Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
The New Kid at School
Kate McMullan · 1999
75/100
👍 Worth It
Wiglaf defeating a dragon with terrible jokes is the kind of inspired, nonviolent resolution that genuinely delights kids who've been told fantasy has to be violent. The humor — pig latin, medieval absurdity, Monty Python-adjacent chaos — does most of the heavy lifting where plot is thin, and that's perfectly fine for the reluctant reader this series was built for. A smart gateway book for kids who think they don't like reading.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
Faith & family safety97
Substance / usefulness62
Craft & writing74
Originality78
Evidence & accuracy82
Hype vs delivers80
Age-fit90
👁 Human-eye gut-check76
Penny’s verdict75
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