Ehhh. While it's certainly possible for modern digital hearing aids to pick up signals via FM loops or Bluetooth, these are already built-in functions. What it seems like Mr. Darrow has done is re-mapped Max's aid so as to increase the amplification of sounds, suggesting that the audiologist whose responsibility it is to do this is entirely incompetent. That, or Mr. Darrow somehow entirely replaced the aid's internal mechanisms with new equipment that aid manufacturers, audiologists, and innovators do not have access to.
Moreover, Mr. Darrow later manufactures a new pair of hearing aids for Max from scratch, ones that perform better than any aids on the market that are created, fitted, and adjusted by professionals. Given how well done the deafness is, the unrealistic savant MacGyvering HAs (reminiscent of Tony Stark’s “magic” HAs for Clint Barton) is disappointing. Like Kate DiCamillo, Montgomery’s use of miracles enables the deaf character to experience an inexplicable ease of communication access.
Without his aids, Max believes that “he would have to rely on lip-reading alone from now on.” This, despite his explicit knowledge that signed languages exist, and the fact he can read and write fluently. He uses gesture and writing multiple times throughout, so he's not clueless or helpless. It's not too difficult to at least come up with a signed system (like a visual Morse code). The melodrama of this statement is, of course, childlike, but again, it becomes a non-issue in that Mr. Darrow is able to create magical hearing aids that practically dissolve all communication barriers.
It's also a strange statement to make in that Max has spent much of this book lipreading incredibly tiny people with no sound input. The majority of successful speechreaders do use residual hearing to supplement their lipreading, and it's clear that Max does as well. But even without this use of residual hearing, Max is able to successfully communicate. So he's been relying on lipreading alone for quite a while, without complaint.
Montgomery had consultants and sensitivity readers, so Max is overall an excellent deaf representation, minus my issue with the hearing aids.
November 17, 2018
I won this book for my school in a giveaway by the author. This does not affect my review.
What a sweet, fun story this is. Max is such a great character and the portrayal of his deafness feels very authentic (Montgomery consulted with staff and children from various schools and organisations, as well as his own early experience of hearing impairment). It's a classic boarding school story with a twist - most of the action takes place at the end of the school holidays, and at a microscopic level. There's so much to love - the mystery of Mr Darrow, the caretaker and model-maker's disappearance; the completely over the top evil headmaster; lovely friend Sasha and his tribe of Sparkle Pony little girls; and the huge kingdom of the Floor People with all their wars, politics and ridable fleas! Highly recommended for all of KS2.
What a sweet, fun story this is. Max is such a great character and the portrayal of his deafness feels very authentic (Montgomery consulted with staff and children from various schools and organisations, as well as his own early experience of hearing impairment). It's a classic boarding school story with a twist - most of the action takes place at the end of the school holidays, and at a microscopic level. There's so much to love - the mystery of Mr Darrow, the caretaker and model-maker's disappearance; the completely over the top evil headmaster; lovely friend Sasha and his tribe of Sparkle Pony little girls; and the huge kingdom of the Floor People with all their wars, politics and ridable fleas! Highly recommended for all of KS2.
December 22, 2024
A lovely, galloping caper which any pre-teen would enjoy. Among the high jinks and adventure are thoughts on the importance of taking care of every small part of a project, the beauty to be found in small things, the idea that peace needs all of us working on it, if we are ever to achieve it. A delight.
June 2, 2018
I loved this book. It is quite possibly the most imaginative storyline I have read this year - as in, how on earth did the author come up with that plot and make it all fit together and work? It was fun, imaginative and, at moments, deeply touching, covering themes such as the value of paying attention to detail, seeing things from other perspectives to build shared understanding, finding friendship and comraderie in unlikely places and being courageous enough to follow your heart. Brilliant read. Loved it. Second Ross Montgomery book this year that I have found myself blown away by.
November 11, 2019
It is fantastic!!!! All of you should read it. Max is trying to reunite the floor people. Mr Darrow is creating amazing models like a castle for the blue team but he wants all of them to be a team because they are at war.
August 2, 2025
5/5 stars for this one from me. I think it rlly became one of my favourite books. I just rlly fell in love with it from the start bc of all the creativity and was so excited to see what would happen further at the end. It was worth every second. I love that it had 2 different perspectives from the tiny ppl and the humans. The whole book was just so creative, chaotic and rlly fun to read. I truly loved every bit of this book. Really recommend!!
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