What do you think?
Rate this book
Buttons McGinty #1
The Top Secret Undercover Notes of Buttons McGinty
The shining star of madcap mayhem RHYS DARBY delivers out-of-this-world absurdity with his first hilarious mystery-comedy book for kids! Crack the crazy Morse codes and unleash the action with bogus baddies, a burly bigfoot and McGinty's mission to find his parents, who have been pronounced missing, presumed missing!
192 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2018
10 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Rhys Darby
7 books28 followersRhys Darby is a New Zealand author, actor and comedian. In 2018 he released his first kid's book Top Secret Undercover Notes of Buttons Mcginty and then in 2019 he released The Top Secret Interdimensional Notes of Buttons McGinty: Book 2.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 18, 2019
Rhys Darby always makes me laugh. His first kids book was just as weird and funny as I expected it to be.
December 11, 2022
*reads this book like it's a Rorschach test* Show me what's in your brain, Rhysie.
(It's exactly what you would expect: Morse code, cryptids, creaky doors, portals to alternate dimensions -- even a kraken!)
(It's exactly what you would expect: Morse code, cryptids, creaky doors, portals to alternate dimensions -- even a kraken!)
August 13, 2022
I am a bit cognitively challenged by print media that combine text and image (comic books, for example). This children's book does just that: faux-handlettered font with arrows pointing back and forth, sentences meandering up the side, interspersed doodle illustrations, maps and diagrams, boxed-in words -- and all of this madcap page design echoed in the madcap and narratively meandering story of adventure, intrigue and evil schemings.
The format is 'journal' (think Diary of a Wimpy Kid). The tone is irreverent and breezy. I think I might have liked this a lot as a child, and I would have immediately copied it for my own purposes. The only thing: I am not 100% the addressed reader. The first-person journalling main character is a boy, his bestie is a boy, his school dorm mates are boys, his nemesis is a boy, the evil overlord and his henchmen are boys, the captain of a ship is a boy-- do you see a pattern here? There is one girl whose name the MC keeps getting wrong and who is feisty with a knife and awesome in a fight (so she is in fact an Honorable Boy). I was surrounded by stories like this as a child: adventures with boys and One Honorable Boy-Girl whom latter I of course wanted to be. Boys, let me be one of you, please! Today's me says: Authors, let there be more diverse people!
There is one other main female character: she is the dinner lady. @-@
Full disclosure: I am not in my entirely right mind, having purchased this in the wake of Our Flag Means Death, and my brain may have been addled during Reading and/or Reviewing. Long may it roam! (my brain)
PS It is written and illustrated by Rhys Darby. It has cryptids in.
The format is 'journal' (think Diary of a Wimpy Kid). The tone is irreverent and breezy. I think I might have liked this a lot as a child, and I would have immediately copied it for my own purposes. The only thing: I am not 100% the addressed reader. The first-person journalling main character is a boy, his bestie is a boy, his school dorm mates are boys, his nemesis is a boy, the evil overlord and his henchmen are boys, the captain of a ship is a boy-- do you see a pattern here? There is one girl whose name the MC keeps getting wrong and who is feisty with a knife and awesome in a fight (so she is in fact an Honorable Boy). I was surrounded by stories like this as a child: adventures with boys and One Honorable Boy-Girl whom latter I of course wanted to be. Boys, let me be one of you, please! Today's me says: Authors, let there be more diverse people!
There is one other main female character: she is the dinner lady. @-@
Full disclosure: I am not in my entirely right mind, having purchased this in the wake of Our Flag Means Death, and my brain may have been addled during Reading and/or Reviewing. Long may it roam! (my brain)
PS It is written and illustrated by Rhys Darby. It has cryptids in.
November 5, 2018
Rhys Darby's first foray into writing for young children (7-12?) will find a ready readership and Book 2 is a certainty, partly because Buttons McGinty's search is not yet over, but also because the style of writing will definitely attract.
Written and illustrated in the notebook style of 12 year old Buttons McGinty with speech bubbles to denote words spoken or lists of people and their contributions to dormitory conversations, this will appeal to those who enjoy the informality of comic books - and those who love a bit of humour!
In Book 1 Buttons McGinty travels to an isolated island for his schooling, makes friends, learns the routines and quickly becomes involved in some rather strange events. The reader follows these madcap adventures with a smile – just what is Buttons McGinty going to get up to next? And what's this about DNA manipulation?
