The subject matter is pacy and exciting and the main characters are usually boys, and there is plenty of action and dialogue to keep the story moving. Feisty heros and heroines use quick-thinking tactics to get them out of all kinds of scrapes and dilemmas. The series is aimed at developing reading ability and the text is integrated with illustrations using the comic strip conventions of speech bubbles, thought bubbles and sound effects. Established authors have written a variety of tales - adventure, science fiction and fantasy, comedy and football stories. All the titles have been illustrated by the best strip-cartoon artists around. The resulting combination is a visually-exciting series that should get any 7-9 year-old reading no matter how reluctant they have been to pick up a book in the past. 'Now what do you see?' asked Uncle Tom. 'A rather tatty umbrella,' I replied. But as our hero looks more closely, the handle of the umbrella slowly turns to him and winks.