Book Reviews for Children Aged Seven and Over
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Pigs in Planes: The Mega Monkey Mystery by Paul Cooper
In this third adventure for the Pigs in Planes, Captain Peter Porker and the PIPs are called to Monkey Island to investigate a crime carried out in the National Primate Gallery. The famous and expensive Mona Fleasa painting has gone missing and our heroes are needed to investigate the scene of the crime and somehow get this priceless work of art back before it disappears for ever! .... Whole Review Here
Mr Gum and the Cherry Tree by Andy Stanton
The entire town of Lamonic Bibber has gone mad! Old Granny has declared that the Old Times are back and that’s bad news for Polly and gingerbread schoolmaster, Alan Taylor, as all their friends march deep into the woods to worship a cherry tree. The two friends aren’t fooled though, that tree has a very familiar voice and surely no forest god would ask the townspeople for all their most precious things? There’s also a centaur that look very much like Mr Gum’s sidekick Billy so it doesn’t take Polly long to figure out the real culprit behind these terrible events. What the pair need is proof and they’ll have to hurry because the school children are turning into goblins, the townspeople are handing over their very souls and it looks like Mr Gum will soon control all of Lamonic Bibber! But what, I hear you say, has a huge pile of explosively fast breeding insects got to do with any of this? Well, it will all soon become apparent but here’s a hint: Lots of insects need lots of food...
This is the seventh book in the Mr Gum series and it’s one of the most sinister and gross ones yet. It’s also hilariously funny, with the usual clever wordplay, crazy songs and daft goings on that we have come to expect from Mr Stanton and his characters. You’d have to be insane to imagine a world this barmy but it’s a fine line between mad and genius and the author walks it in style. Their really isn’t anything quite like it out there and this goes a long way to explain the huge popularity of the series.
Going back to this book, there’s plenty to enjoy for young and old with the return of familiar characters and plenty of twists and turns to a clever plot. Children will love the comedy aspects, in particular the burp fuelled songs and dastardly behaviour of the bad guys. Parents should have absolutely no hesitation in buying this book or indeed all the others as well because it’s guaranteed that Mr Gum and the Cherry Tree will supply hours of intense reading and giggling as it’s devoured over and over again.
Our thanks to Egmont for sending us a copy.
Review by James@KidsCompass.
This is the seventh book in the Mr Gum series and it’s one of the most sinister and gross ones yet. It’s also hilariously funny, with the usual clever wordplay, crazy songs and daft goings on that we have come to expect from Mr Stanton and his characters. You’d have to be insane to imagine a world this barmy but it’s a fine line between mad and genius and the author walks it in style. Their really isn’t anything quite like it out there and this goes a long way to explain the huge popularity of the series.
Going back to this book, there’s plenty to enjoy for young and old with the return of familiar characters and plenty of twists and turns to a clever plot. Children will love the comedy aspects, in particular the burp fuelled songs and dastardly behaviour of the bad guys. Parents should have absolutely no hesitation in buying this book or indeed all the others as well because it’s guaranteed that Mr Gum and the Cherry Tree will supply hours of intense reading and giggling as it’s devoured over and over again.
Our thanks to Egmont for sending us a copy.
Review by James@KidsCompass.
Demon Defenders: Playground Plague by Jake Lancing
Alex, Spit, House, Inchy and Cherry. Five strange names for five young angels kicked out of heaven for being disorderly and who are desperate to get back. Living in the house of their guardian who is charged with monitoring them, they have so far failed to impress during their previous adventures and the team has therefore decided to remove Alex as captain and replace him with Inchy.
Things start of well but there is a saying that power corrupts and soon he has them all running errands. This disruption is the last thing the team needs as evil creatures roam their town. Food is vanishing everywhere and the giant rats the children had been breeding at school disappear along with their teacher.
The mystery is there for the solving but is the team up for this challenge when it might mean not returning to heaven? If it was up to Alex he’d take the risk but he somehow has to convince his friends that they can save the town, the world even, from vicious monsters and still be home in time to clean their rooms!
