Max Counts to a Million by Jeremy Williams

Do you like epic quests of amazing counting?

Do you dislike global pandemics, being stuck at home, and the number 7?

Then I have a story for you. It’s about how I counted to a million during lockdown – with help from Mum and Dad, friends and neighbours, and Grandad. And some birds. And a bucket of marbles. And an awesome TV reporter.

Sometimes, just keeping on going makes you a hero.

Eight-year-old Max is counting to a million. Normally, school or having anything interesting to do would get in the way, but school is shut and everyone has to stay home because the UK is in its first lockdown. Max’s dad works at the hospital and counting helps Max with missing him, but as the pandemic progresses and Max’s grandad journeys through his own battle with the virus, what starts as a distraction turns into record-breaking effort that brings Max’s community together.

Suitable for readers aged 7 up, this poignant, uplifting story reflects the experiences shared by so many during the Covid pandemic and celebrates how ordinary people accomplish epic things

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There's a lot of controversy in the world of literature in general, and children's books in particular, about the Corona pandemic. Should it be addressed or should it be skimmed over? If it's addressed, how thoroughly? Do kids really need to read about it after living through it, or will it just upset them? My opinion - as valid or not valid as anyone else's - is yes, we should be talking about it, for two reasons in particular; one, children can process their own experiences through reading someone else's; and two, these novels will form part of the historical record in years to come. This experience, horrific as it was in some places, deserves and needs to be recorded for the future. And Max Counts to a Million is an important part of that.

There, now the heavy stuff is out of the way...

Max is a really funny, very touching read. Max is very relatable in the ways he experiences and contextualises things - his visual of the virus is perfect and very funny. I cried a couple of times while reading as Max went through highs and lows - I don't want to spoil anything, but there's a couple of really sad moments to balance out the fun of the rest of it!

(Also, the World Record people nitpicking at him feels really authentic for no reason I can really put my finger on...)

This is a fantastic read that I highly recommend; it's going to be really useful to help kids, and it's also just a really good read.