Jack Slater and the Whisper of Doom

Men in Black meets Ghostbusters in this hilarious tale for young readers.

A rollicking adventure that'll keep the interest of any confident reader. There's plot by the bucketload, an interesting world to investigate, scary monsters, a snivelling rival, quirky humour, lessons to be learned, and everyone's home again in time for breakfast

John Dougherty was born in Larne, Northern Ireland. In early secondary school, with a group of friends, he took to writing and illustrating comics - mostly about insects, since they were easier to draw than people - and from there, began writing other pieces of silliness. John had various jobs before becoming a full-time writer. These include voluntary work for Barnado's, a stint as a YMCA worker in Norwich, a summer camp rep, a machine operator in a tape factory in London and he was also a primary school teacher. John now lives in Stroud, Gloucester, with his wife and two children, where he spends his time writing, reading, putting on fantastic author events in schools, running for the local Athletics Club and playing his guitar. 
www.visitingauthor.com

Jack Slater is an official Monster Investigator - licensed to hunt out monsters who turn up under beds and terrorize small children. Brave Jack has never met a monster that could scare him... until now. The Dark Depths - home to the most terrifying of all monsters - have been opened, and Jack and his feisty friend Cherry must enter them and face the danger within. Armed only with their wits, a torch and a teddy bear...

Zeus to the Rescue!

Another hilarious adventure with the unpredictable and uncontrollable Zeus!

This is a well-balanced blend of school story - complete with knockabout humour - and some valuable information about classical myths and legends

Zany story with lots of information on Ancient Greece

An instantly involving, constantly hilarious tale

This book with its eye catching metallic book cover and intriguing title just begs to be read . . . There is so much to keep young readers entertained in this book. There's magic, a clever, fast moving plot, a school setting which children can easily identify with and interesting characters. . . . Greek Mythology is a central theme and it is a masterstroke to introduce young readers to it in a very unusual way

It's as crazy as it sounds. Suspend belief and enjoy

JOHN DOUGHERTY lives in Gloucestershire. A supply teacher with plenty of experience of classroom activities in primary education, he is also a singer-songwriter with one CD already available - and has appeared on TV when his living room was designed in a Gothic style by Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen. In 2004, he also ran the London Marathon to raise funds for a charity to help children in care. 
 
Zeus on the Loose was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award in 2004 and Jack Slater, Monster Investigator was shortlisted for the Ottaker's Children's Book Prize in 2005

Zeus is back! 
 
This time Alex and his friend Charlie have summoned Zeus down from Mount Olympus on purpose because there's a problem that they're hoping he will be able to help with. There' s a new girl in the class called Diana and ever since she turned up, things have just got weirder and weirder. All the girls follow her around like sheep and do whatever she says and their teacher Miss Wise is letting Diana and the girls get away with outrageous behaviour. 
 
Zeus doesn't seem very willing to help but then Alex and Charlie discover that Diana is actually Zeus's daughter, the goddess Artemis! It's bad enough having two gods running around on Earth but things start getting really bad when Artemis bets Zeus that he can't get Miss Wise to give him a kiss of her own free will because she's one of Artemis's followers now. If Zeus fails then Artemis is going to turn his High Priest, Alex, into a pig . . .!

Jack Slater, Monster Investigator

Men in Black meet the Ghostbusters meet monsters under the bed in this hilarious tale for young readers

The inventive illustrations, clever jokes and intriguing charaters, make this a thrilling adventure that strong readers will enjoy

Plays to every youngster's fantasy of tipping child-parent relations on their head . . . This story is perfect for children still afraid of the dark, turning fear into laughter

Jack is an engaging hero and his various scrapes and adventures are scary enough to be read by torchlight beneath the covers . . . An engaging first book in what could be a long series

JOHN DOUGHERTY lives in London. A supply teacher with plenty of experience of classroom activities in primary education, he is also a singer-songwriter with one CD already available - and has appeared on TV when his living room was designed in a Gothic style by Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen. In 2004, he also ran the London Marathon to raise funds for a charity to help children in care. This is his third book for the Young Corgi list. His first, ZEUS ON THE LOOSE, was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award and JACK SLATER was shortlisted for the Ottaker's Children's Book Award, pre-publication.

Jack Slater is an official Monster Investigator - licensed to hunt out monsters who turn up under beds and terrorize small children (and his parents!). Armed with a high-power torch (monsters hate the light), a pocketful of spare batteries and a much-loved teddy (there is nothing monsters hate more than a favourite childhood toy), he sets off down to Monster Underworld when news reaches his ears that the monsters are on the march. They're getting organized and no-one, not even the Prime Minister in Downing Street, is safe any more...