Playground Plague is a bit like a Goosebumps novel but for younger readers with its plague of giant rat monsters led by a half man, half rat like creature determined to destroy the world. There isn’t anything that scary apart from a few moments of suspense so nobody should suffer from nightmares after reading. In fact the strangest thing of all is the angel’s obsession with football which feels rather out of place considering how unrelated to the story it is and is, I assume, just an effort to tick boxes on the part of the author.
It’s a shame really because despite the fact that the plot isn’t terribly imaginative it nevertheless has plenty of action crammed into the pages along with characters who are easy to like and identify with. The characters also supply much of the books humour especially my particular favourite, House, who’s name fits his build and lives with a constant need for food.
The competition for scary stories aimed at this specific age group isn’t fierce and you feel that it wouldn’t have taken much to turn this into a good light read. Unfortunately however the Demon Defenders fall short of the mark.
Our thanks to Puffin for sending us a copy.
Review by James@KidsCompass.
Things start of well but there is a saying that power corrupts and soon he has them all running errands. This disruption is the last thing the team needs as evil creatures roam their town. Food is vanishing everywhere and the giant rats the children had been breeding at school disappear along with their teacher.
The mystery is there for the solving but is the team up for this challenge when it might mean not returning to heaven? If it was up to Alex he’d take the risk but he somehow has to convince his friends that they can save the town, the world even, from vicious monsters and still be home in time to clean their rooms!
Playground Plague is a bit like a Goosebumps novel but for younger readers with its plague of giant rat monsters led by a half man, half rat like creature determined to destroy the world. There isn’t anything that scary apart from a few moments of suspense so nobody should suffer from nightmares after reading. In fact the strangest thing of all is the angel’s obsession with football which feels rather out of place considering how unrelated to the story it is and is, I assume, just an effort to tick boxes on the part of the author.
It’s a shame really because despite the fact that the plot isn’t terribly imaginative it nevertheless has plenty of action crammed into the pages along with characters who are easy to like and identify with. The characters also supply much of the books humour especially my particular favourite, House, who’s name fits his build and lives with a constant need for food.
The competition for scary stories aimed at this specific age group isn’t fierce and you feel that it wouldn’t have taken much to turn this into a good light read. Unfortunately however the Demon Defenders fall short of the mark.
Our thanks to Puffin for sending us a copy.
Review by James@KidsCompass.
Lob by Linda Newbery
Lucy’s grandpa Will says there’s a green man living at the bottom of his garden. His name is Lob and his job is to help with the gardening, Grandpa has even seen him a few times! It’s just Grandpa’s little story everyone says but Lucy knows better because she’s seen him too, a little man with a face the colour of moss who cleans the spades, rakes the leaves and blooms or withers with the seasons.
Terribly sad times are ahead for Lucy though as not only does Grandpa die, leaving a hole in her families life, but Lob moves on in search of a new garden and gardener. More than anything she wants Lob to find her in London but all she has are a few plant pots and the waiting list for a …. is very long. It will be a whole year, full of adventures for Lucy and Lob, before she sees him again.
Lob feels like a classic, from the story to the writing as well as the illustrations and book cover, the book just exudes a retro feel on every page. The atmosphere it creates is one of absolute calm no matter what adventures are occurring.
At first glance you’d think this was a story about gardening but in reality Linda Newbury deals with the difficult subject of the death of a loved one. First of all there is the incredibly sad loss of Grandpa Will but also with the waning of Lob himself in the winter. As you can imagine Lucy remains terribly upset after the event and a large part of the tale deals with her struggle to deal with it and as she grows sadder so do Lobs adventures take a downturn.
But the emphasis is not on death itself but with the theme of rebirth. There is a real sense of hope that culminates with a lovely, happy ending that means that this definitely not a sad story. The memories Lucy has of her Grandfather will improve her future and she can look back with fondness rather than grief.
