Today we are pleased to welcome to our blog the author and illustrator Sophy Henn, whose new book ,Pizazz vs Everyone is out this month.

Pizazz vs Everyone is the fifth book in the Pizazz series, which is hilariously narrated by reluctant superhero Pizazz and brims with Sophy Henn’s distinctive illustrations and comic-style strips. Loveable Pizazz, a 9¾-year-old reluctant superhero, is back, and now she’s facing her biggest challenge yet . . . everyone (and everything)! Will it all prove too much? Will Pizazz manage to keep using her powers for good? Or will this push her over the edge to the dark side?

The stories are a great choice for newly independent readers aged 6-9, with themes of self-acceptance, standing up for what’s right and navigating school and family life when you feel a little bit different. The high image-to-text ratio, comic-style panels and quirky-but-relatable characters have made this series an enjoyable hit in Lower KS2 classrooms. The series makes a perfect stepping stone that sits at the reading level between the style of the Isadora Moon and Kitty early reader phase and the fun, illustrated diary-style series popular in KS2 like Tom Gates and Dork Diaries.

Pizazz vs Everyone is available to purchase online from Amazon or BookShop.Org.

Author Sophy Henn stopped by our blog this week to reflect more on what makes Pizazz so unique and what she hopes readers will take away from the series …

Guest Post: Sophy Henn

What do I want my readers to take away from Pizazz?

As with pretty much all of my books, I really, really hope the Pizazz books reassure and empower the reader.

I think that comes from having my daughter in mind when I write. Authors and illustrators come from so many different and amazing places when they write and draw but 99% of the time that is where I am coming from. I wanted Pizazz to be a character who was in flux, working out who she is…battling with who she thinks she should be, who others think she should be and who she really wants to be.

I think these are things we all battle with, no matter how old you are, but at this age it’s all new and pretty confusing. And by making Pizazz a superhero her differences are obvious, making her stand out all the more. Being different is something I think she is both happy and unhappy about depending on her mood/confidence.

It’s true Pizazz wishes that sometimes she could just be normal and fit in, which I don’t think is uncommon even if you aren’t a superhero. But over the series, we see her start to accept herself a lot more and even start to enjoy her differences. Pizazz gets stuff wrong but ultimately, she steps up and then tries again.

I want the readers to find a friend in Pizazz, someone who is a bit different, but is learning to embrace that, realising this is what makes her, her! She is far from perfect (something I think is expected of young girls more and more) but she is trying her best, well most of the time! I want readers to identify with Pizazz’s pickles but also with her triumphs. Working it all out together, particularly how to be super, but in their own unique way.

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Pizazz Vs Everyone is available to purchase online from Amazon or from Bookshop.org.

For more about the book, check out the other stops on the blog tour.

The book works as a standalone story, but if you want to start at the very beginning of Pizazz’s adventures, the first book of the series is available here.

Where next?
> Visit our Reading for Pleasure Hub

> Browse our Topic Booklists

> View our printable year group booklists.

> See our Books of the Month.