The language provides further humour, from Buttons McGinty giving Lilly a different name each time he speaks to her to the mis-use of 'big' words and word play. There are moving bookcases, rats who can open large steel doors, secret agendas and a secret agent who ends up changing allegiances seemingly willy-nilly:
I had been double-crossed by a triple crosser.
That made me even CROSSER.
Yes, Buttons McGinty has made some very good friends in the short time he has been at Ranktwerp Island Education Fortress, but he has also learnt not to trust everyone. His stay there is most puzzling. Is it really a school, or a cover for something sinister?
Reviewed by Chris Wright (Bookrapt).
Written and illustrated in the notebook style of 12 year old Buttons McGinty with speech bubbles to denote words spoken or lists of people and their contributions to dormitory conversations, this will appeal to those who enjoy the informality of comic books - and those who love a bit of humour!
In Book 1 Buttons McGinty travels to an isolated island for his schooling, makes friends, learns the routines and quickly becomes involved in some rather strange events. The reader follows these madcap adventures with a smile – just what is Buttons McGinty going to get up to next? And what's this about DNA manipulation?
The language provides further humour, from Buttons McGinty giving Lilly a different name each time he speaks to her to the mis-use of 'big' words and word play. There are moving bookcases, rats who can open large steel doors, secret agendas and a secret agent who ends up changing allegiances seemingly willy-nilly:
I had been double-crossed by a triple crosser.
That made me even CROSSER.
Yes, Buttons McGinty has made some very good friends in the short time he has been at Ranktwerp Island Education Fortress, but he has also learnt not to trust everyone. His stay there is most puzzling. Is it really a school, or a cover for something sinister?
Reviewed by Chris Wright (Bookrapt).
January 5, 2019
Buttons McGinty’s parents have gone missing! His nana is too old to look after him, so after saying goodbye he is shipped off to a boarding school (called Riefglum) on a remote island. All too soon, Buttons notices weird goings on in the ship and then again at Riefglum.
When he tries to investigate he says he’s been caught on CCTV. But there isn’t any CCTV. Weird. Is there a spy among them? What are the giant cages he saw, for and why does the lunch lady keep giving him secret signs?
With the help of his new friends Silky, Traktor, Lilly Beth, Ahu and Dave, Buttons is determined to solve what’s behind the mysterious goings-on at Riefglum. And maybe, just maybe, find some clues to his parent’s disappearance.
The first in a new series by kiwi comedian Rhys Darby, this story is written in notebook form, sprinkled generously with funny diagrams, maps, lists and drawings. Buttons McGinty will be perfect for those readers ready to step up from Tom Gates, Wimpy Kid, Shouty Kid or Big Nate, but not quite ready for full text chapter books. It’s a quirky, funny read and leads brilliantly to the next part in Button’s quest to find his parents.
When he tries to investigate he says he’s been caught on CCTV. But there isn’t any CCTV. Weird. Is there a spy among them? What are the giant cages he saw, for and why does the lunch lady keep giving him secret signs?
With the help of his new friends Silky, Traktor, Lilly Beth, Ahu and Dave, Buttons is determined to solve what’s behind the mysterious goings-on at Riefglum. And maybe, just maybe, find some clues to his parent’s disappearance.
The first in a new series by kiwi comedian Rhys Darby, this story is written in notebook form, sprinkled generously with funny diagrams, maps, lists and drawings. Buttons McGinty will be perfect for those readers ready to step up from Tom Gates, Wimpy Kid, Shouty Kid or Big Nate, but not quite ready for full text chapter books. It’s a quirky, funny read and leads brilliantly to the next part in Button’s quest to find his parents.
January 24, 2019
This book is whack and the ending jumped a shark. Great fun to read aloud to kids.
August 26, 2024
It was okay. I probably would have loved it if I'd read it when I was nine.
It's a bit in the vein of books like "The Mysterious Benedict Society", "The Name of This Book is Secret" and "Chasing Vermeer", with strange schools and secret societies and codes and fantastical elements... but more simplistic, juvenile, and not as funny. I hate to say it. I love Rhys Darby and I love the Cryptid Factor podcast. But this book is just okay. Probably not going to read the sequels. If only I were still nine... or hadn't read similar, better books.
It's a bit in the vein of books like "The Mysterious Benedict Society", "The Name of This Book is Secret" and "Chasing Vermeer", with strange schools and secret societies and codes and fantastical elements... but more simplistic, juvenile, and not as funny. I hate to say it. I love Rhys Darby and I love the Cryptid Factor podcast. But this book is just okay. Probably not going to read the sequels. If only I were still nine... or hadn't read similar, better books.