Lob is a peaceful and very tasteful story that deals with some serious themes. With a large font, plenty of illustrations and 218 pages it’s perfect for those readers moving on from simpler books in search of a challenge. But as it’s also one of those tales that will appeal to parents as well as children luckily it’s just as good to be read out loud at bedtime.
Our thanks to Random House for sending us a copy.
Review by James@KidsCompass.
Terribly sad times are ahead for Lucy though as not only does Grandpa die, leaving a hole in her families life, but Lob moves on in search of a new garden and gardener. More than anything she wants Lob to find her in London but all she has are a few plant pots and the waiting list for a …. is very long. It will be a whole year, full of adventures for Lucy and Lob, before she sees him again.
Lob feels like a classic, from the story to the writing as well as the illustrations and book cover, the book just exudes a retro feel on every page. The atmosphere it creates is one of absolute calm no matter what adventures are occurring.
At first glance you’d think this was a story about gardening but in reality Linda Newbury deals with the difficult subject of the death of a loved one. First of all there is the incredibly sad loss of Grandpa Will but also with the waning of Lob himself in the winter. As you can imagine Lucy remains terribly upset after the event and a large part of the tale deals with her struggle to deal with it and as she grows sadder so do Lobs adventures take a downturn.
But the emphasis is not on death itself but with the theme of rebirth. There is a real sense of hope that culminates with a lovely, happy ending that means that this definitely not a sad story. The memories Lucy has of her Grandfather will improve her future and she can look back with fondness rather than grief.
Lob is a peaceful and very tasteful story that deals with some serious themes. With a large font, plenty of illustrations and 218 pages it’s perfect for those readers moving on from simpler books in search of a challenge. But as it’s also one of those tales that will appeal to parents as well as children luckily it’s just as good to be read out loud at bedtime.
Our thanks to Random House for sending us a copy.
Review by James@KidsCompass.
The Boy Who Climbed Into the Moon by David Almond
Paul lives in a very unusual apartment block with lots of unusual people, all full of unusual ideas. There’s the man who never stops jogging, a dog that believes it will learn to fly and talk on the day it turns seven, Mabel who has decided to call herself Molly and finally there’s Paul who believes the moon is actually a hole in the sky. Mabel, sorry, Molly’s brother is the man to speak to about crazy ideas as his mind is constantly whirling with thoughts. He also believes that the sky has a hole in it and he takes the paper bag off his face in order to plan an expedition.
Paul, his mum and dad, Molly and her brother Benjamin must follow their crackpot idea to the end and with the help of all their friends they haul a very long ladder to the top of the apartment block. There they rest it on the moon and young Paul climbs all the way up. What he finds there is almost beyond belief and it looks like the young hero’s adventures have just begun.
At first glance you would never believe that The Boy Who Climbed Into The Moon was written by the author behind the tremendous Skellig, but when you look a little deeper you can see the resemblance. This book is by no means as dark and disturbing as Skellig was but there is a strong quirkiness to it. The whole story is full of bizarre ideas, from the concept of the moon as a hole to the strong assertion that sausages are better than war. All this along with some very wacky characters could easily create an overpowering and off-putting impression but instead this is simply a beautiful book.
Bucketfuls of charm and a friendly and loving atmosphere will make this a very popular story with both parents and children while the imaginative and, at times, funny plot will grab the attention of any reader and won’t let go until they have finished. Polly Dunbar’s illustrations are beautiful and give life to David Almond’s characters, filling the pages with colours.
This is one of those books that you know will certainly be nominated for many awards and you can be assured that The Boy Who Climbed Into The Moon will deserve them.
Tumtum & Nutmeg: A Seaside Adventure by Emily Bearn
'Hidden in the broom cupboard of Rose Cottage is the most delightful little house. This is the home of Tumtum and Nutmeg'.
