- Illustrated Chapter Books
- Ages 8–11
- Comedy
Worst Week Ever! Monday
Book 1 in Worst Week Ever!View the full series
The riotous, photo-and-cartoon-packed opener to the day-by-day comedy series about Justin Chase, an unlucky kid whose first day at a new school spirals from bad to catastrophic. Frantic, gross and very funny — catnip for reluctant readers who love Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
- Best for8–11
- FormatIllustrated
- Length192 pp
- Read aloud~1 hr15 min
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The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Comedic
- Conversational
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Irreverent
- Absurdist
- Exciting
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Meet Justin Chase, a boy convinced he is having the Worst Week Ever. On Monday his mum drops him at his dad's house on the way to her honeymoon with a new husband Justin is sure is a vampire, his dad drives a giant toilet on wheels and is on a green-food-only health kick, his sweary crocheting Nan has moved in, and his beloved cat has vanished (abducted by aliens, obviously). Then there's the first day at his new school, where a bully makes his life a misery and swimming class ends with Justin dangling off a ten-metre diving tower in nothing but a rapidly unravelling crocheted swimsuit. Told in a manic mash-up of text, cartoons and photographs, this is the launch of the globally bestselling seven-part series — one book for each day of a truly disastrous week. Fast, daft and packed with slapstick and toilet humour, it's built for readers who devour Tom Gates, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the Treehouse books, and it turns even the most reluctant reader into a page-turner.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
Pitched at 8-11s reading independently, with the visual, joke-a-page format making it very friendly for reluctant readers and confident readers as young as seven or eight. It works read aloud but really shines as a book a child devours alone.
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- Best fit · 8–11
- Read aloud · 7–10
- Independent · 8–11
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Works well for
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime
Sensitive-child
3 / 5 · Mostly fine
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Reluctant readers
- Funny disaster comedy
- Toilet humour
- Wimpy kid fans
Avoid if
- Wants gentle bedtime
- Dislikes gross out humour
Particularly good for children who are…
- Reluctant reader
- Starting school
- Being bullied
- New step parent or blended family
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
Justin's Monday is a non-stop pile-up of gross, mortifying catastrophes, from a vampire stepdad to a swimsuit that unravels in front of the whole class. The manic mix of cartoons, photos and short bursts of text makes every page a laugh and a dare to keep going.
- The underdog winning
- Surviving danger
- Breaking the rules safely
Why parents love it
The relentless visual comedy and bite-sized text carry even the most reluctant reader through a whole book, and the day-by-day hook keeps them coming back for the next one. It's harmless slapstick with a likeable underdog hero.
- Shared humour
- Quick to read
In the series
Worst Week Ever!.
7 books · open the series →
About the creators
About the creators.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
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