CHILDREN’S book of the week

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE MELTDOWN by Jeff Kinney, Puffin Books, £12.99 (ebook £5.99)

IN this 13th book in the bestselling Wimpy Kid series,

Greg and his trusty best friend Rowley get up to their usual crazy capers, but this time it turns into a battle for survival as a neighbourhood snowball fight turns feral.

A sudden cold snap shuts down Greg’s school and, snowed in with nothing better to do, the local kids soon see this winter wonderland become a winter battleground.

Rival gangs fight over their territory and friends make and break alliances in an epic fight of modern-day Lord Of The Flies proportions.

Award-winning author Jeff Kinney dishes up his usual dry humour in this hilarious latest instalment, with many a laughout-loud moment thanks to Greg’s bad ideas and loveable middle school neuroses.