Because science isn’t my subject I went to great lengths to find people who could help me get the facts right! Professor Andrea Sella, who works at University College London, told me about the Island of Stability and it was Professor Paddy Regan, a Nuclear Physicist who works at the University of Surrey, who told me to create Element 126 instead of using an existing element. I wanted to make sure that if the currency of the book was science then it was accurate. I had an idea! I didn’t grow up wanting to write but as soon as I was writing the story for my son and found out about Element Hunters I was hooked. Now that I’ve written three books I have a better idea of the process and challenges which makes for a different kind of interview on the Radio 2 Book Club. But you are not alone. By your side is Drissa and Alethi, the two-headed Raakmiri rogue. The axe-wielding Uplander, Otarr. And of course, your army of skeletons. I don’t know a kid on the planet that doesn’t love Mo Willems and his hilarious early reader books featuring Elephant and Piggie. So when The Itchy Book by LeUyen Pham showed up in the mailbox, my two older girls went crazy for it. It took them all of four seconds to rip open the envelope and snuggle up with their two-year-old sister to read it.

You've been betrayed! The magic wielding Aldor that rescued you from the hands of the shadowfell is dead. Your home town burns, and your only remaining childhood friend is held captive by those monsters, on the way to Targoth, south of the Burning Swamp. Itch is indeed a hero, but we are constantly aware of the high emotional and physical price he pays for this. He is an endearing, but socially inept science geek, who often needs to be helped out by the wonderfully written, strong female characters surrounding him. He suffers guilt for many of the events that unfold during the novel, not least the strain on his parents, whose marriage is falling apart before his eyes. He struggles to understand and deal with his feelings, just as most 15 year old boys would do. The family anecdotes and the relationships between the characters are an essential part of this story. There are so many scary events and so much danger that the book needs its quiet and thoughtful moments. As with the other books in this series, the action begins as soon as you start reading and doesn't let up until you finish the book. The characters have continued to grow and mature from the previous books. Where they would have run off and done something stupid like normal teenagers, they've learned from the trauma of previous experiences and now they are more cautious.

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Itch is about a boy named Itchingham Lofte. I really loved this book. At the beginning it was still interesting but wait till later, you have NO IDEA. At the beginning Itch reveals to the readers that he is an element hunter - or in other words he collects the elements - Most of them he is able to find in his house or around it. Near the beginning we also hear that Itch has a little bit of an accident with some phosphorus and blows off his eyebrows.

Analyzing: "Malcolm X used to say,'If you're not willing to die for it, put the word freedom out of your vocabulary,'Dad said."They think they got rid of him. But people won't forget, Louie. His words will never leave us." What are your thoughts about these statements? Explain.I do think chemistry teachers in high schools should try to drum up interest in their subject by recommending the Itch books to their students. There wasn't as much character development for Chloe as I would have hoped. In the end, she was left behind during all the action and was rarely told anything. The only reason she was involved in anything was because she was Itch's sister. She turned out to be nearly the exact same person in the second book that she had turned out to be in the first. He is an endearing, but socially inept science geek, who often needs to be helped out by strong female characters surrounding him. Wow. Lets just take a moment to appreciate THAT cover! POW! Such an attractive design that will grab JF-YA readers of both genders. Their first question (and mine): What is an element hunter?

A darker book than its predecessors, this story has a more serious plot that includes kidnapping, fires and neodymium magnets. Oh, and magic stones. Although the scenarios are sometimes a bit far-fetched, the action is realistic — as are the consequences. At times, it’s unclear whether all the main characters will survive until the end of the book. (And sadly, not all of them do.) He struggles to understand and deal with his feelings, just as most 15 year old boys would do. The family anecdotes and the relationships between the characters are an essential part of this story. Itch is the first book in the Itch series. The book stars Itchingham Lofte, otherwise known as Itch. This fourteen-year-old has a unique passion that involves collecting elements found in the periodic table. It has been quite a journey trying to collect all these elements, and there have been a few mishaps along the way. There is a time Itch blew his bedroom and burned his eyebrows while handling some phosphorous element. His antique wallpaper had also led to some arsenic poisoning that saw his school close for a few days. Itch’s sister, Chloe, is so used to these mishaps that she always has a fire extinguisher close by. His parents are often stressed, wondering what trouble their son will be getting in next.

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The Book Itch is narrated in the first person by Lewis Michaux's young son, Louie, who likes to help his dad in the store on weekends. Louie is clearly proud of his father's store, seeing it as quite an achievement, a place that draws some many people that sometimes, he says, you can hardly get inside. The names in this book mystified me, too. Itch's parents' names -- Jon and Zoe Jude and Nicholas -- are ordinary enough, as are the names for his older brother (Gabriel) and younger sister (Chloe) but ... Itchingham? Seriously, where did that come from? That name definitely stands out from all the other character names in this book. Further, kids are typically quite happy to share the origin and inspiration for their names, particularly when their name is unusual, but no such revelation is forthcoming regarding Itch's singular name.

Simon Mayo is a mystery, young adult, and historical writer. He is also a well-known and loved radio presenter in Britain. Over the years, Mayo has been recognized enough time for his broadcasting prowess. What started as a small-time job in Hospital Radio grew into a successful career, and Mayo has worked as a Dj with BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. Itch is Mayo’s debut novel, and it was so well-received that he turned it into a series. So far, Mayo has eighteen published works to his name. He enjoys writing whenever he is not on the radio or engaged in other BBC tasks. Itch exhibits an amazing level of maturity and moral courage, instantly elevating his status from science geek to reluctant hero. As for the chemistry included, it's well measured, clear and undeniably fascinating; from learning how the household objects you own relate to the periodic table, to explanations of explosive reactions, there is enough here to justify Itch as an informative text without ever suffocating the exciting plot. I recently wrote a piece arguing that the Pokémon games successfully communicate biological principles to their target audience, and I think it's fair to say that Itch does the same for Chemistry. The Itch trilogy is now finished; will there be any spin offs from the series and will you continue writing books?Ever since he could remember, Itch had been a collector. He developed his collecting skills with Pokémon cards, coins, maps, marbles and frogs ( frogs?), but when this book begins, Itch has turned his attention to collecting the elements of the Periodic Table: Basically, I think my problem was that ... I can really only "buy" so much at a time, and some of the events in this book kept crossing that line. There was just too much going on, too many things happening with these kids. There's a new girl in school called Mary Lee and she has arrived in town due to her father's job which involves travelling around. She is a few years older than Itch in school. Mary informs Itch HER father collects elements also which stimulates Itch's facination, but things are not as they seem.She isn't who she professes to be and Itch would be wise to keep his distance but of course this being a story, doesn't happen. It’s a notable feature of the book that “lofteium,” the element Itch discovers, is Element 126. But what happened to Elements 118-125?