The Breakfast Club Investigators haven't managed to solve a mystery in months and Marcus is worried that the group is going to break up! So when the captain of the school basketball team comes to ask for their help Marcus knows this might just be the Investigator's last chance to prove themselves. ALEX: Yeah! laughter Um, I definitely read out loud, especially because sometimes I may make a little mistake or miss out a word, and so it's good to read out loud to catch that. Um, but also when you read out loud you can really s-, um, sense the rhythm of a piece and how- and how it feels when you're reading it. So yeah, that's definitely something to do, maybe even with some EXPRESSION! MARTA: A bit of a half a broccoli, indeed. And then we do the same on the other side, keeping in mind we don't wanna go over the ear too much.

Don't miss the Breakfast Club Investigators next adventure in The Breakfast Club Adventures: The Ghoul in the School! This book is really good fun and kind of reminded me of Scooby Do with all the talks of a ghoul. The main theme of this book is around people putting pressure on themselves and others to be perfect and the importance of asking for help. Marcus wants the Breakfast Club Investigators to be the perfect team who can solve all the mysteries put their way. When they struggle to work out what's going on, he starts to worry that the club will end and he'll lose all of his friends. Meanwhile, the school basketball team have suddenly hit a bad run of form and their captain, Gbenga, is feeling the pressure to be the best. Both Marcus and Gbenga recognise that the pressure they're putting on themselves to be successful is taking its toll on them and the things they used to enjoy but they're not sure how to fix it. Thankfully for Marcus, his friends are there to support him and teach him that actually, asking for help is a strength and it can even mean you make new friends. MARTA: Exactly. And when you do both sides at the same time it's easy to find your way. Now we're gonna do the bottom...part. LAURA: –Yeah, that's a good-, that's a good tip. OK, Marta, this one's for you. As an illustrator, how do you decide what you're going to draw in a book?MARTA: Oh my goodness. Er, they add massively, I think. 'Cause obviously the text is one thing but then the illustrations just basically expand, I think, the story. So, er, you illustrate what is in a story but also maybe what isn't, to a degree. So maybe, you know, some things aren't quite said in a text but you can add them, um, expand, basically. ALEX: Mm-hmm, yeah. The thing that I always think about is, um, for getting my main character, um, to think about what are the things that they want and to um-, and to kind of show them trying to get that. Um, when you have a main character and you have a thing that they want, you immediately have, I think, a little bit of tension, which I think can really add to the mystery, um, and to the suspense of a chapter. MARTA: That's right. And it's a nice way because when you're using a pen like s- like this one you can't rub it off. So you just draw the line in there. ALEX: Well, um, this is the type of thing where we kind of do-, it's all a real team effort. So we have loads of book designers who, um, look really hard at the text and think about what are the type of things which, um, are words that can catch the audience's eye. Um, and they kind of help, er, put that all together. MARTA: So, we look at the bottom of the six, again, and a little bit over the nostrils, just to find your way...somewhere here.

MARTA: Little circles for the- for the pupils. We can add a little bit more definition on the top of the eye for, well, a bit of, er, lashes. In June 2021, Marcus launched The Marcus Rashford Book Club in collaboration with Macmillan Children's Books. With MCB, Marcus chooses and recommends books he thinks children will enjoy, with the aim of encouraging and nurturing an early love of reading. This is a great story about friendship, working together and not being afraid to ask for help when needed. It has themes of learning from your mistakes and trying again. I love that Marcus and his friends all have different personalities and each brings a different skill to the club. The club is a mix of boys and girls and they all work together to solve the mystery, there is no defined leader and everyone's opinion is listened to. Alex Falase-Koya is a London native. He has been both reading and writing since he was a teenager; anything at the cross-section of social commentary and genre fiction floats his boat. He was a winner of Spread the Word's 2019 London Writers Awards for YA/children's. He now lives in Walthamstow with his girlfriend and two cats. He is the cowriter of Marcus Rashford's debut children's fiction title The Breakfast Club Adventures.

In response to Marcus's End Child Food Poverty campaign, the British Government committed GBP400 million to support vulnerable children across the UK, supporting 1.7 million children for the next 12 months.

MARTA: Little lines underneath, because he's smiling, and when we smile we've got these little lines. And last but not least...

Marcus Rashford's non-fiction books

When 12-year-old Marcus receives a mysterious invitation to join the Breakfast Club Investigators, little does he know that so many adventures await... and there are strange, curious cases that need solving! As he joins the Breakfast Club Investigators, he also makes new friends: Stacey, Lise and Asim. Together, they will have to use their wit, nerve and all their courage to solve some of the creepiest, weirdest and WILDEST mysteries their town has ever seen! LAURA: Hmm. We've got some questions about writing and illustrating books, but all we need is a writer and an illustrator. Ah! Marta! Alex! Perfect! OK, Marta, I've got another one for you here. How do you think illustrations add to the experience for the reader? Dive into an exciting and mysterious adventure full of fun-filled friendships, fantastical creatures and incredible investigations by the #1 bestselling author Marcus Rashford!