The surest sign you’ve found a keeper is the company of its cheerleaders—and this one keeps illustrious company. MUMAGEDDON! And the Food Magician has been singled out across stages, clinics, and review desks: Readers’ Favorite awards it the 5-Star Seal, with critic Miche Arendse calling it “Brilliantly crafted, a mischievous masterpiece… an absolute joy to read!” Suede frontman and author Brett Anderson vouches that “Parents will enjoy it as much as their kids.” Paul Moss, co-founder of The HandleBards, hails it as “A hilarious slapstick joyride!” Child psychologist Anneke Reijmerink adds that it’s “an absolute gift for children’s emotional and social development.” Factor in multiple international book awards, a 4.9/5 Amazon score from 100+ reviews, and one delighted reader’s shout—“as good as Roald Dahl’s poems!!!”—and the endorsements practically demand a read.
What earns the applause is on the page. Published by Books Beautiful and crafted entirely in nimble, laugh-out-loud verse, Sonya Anise’s debut doubles as a showcase of her talents: she writes with musical snap and illustrates with mischievous verve, delivering a seamless rhythm between word and image for readers 8+. The tale follows a chocolate-obsessed boy with a gift for food magic who crosses a merciless stepmother, is exiled from the kitchen, and dispatched to a beastly boarding school. Armed with wit and a whisk, he cooks up fantastical reprisals that turn discipline into pandemonium and revenge into rhyme. It’s gleefully cheeky—just icky enough to delight children—yet tender at its core, inviting conversations about resilience, empathy, blended families, self-belief, and the courage it takes to compromise and forgive. Fans of Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake, and David Walliams will feel at home, but Anise’s voice is unmistakably her own.
The author’s path deepens the pleasure. An award-winning author-illustrator, fine artist, and product designer, Anise is a Central Saint Martins graduate whose career spans art direction, eco-luxury entrepreneurship, and gallery ownership. Born in Dublin and seasoned by life in England, Ireland, Spain, Australia, Costa Rica, and Mexico, she now creates from the Balearic Islands. MUMAGEDDON! began as a private manuscript she wrote years ago and kept under wraps for a quarter-century. “I hope it inspires readers to listen to their inner whisperings and follow their dreams,” she says. That long, quiet ferment shows in the polish: the book feels both exuberant and assured.
Verdict: enthusiastically recommended. When a critic, a rock poet, a theatre-maker, a psychologist, and hundreds of families all point to the same book, believe them. Seek out the images, watch the book trailer, and make space on the read-aloud shelf. MUMAGEDDON! And the Food Magician is a buoyant, big-hearted romp—and Sonya Anise is a talent you’ll want to follow as the next installment in the series comes to a boil.