Prankster Extraordinaire: Review of Elizabella Meets Her Match by Zoe Norton Lodge Illustrated by Georgia Norton Lodge

At Bilby Creek Primary, ten-year-old Elizabella is known as the school prankster. She may only be small, but she has some very big ideas and her head is constantly full of wild and wonderful schemes. Her plans often end in trouble, but she has a big heart.

However, when Elizabella tries to smooth things over with Acting Principal, Mr Gobblefrump, after making the school sandpit into a juice swimming pool, she writes him a poem that inadvertently sets off a chain of events that even Elizabella couldn’t have foreseen.

When Mr Gobblefrump appears for playground duty one day with a small smile on his face, then lets Elizabella off with a warning after being accused of filling the whiteboard cleaner with tomato sauce, she begins to suspect that there is something very strange afoot.

And that’s not the only problem that Elizabella has to contend with – there’s new girl Minnie who is potentially an evil genius. How is she going to keep up with her and the wildly entertaining pranks she comes up with?

When Elizabella finally finds out what is making Mr Gobblefrump so happy, she decides it is her duty to help him stay that way but is she really doing it for the right reasons? And how is she going to make sure she stays ahead of Minnie, keep her friends and doesn’t lose the adoration of Huck – her best friend or, maybe something more?

Makes you wonder, can Elizabella come out of all of this unscathed?

The author is Australian comedian Zoe Norton who has always wanted to write a children’s book. Apparently, a bit naughty herself, Zoe has expert credentials for crafting Elizabella whose lunatic sense of fun and devilment lights up this impressive debut.

 Elizabella Meets Her Match is the prankster extraordinaire’s first adventure and certainly won’t be her last. Captivated by the young rebel, 8+ readers will be immediately drawn into Elizabella’s world and left wanting more. Alongside all the laughs to be had, there’s some interesting issues around family and friends to ponder.

Purchase a copy of Elizabella Meets Her Match |Read an extract | Read more from Zoë Norton Lodge

Zoë Norton Lodge is a writer, actress and television presenter, known for her work on ABC TV’s The Checkout and the live storytelling night and podcast Story Club, as well as her collected short stories Almost Sincerely. Elizabella Meets Her Match is her debut children’s novel.

By day Georgia Norton Lodge leads her graphic design team at an award-winning interior design and branding agency specialising the hospitality industry. By night she is an illustrator, married to her side project Georgia Draws a House where she delights people with deliveries of their hand-drawn homes. She’s also Zoe’s younger sister – Elizabella Meets Her Match is their second book together.