A TEACHER and children’s author is offering bored youngsters an escape from the confines of home isolation during the lockdown.

Jenny Pearson’s adventure novel, The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates, is published on April 30.

The Durham-based primary school teacher is delighted at the early recognition it has received, earning the title of Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month.

Aimed at the eight to 12-year-old bracket, roughly the age of the children she teaches, the book is adorned by the drawings of acknowledged illustrator Rob Biddulph, who has earned fame on BBC Breakfast with his Draw with Rob tutorials.

The Super Miraculous Journey has been gathering critical acclaim for its “heart-warming and hilarious” storyline, which sees adventure-seeking Freddie set off on a trip across Wales with two young pals.

Comparisons have been made to the writing style of David Walliams (by Waterstones) and Jeremy Strong (The Observer), while The Bookseller called it: “One of the funniest books you’ll read this year with bundles of heart to boot.”

The author, now home isolating with her young family on the outskirts of Durham, said amid the current restrictions, “books have become an important part of the entertainment arsenal” for parents of bored children.

“Humour is essential in getting us through tricky times and, as a nation, it’s something we are really good at.

“Freddie Yates is a funny book. It has miracles, onion eating competitions, heroic sheep and superheroes.

“It’s a madcap adventure of three boys on their journey across Wales, who didn’t pack enough underpants.

“But at it’s heart is a message about the importance of friends and families in all its varying forms, and what it means to be a hero.

“They don’t all wear capes.

“For now, while most of our adventures are confined to our living rooms, our imaginations are not.”

She added: “If you want your kids to escape into a good book I would be absolutely thrilled and honoured if you were to choose mine.”

The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates, published by Usborne, costs £6.99 and is available to order online from Waterstones until the end of the month.

But from May 1 it is published nationally and available from other suppliers.