Max counts to a million is a very enjoyable and heartwarming story. As a nurse who worked in critical care during the pandemic I found this to be a really gentle and well considered look back at those terrifying months through a child’s eyes. Max is an eight year old and has a lot to think and chat about. I enjoyed reading about Team X and their nemesis Team Z. It reminded me a lot of my school days, daydreaming through certain lessons, planning birthday parties etc. Life was just simpler then. Max writes a lot about his parents and it made me smile reading his thoughts about how they handled different situations, particularly when he needed to calm down. Indeed this sparks his quest to count to one million. Although I am not the target age group I very much enjoyed reading Max’s story and hope this book will be a big hit for children as it is a brilliant story