Niteracy Hour

Literacy Hour becomes Niteracy Hour in this hilarious tale of a head-louse who joins in the classroom action

Witty repartee and extraordinary adventures . . . Dougherty has created an appealing combination of imagination, gross-out factor, classroom drama and humour. The illustrations are a perfect accompaniment of simplicity and silliness. Young confident readers will be delighted by this very "lousy" adventure and eager for a future sequel

This book is unique . . . Its appealing layout, large text and its simple yet effective black and white illustrations work very well. It's a great example of the quirky humour that younger readers enjoy

A delightfully offbeat view of school life

Parents my squirm at the subject matter but there's no denying that this is a hilarious story

JOHN DOUGHERTY lives in Gloucestershire. A supply teacher with plenty of experience of classroom activities in primary education, he is also a singer-songwriter with one CD already available - and has appeared on TV when his living room was designed in a Gothic style by Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen. In 2004, he also ran the London Marathon to raise funds for a charity to help children in care.

WHAT A LOUSE! Jim is a head-louse, newly-hatched from a nit on Gregory's head. But as Gregory is a good listener and it's 'in his blood', Jim's breakfast turns him into a good listener too and suddenly school storytime changes from Literacy Hour to Niteracy Hour. And can Jim help Gregory do something about Duncan, the class bully? He's the real louse in the class-

Zeus On The Loose

A hilarious tale for young readers about a Greek god who comes to life.

I am the great and mighty Zeus, mortal- give me one good reason why I shouldn't smite you here and now!'Alex's class are learning about the Ancient Greeks. That's why Alex makes a temple (out of loo rolls and a cornflakes box) for the Greek god Zeus. He doesn't expect the god himself to turn up, borrow his mum's nightie and demand a sacrifice at half-past five in the morning. Even worse, Zeus reckons it's time for another Trojan War - in the school playground! Zeus is on the loose-

John Dougherty

By thunder, I love the Zeus books! They're very, very funny

In his latest book, Zeus Sorts it Out, John summons the unpredictable and uncontrollable Greek God for another fast and funny adventure

About two boys who inadvertently summon Zeus to the school toilets when bullied. A blast for 7+

Here's a hilarious tale about children, Greek gods, the labours of Heracles and much more. Laugh your way through the story- and don't worry, Zeus will sort it out

Eric, the school bully, is causing trouble for Alex's best friend Charlie. He's been stealing his crisps and flushing his head down the loo. Alex isn't sure that Zeus, the Greek god, is the best person to ask for help but before he can stop him, Charlie has built a temple (from a piece of crumpled paper) to summon Zeus. 
 
The problem is, the hot-headed god has now taken over the boys' loos and wants to smite Eric with a thunderbolt. But that's against the school rules, so how exactly will Zeus teach the bully a lesson? 
 
Don't worry...Zeus will sort it out! 
 
Another hilarious story from the author of ZEUS ON THE LOOSE and ZEUS TO THE RESCUE.

Zeus Sorts it Out

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Best-Jane-Austen-quotes_Online-Desktop_Penguin

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

sectionTitle

isEnabled

anchor

anchorLabel

prhuk/featured-book

prhuk/praise-section

maxBooks

showViewMore

prhuk/books-section

hideAuthorAlert

formName

iterableDivision

iterableBrand

buttonText

description

heading

legalText

successHeading

successText

image

alignment

variation

prhuk/email-section

prhuk/series-section

prhuk/biography-section

prhuk/articles-section

prhuk-authors

The perfect gift? A Penguin Shop gift card

John Dougherty

Praise for Zeus Sorts it Out

By thunder, I love the Zeus books! They're very, very funny

In his latest book, Zeus Sorts it Out, John summons the unpredictable and uncontrollable Greek God for another fast and funny adventure

About two boys who inadvertently summon Zeus to the school toilets when bullied. A blast for 7+

By thunder, I love the Zeus books! They're very, very funny

In his latest book, Zeus Sorts it Out, John summons the unpredictable and uncontrollable Greek God for another fast and funny adventure

About two boys who inadvertently summon Zeus to the school toilets when bullied. A blast for 7+

By thunder, I love the Zeus books! They're very, very funny

In his latest book, Zeus Sorts it Out, John summons the unpredictable and uncontrollable Greek God for another fast and funny adventure

About two boys who inadvertently summon Zeus to the school toilets when bullied. A blast for 7+

Books by John Dougherty

Series by John Dougherty

Jack Slater2 Books

Zeus3 Books

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter