Why The Blobs by YouTuber Justin Stuart makes a great Christmas gift for kids and parents alike

Justin Stuart’s first book is out now and has all the elements of a great story that children and parents will love

Justin, can you give us an overview of the book and the series? What is it? What is it doing? Who’s it for?

The Blobs is a mix of my favourite genres—comedy, sci-fi, action, and adventure. The characters actually came from a time when I was tired of being so analytical on YouTube, so I took a break and started drawing with my daughter. Just sitting together, drawing on my iPad, making up new characters—she helped name some of them, which was brilliant. Goosebob, for example, came from her. It was just really childlike and free, not overthinking anything, just enjoying creating.

I wanted to create something deeper, like a ‘fine dining’ experience for kids

After making a load of characters, I grabbed a notebook and started writing a story. I didn’t set out to make a book or anything, I just wanted to have fun like I did as a kid. But as I wrote, and looking at what’s out there for kids – I realised a lot of things kids read are a bit like fast food: they’re fine, but they’re not the best for you. I wanted to create something deeper, like a ‘fine dining’ experience for kids – a story with depth, character development, world building. I almost see it as Star Wars for kids, with all these worlds, characters, and villains.

The main story follows these Blobs who have to ……