A welcome return for Seamus the turkey detective, as he is once again tasked with investigating some dodgy dealings. The Free Range Detective Agency (a.k.a. Seamus) is called to the rescue when security breaches threaten the Business Monkey of the Year’s top-secret money-making facilities. But who is behind the breaches – the baboon, the newt, the jackal or the toad?
Libby’s stepbrother is a terrifying, spoilt brat of a bully; his mother is wilfully blind to his monstrosity, and Libby’s dad too preoccupied to notice. But an escape from Libby’s Cinderella-like existence is offered by the arrival of wonderful, hilarious Wulfie and shrewdly dauntless new friend Nazim. Never formulaic or overtly derivative, Sedgwick’s text nevertheless draws real depth from its adept annexation of familiar themes, tropes and traditions.
Toto, the ninja cat, is back for her fourth adventure with her gang of funny, furry friends. What starts as a simple security job, looking after the French cat ambassador, ends with Toto and gang being framed for theft. The stolen item? A sacred diamond cat collar that enables the wearer to control rats. Will Toto be able to find the real culprit, clear their names and prevent a ratastrophe?
It’s Only Stanley is a deliberately misleading title as Stanley, the Wimbeldons’ family pet, is a resourceful, clever dog who certainly should not be taken for granted (nor indeed his DIY skills be underestimated!). Woken up by strange bump-in-the-night sounds over the course of one night, the Wimbeldons (and by extension the readers) are relieved to discover each time that ‘it’s only Stanley’ who is the cause of all the noise. From howling at the moon to clearing the bathtub drain, just what the mysterious Stanley is really up to keeps the reader intrigued right to the very end.
Children of same-sex parents must find it wearying to be asked which parent is their ‘real’ one. In this book we meet Elvi, who is of mixed race, and has two mothers, one of whom has brown skin. Her friend Nicholas asks her which woman is her real mother. She patiently explains that both are, but Nicholas refuses to accept this and maintains that the real mother is one who carried her in her tummy. Bored with the questions, Elvi starts to have some fun with him.
The Cutest Thing Ever is a fun-filled explosion of cuteness. It starts with a darling little bat asking the reader if they want to see the cutest thing ever. What ensues is a series of adorable illustrations and nonsensical prompts that grow more and more complex with each turn of the page, ultimately leading to the biggest reveal – the cutest thing ever – at the very end of the book.
Like a Pixar cartoon in book form, this funny and subversive tale pokes fun at a brave knight, whose self-proclaimed mission is to find and slay a dragon. Despite the naysayers, he has complete self-confidence and a map with an X saying ‘HERE BE DRAGONS’.
There is nothing more embarrassing for an eleven-year-old than being shown up by a parent, and the behavior of Jake’s dad is quite literally out of this world. Not only can he outrun all the other dads at the school sports day, but he has a disturbing habit of turning green if he eats too many green vegetables.
What happens when you have a grizzly bear for a dad? You get lots of furry scritches, wet sloppy kisses and never have enough honey to eat – but you do get the biggest and the warmest bear hugs to make up for that. The young narrator in Haddow and Adeola’s picturebook has quite an interesting life with a grizzly bear dad who catches fish with his teeth, runs faster than a bus, climbs tall trees and has the loudest growls.
What could be better than a new story from Jon Klassen? Five new stories from Jon Klassen! At 96 pages, The Rock From The Sky, is bigger than your average 32-page picturebook. It tells its story over five chapters and it is wonderful to spend longer in Klassen’s world.
