Naughty
Young Nigel isn’t the only one in the house who has overstepped the mark – donkey, tiger, mole, firefly and others are also facing the consequences of being a little bit naughty. Frog is on the Naughty Pad, shark is in the Naughty Cave and poor beetle finds himself somewhere particularly whiffy! But even Dad agrees that it’s hard to be good all the time …
The magical partnership of Willis and Donnelly have whipped up a riot of colour, mayhem and wild shenanigans that mischievous little ones will absolutely relish. The relative calm of the first page gives way to increasing chaos as, one-by-one, the naughty animals are let loose in Nigel’s hallway, their cheeky personalities captured brilliantly in Donnelly’s vivid illustrations. Each dynamic spread is packed with hilarious detail that little readers could spend hours poring over – watch out for disappearing animals when snake is around! – offering plenty of scope for further chatter and giggles.
Willis’ choice of vocabulary is kept simple and accessible, and her pitch perfect rhyme make Naughty a delight to read aloud. But the narrative does leave one question unanswered: what naughty thing Nigel did to end up in the centre of this crazy chain of events in the first place? Let’s leave it up to our little readers to suggest what Nigel has been up to – their imaginations can run wild, or perhaps they can draw on their own mini misdemeanours for inspiration!
