Wren doesn't have friends at school and in fact he is badly bullied, but he does have a truly special relationship with his grandmother. Sadly, she has a stroke, and his mum has to make the heartbreaking decision to place her in an aged care home which is 300km away. Wren is a worrier. He worries his grandmother will be lonely, he worries that they won't be able to visit very often, he worries that she might even forget him. Wren pleads with his mum to let Gran stay in their town of Fairley but there are no facilities in this small town.
At school his grade five class are studying Australian government, and the teacher sets several assignments including writing a letter to the Prime Minister. At first, Wren decides to ask the PM to help animals that are hurt in our frequent bushfires, but when then the crisis with his grandmother takes over his family life, he starts a series of letters and emails begging the Prime Minster, whose name is Elsie Jones, to help by building a care facility in his town and he also suggests she should consider offering financial support to families caring for their elderly relatives. He does not get a reply even though he writes several times and even tries to phone the PM, but Wren is a problem solver. He cannot prevent his own grandmother from going into care but he can perhaps do something for other elderly and lonely people in his town and even better he finds a way to persuade other kids at school to help too. Wren has found his voice!
The first half of this book is very sad - especially the parts where we read about how Wren badly is treated at school. The second half of the story, though, is emotional and uplifting. I did shed a tear or two even though the final scene felt a little 'too good to be true'.
It is easy to identify many of the influences on Brenton in this book. One that came to my mind early in The Prime Minister Problem is the book Two Weeks with the Queen by Morris Gleitzman. In fact, in his acknowledgement, he specifically thanks a whole bunch of authors including Gleitzman so I am sure he must have read Two Weeks with the Queen. Not related, but I noted that Wren also read Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan (2004) which I think would have appeared in Brenton's school library when he was in Grade 3 or 4. In more recent years Brenton has connected with many of his favourite Australian authors - especially those he loved as a child. You can read their endorsements of The Prime Minster Problem on Brenton Cullen's Instagram page.
Peter Carnavas said: The Prime Minster Problem "has so much heart, really beautiful writing and some of my favourite themes: grandparent-grandchild relationships, kindness, birds, dogs, quiet kids. It’s an incredible debut from Brenton and I can sense in his writing the enormous amount of children’s literature he’s absorbed over the years."
I thought The Prime Minister Problem felt autobiographical as I was reading. Then I read this interview with Sally Odgers where he says "it isn't autobiographical - none of the things in the book actually happened to me! But the feelings and emotion and inner dialogue of my main character Wren is definitely very similar to what I felt and thought as a ten-year-old. Like Wren, I have always been a big reader; Like Wren, I hold a lot of worries and curiosities about the world. And like Wren, my grandmother was a very special influence on my love of stories."
Here are the links I made between Brenton and his character Wren:
- Brenton also grew up in a small town in Queensland - Kingaroy population around 10,000 - so it makes sense that his first book, is also set in a small town. And being in a small town is the crux of Wren's problem because when his grandmother needs care there are no aged care facilities.
- Wren is a lonely boy who finds school very hard - sadly he is bullied by his classmates. With his love of reading and different outlook on life I expect Brenton had some similar experiences perhaps feeling like an outsider.
- On his webpage FAQ Brenton lists the Fairy Wren (bird) as one of his own favourite animals. Fairy Wrens appear in this book - you can see them on the book cover. I did wonder though, why it took Wren until age ten to ask about why his mother gave him this name - a name which has not been an easy one for a boy to navigate with his peers and I imagine also with other adults.
- I did laugh when his main character, Wren, picked up his favourite book which was Thunderwith (1999) by Libby Hathorn because Brenton lists this as one his own favourite childhood books.
It is interesting that Brenton Cullen includes a female Australian Prime Minster in his book. We have only had one woman PM - Julia Gillard was our Prime Minster from 2010 to 2013 - Brenton would have been aged around 17 and just coming of age to vote when she was in office. I think this inclusion might also relate to the way Brenton often talks on social media about the influence of three women in his life - his mother and two grandmothers and in fact their names are included in his dedication for this, his first book.
One of the most powerful scenes in this book that resonated with me was when Wren and his mother visit his Gran in the aged care home. I have talked before about visiting my own little grandmother in a nursing home when I was very young and then, very sadly, when my own mother moved to an aged care (not that there was much care) hostel. In chapter 23 Wren visits his grandmother who has had two strokes and is now in a nursing home 300km from their town.
"The lady in the bed is skinny and lost. Her eyes are blank. There's no colour in her cheeks. She lies flat, her mouth open, a spool of dribble on her chin. ... Wren's eyes move across to the milky cup of tea beside her. Grandma doesn't have milk in her tea. Beside it sites a wilting piece of toast, absolutely smothered in vegemite. She only likes a thin layer."
I am not sure that I would use The Prime Minister Problem as a whole class text but here is a link to the teachers notes. Thanks to Riveted Press for sending a review copy of The Prime Minister Problem. It will be published in late April 2026.
This book has gentle messages about family relationships, kindness, community and the importance of knowing one person can make a difference - it just takes one step of bravery and a belief in your ideas.
Brenton has achieved a really fine balance with his characterisations here. While characters have flaws as real people do, they are neatly balanced with their strengths and the voice is very authentic. I have no doubt that middle-grade readers will respond and connect to both the plot and the people very positively. With strong themes of empathy, friendship, loneliness, creative thinking and rising above difficulties it offers many beneficial talking points. It is a superb choice for a shared read especially if you are undertaking units around community, governance and taking action. Just so Stories
Publisher blurb: When a lonely boy’s mission to save his grandmother goes viral, it sparks a movement that reshapes his country town — and everyone in it. Ten-year-old Wren has always felt invisible. Mum is busy working two jobs, his brother has his own life, and at school, Wren hides in the library with the books his grandmother taught him to love. Grandma is the only person who truly sees him — until she has a stroke and is forced to move away to a nursing home in the city. Lonelier than ever, Wren writes to the Prime Minister for help. When no reply comes, his small act of hope takes on a life of its own — and Wren discovers he isn’t the only one who feels forgotten. As his town rallies around him, Wren learns that real solutions don’t come from politicians, but from the people who call the town home. A moving story about isolation, connection, and how one quiet voice can make a difference
Companion books:
I think the class teacher in this story - Miss Peg might benefit from reading these books and then using them with her students. At times her class assignments seemed to need some serious scaffolding. I read the poster scene early in the story and was slightly horrified at the work produced by the class.