November 22, 2018
I enjoyed this a lot more than I had thought I would, even the humour, and I am sure children to the age of 12 will too.
Lots of different fonts and spacing of text with an amateurish style of sketching which suits the narration.
Can't forgive the huge cliff hanger ending though - maybe wait till book 2 comes out and present them to children together.
Lots of different fonts and spacing of text with an amateurish style of sketching which suits the narration.
Can't forgive the huge cliff hanger ending though - maybe wait till book 2 comes out and present them to children together.
January 27, 2019
This was hilarious! Much funnier than I had anticipated. Picked it up out of curiosity more than anything. Morse code, craziness, maps & diagrams, and kid stuff!
My 7yo and I read it together and it was heaps of fun. Mind you, every time I read it I had the voice of Rhys Darby in my head. He should do an audio book version. Would also make a great animation. Looking forward to the next one.
My 7yo and I read it together and it was heaps of fun. Mind you, every time I read it I had the voice of Rhys Darby in my head. He should do an audio book version. Would also make a great animation. Looking forward to the next one.
January 9, 2019
Starts off strong and very funny, probably mostly because I love Rhys Darby, but 2/3rds of the way through it just goes weird and stupid. Was going to give it to a friend for a bookclub read and now am using it as a leveller under the foot of my exercise bike.
November 10, 2018
One for the kids who enjoy madcap mayhem with humour thrown into a mystery.
January 3, 2019
I will attach a link to my review when it is available on Reading Time.
May 13, 2019
A fun light read, told in journal form. Very quick to read only took me two nights. Good for kids who enjoy lots of illustrations with their text.
December 20, 2019
Read this with the kids and they enjoyed it because it was funny.
December 30, 2019
It’s a good combination of comedy and adventure that I enjoyed thoroughly. The author was very creative in making up interdimensional monsters that add mystery.
May 2, 2022
I bought this for my Godson (4) and he absolutely loved it. So did his Mum & me.
May 29, 2022
I am just eternally a sucker for a kids’ book written by a musician or actor I am already a fan of. This was super fun.
August 14, 2022
Rhys Darby wrote a book for kids? Of course I’ll read it - I’ll read anything and everything this man writes. This was a fun read - looking forward to books two and three in the series.
Read
May 19, 2025good
September 12, 2023
I absolutely adored this weird little book, but I'm also completely biased because Rhys Darby is my comfort person and everything he does brings me joy. I'm amazed at how much was jammed into this book, from the doodles to the Morse code (which I painstakingly translated every time it showed up, which is basically every other page).
Buttons had me cackling. He's a good kid but also a bit of a self-centered jerk. Some of his observations were hilarious and had me guffawing as I read. I'm excited to follow him on the next leg of his adventures, although getting ahold of book #2 in America involved a lot of jumping through hoops (and book #3 just doesn't seem to exist).
Buttons had me cackling. He's a good kid but also a bit of a self-centered jerk. Some of his observations were hilarious and had me guffawing as I read. I'm excited to follow him on the next leg of his adventures, although getting ahold of book #2 in America involved a lot of jumping through hoops (and book #3 just doesn't seem to exist).
August 14, 2019
This book made me think about adventuring. when Buttons McGinty says "my parents gave me this notebook so... I could make a record of my own adventure. as fate would have it, it is that time"
The writer is teaching us about adventuring because it is something in life that really spices things up. It is a journey that is all about fun,discovery and a little bit of risk and danger, all important things in life that the author is teaching us to embrace.
In my opinion, adventuring is a great thing. it provides hours of entertainment, whether its in a movie, TV show or real life. its not just about finding what your looking for but also self discovery along the way.
The writer is teaching us about adventuring because it is something in life that really spices things up. It is a journey that is all about fun,discovery and a little bit of risk and danger, all important things in life that the author is teaching us to embrace.
In my opinion, adventuring is a great thing. it provides hours of entertainment, whether its in a movie, TV show or real life. its not just about finding what your looking for but also self discovery along the way.
March 13, 2019
This book made me think about buttons Mcginty when he went on the boat wwhen he meet silky.
The writer is teaching us about boats because he likes dem
In my opinion, its okay i would recomend
The writer is teaching us about boats because he likes dem
In my opinion, its okay i would recomend
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews