reviews 5 – 8 Infant/Junior continued I Can Only Draw Worms HHHH


Will Mabbitt, ill. Will Mabbitt, Penguin, 32pp, 978-0-1413-7518-2, £6.99 pbk.


This picture book for


about worms. It is exclusively about worms and deviates at no time from the exciting subject of worms. This is because is author, Will Mabbitt, can only draw worms.


children is


The first worm we are introduced to is called Worm One. It is drawn in a simple, juvenile form and it does very little other than sit in the centre of the page – because Will Mabbitt can’t draw anything else. Worms two to ten soon follow (though there are a few hilarious surprises along the way) and all bear incredible resemblance to Worm One. Occasionally, readers are promised something new or exciting


on the next page – a worm riding a unicorn, for example – only to be met by more pictures of just worms. The entire book is one extended joke that children will find hysterical. They will love the fact that their own emerging artistic skills are mimicked in this real book and will giggle continuously


as each page promises all kinds of excitement but inevitably ends with another picture of a worm! I Can Only Draw Worms works perfectly as a short, funny picture


however, it is also an accessible and 8 – 10 Junior/Middle New Talent The Elephant Thief HHHHH


Jane Kerr, Chicken House, 322pp, 978 1 910655 75 7, £6.99 pbk


This is storytelling at its best. From the vivid and dramatic opening scene, the reader is gripped by the amazing story of orphan pickpocket Danny who in 1872 rode an elephant from Edinburgh to Manchester. The novel is based on the true


story of the elephant Maharajah, who was sold


Edinburgh to a zoo-owner Manchester.


by auction


one of the many exotic animals comprising the assets of a travelling menagerie. Maharajah refused to travel by train, and therefore had to journey by foot from Edinburgh to Manchester - over 200 miles. Kerr has added lots of extra intrigue and adventure


eventful journey, with a wager by rival zoo-owner Mr Albright that they can’t get to Manchester in seven days. The big, bluff zoo owner Mr Jameson and his warm-hearted wife are enjoyable characters, and a reassuring presence for Danny.


Hilo: The Boy who crashed to Earth


978 0 141 37692 9


Hilo: Saving the Whole Wide World


978 0 141 37690 5 HHHH


Judd Winick, Puffin, 196pp, each £7.99 pbk


In this new series of graphic novels for children, a young boy from another world


American town. He knows that his name is Hilo, but he has no idea why he’s on Earth or how he got there. Hilo is discovered by D.J. and his friend,


crash-lands into a boring,


Gina. Nothing exciting has ever happened to D.J. This is because he is not really good at anything. He has four siblings who are all awesome at something – from tennis to chemistry – but D.J…well, he’s just ordinary. This fact is made all the more apparent to D.J. when the most extraordinary boy in history suddenly


to this The elephant was from in


rainy window at dusk. Drama quickly becomes


outstanding at delivering witty one- liners) and comedy is rapidly replaced by action, as the three friends grab readers’ hands and whisk them from one adventure to the next. Hilo’s


unexpected but it will certainly be welcomed by a host of young readers, who will be hoping he has no plans to return home any time soon. The theme of friendship remains


With clues and cliff-hangers arriving with each new chapter, the Hilo series promises to continue racing from one dimension to the next. SD


Lots HHH


Feisty Henrietta Saddleworth turns out to be a great friend who joins them on their journey.


relationship with the gentle and longsuffering elephant,


support of people who care for him, help him to move on from the trauma of his early abuse at the hands of Frank Scatchard, leader of a band of violent criminals and thugs in Edinburgh. LT


smashes into his life (literally, almost destroying D.J.’s clubhouse). Hilo might eat everything he finds, and he might be able to shoot lasers from his hands, and he is being tracked down by a host of angry robots, but the story is in many ways more about D.J. Confronted with evil robot monsters like the Rant (robotic ant), who want to munch his mates, D.J. finds that he has extraordinary powers of his own, and that Hilo is going to need his help. An award-winning cartoonist and comic book scriptwriter, Judd Winick has created an innovative format that is genuinely original. The book has all the excitement and colour of short-form comic strips, but the story is of sufficient length and complexity to


able readers. A master of his form, Winnick uses simple


staging and composition to provide very emotional moments, such as the view of a departing friend through a


yet sensitive sustain the interest of more and


Danny’s the


Marc Martin, Big Picture Press, 40pp, 9781783704651, £12.99 hbk


Tokyo is ramen soup, Godzilla and Shibuka Crossing (the busiest road crossing in the world); Ulaanbaatar has


statue


hundreds of penguins. This is a book for flipping through as the artist, Marc Martin whizzes round the world in a random and eclectic fashion. His pages are crammed with tiny, busy images - and there are lots of them, illustrating random interesting facts or characteristics associated with the chosen city (cats in Cairo, dust in Alice Springs). This is not the book to go to find something out; rather it is for the child browser, attracting


His Royal Whiskers HHHH


Sam Gayton, ill. Peter Cottrill, Andersen Press, 322pp, 978 1 78344 382 6, £6.99 pbk


In the land of Petrossia firm friends Pieter, a mathemagician, and Teresa, a trainee alchemist, hatch a plot to defeat the cruel and fearsome Czar. Unfortunately, their plans lead


catastrophe as the Czar’s only heir, Prince Alexander, is turned into a fluffy kitten. Mayhem and magical adventures


Teresa attempt to avoid getting their ensue as Pieter to and


Genghis Khan’s and


Nadaam;


equestrian Antartica


true nemesis arrives? arrival may have been comedy again (Hilo is


heads chopped off, deal with a giant cat Prince and outwit the Czar. Subtitled ‘A furry-tailed fairy tale’, this blend of mystery, adventure, humour


Gayton return to the magical lands visited in previous works The Snow Merchant and Hercufleas with his characteristic


prominent in this second episode. Gina, D.J. and Hilo pledge to keep one another safe, but will that be enough when Hilo’s


brilliant storytelling and imaginative word creation. The author is able to create a compelling fantasy world with a convincing alternative fairy tale tone and many larger than life characters. The story’s heart is the deep and


characters complement each other. The serious themes of standing up to bullying and tyranny and making wise choices are enhanced by the fast-pace, the humour, the inventive language,


fairy tales and mythology and the accomplished,


This story of alchemy and friendship should appeal to 8+ lovers of magical


fantasy written with a light touch. SRt. The Bookshop Girl


HHHHH


Sylvia Bishop, ill.Ashley King, Scholastic, 202pp, 978 1 407 15969 0, £5.99 pbk


No mention of TV, no mobiles, no internet and nothing so


as social media; no mention either of tedious stuff such as schools or having to attend one. This is the kind of setting readers used to find in long-ago


through quirky images that need careful exploration - and hopefully inspiring further reading. FH


attention


gritty realism) where you know the baddie when you see him because he’s wearing a long grey coat, a long grey face, shabby shoes and he’s called Mr Eliot Pink. Maybe he could have walked into these pages out of, say, Masefield’s Box of Delights. My advance proof copy has only a couple of


more illustrations from Ashley King are promised in the finished text. This is an attractive world - all the more impressive since its creator, Sylvia Bishop, graduated only recently from university, though this is already her second published novel. Her voice is both comic and conversational – just right for the independent young reader


enjoying complete novels. Things didn’t begin well for


Books for Keeps No.223 March 2017 25 becoming accustomed to witty line drawings, but children’s books (no vacuous


the links to classic vivacious


Teresa,


friendship between whose


abilities and inventiveness, and alchemy sees Sam book, (as will grown-ups!)


entertaining way to introduce children to various interesting themes: are all the worms really the same? How important is colour…or size? Despite its short length, children will find new jokes and ask different questions with every read. His artistic repertoire may be severely limited, but Will Mabbitt has created something funny, stimulating


provocative that children will return to again and again. SD


and


Pieter


narration.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32