Tumtum and Nutmeg are two mice who watch over two human children, Arthur and Lucy. This is their fourth adventure together, although the first that we have had the pleasure of reviewing. Arthur and Lucy are staying with Uncle Jeremy at the seaside and of course Tumtum and Nutmeg have followed to make sure the children stay safe Upon arrival, the mice find that they have a rather unexpected stowaway themselves; the rash and adventurous General Marchmouse. He has caused them trouble before and so they are not completely delighted to find him. Together, they soon make the acquaintance of Lord Seamouse, who lives underneath the chest of drawers in the upstairs bedroom. Lord Seamouse has been the victim of a robbery, many years past, and is now living in genteel poverty. All his fine furnishing and a set of human teeth (worth a fortune if sold to the right tooth fairy!) were stolen by the beach mice who live in sandcastles along the shore. Lord Seamouse has a map showing the location of the stolen items but cannot get it alone. They must secure the help of the children in recovering the hoard. One mouse in particular has other ideas; General Marchmouse dreams of glory and heads off to find the teeth singlehandedly. Silly mouse that he is, he is lured into a trap by the evil Purple Claws, a devilish but debonair mouse that will use the map and the teeth to fund his plans for an evil empire.
On first impressions, one would categorise this as a charming, sweet story. The illustrations and very well done and the idea of mice in suits and dresses is incredibly cute. Bearn creates an idea of England that is reminiscent of The Wind in the Willows, especially the selfish General who reminded me strongly of Toad. Upon further reading it becomes clear that there are more levels to this than just a twee, nostalgic depiction of a traditional child’s adventue. Bearn also packs in plenty of action sequences, following quickly on from each other. The mice drive a toy boat across a lagoon, drive a plane that spirals out of control, meet an angry sea creature (who later turns out to be a jolly decent sort of fellow) and General Marchmouse is tossed by the incoming tide before being almost fatally poisoned. There is more than enough to this story to keep any child entertained and wide eyed with excitement. The only note that felt slightly out of place was the fate of Purple Claws. Captured and at the children’s mercy, he is taken to a zoo, ready to be shown off as a rare breed. He has a cosy cage, a comfortable bed, plenty of food and seems perfectly happy with this outcome. This wasn’t a message I would have expected from a book aged for this age range, especially as Purple Claws had been so thoroughly bad in the story. Other than this very small aspect, the book is thoroughly enjoyable and an absolute joy to read.
Our thanks to Egmont for sending us a review copy.
Reviewed by Jo@KidsCompass
The Chicken Egg-splosion by Paul Cooper
The PIPs are a rescue team vaguely reminiscent of the
Our thanks to Puffin for sending us a copy.
Review by James@KidsCompass.
Christmas Chaos fot the Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog by Jeremy Strong
It's the return of the Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Dog Streaker and just in time to cause some real Christmas mayhem. Trevor's dog has had puppies, three of them in fact and they all cause as much trouble as their mother. The local bully, Charlie Smugg, owns the dog that fathered the pups and he is demanding that Trevor give him half the money from their sale or else. This is a big problem for the boy but things get worse when he takes all the dogs out for a walk one evening and the puppies are stolen! Now he has no money and no dogs. Together with his best friend Tina, as well as the erratic Streaker, he sets out to investigate the theft.
What follows is a chaotic series of events which includes Streaker's destruction of the town's Christmas decorations and a few nasty encounters with Charlie. Eventually they find the pups and discover that the thief was none other than the bully himself! Trevor and Tina must catch him in the act and save the puppies but the question is can any sort of plan work when Streaker's around?
This is the fifth of the series featuring Trevor and his dog. As always, the story is full of fun and tongue in cheek humour. Streaker is typical of boisterous dog who despite being well intentioned always seems to end up in some sort of trouble and making a nuisance of herself. This almost always ends up in trouble for Trevor, whose character is very likable and his interaction with his parents tends to be very amusing. Young readers will probably recognize some of the methods used in his arguments with his Mum and Dad. His main companion is Tina, who obviously has a bit of a thing for our dashing young hero. Despite her advances, including bribery with chocolate, Trevor adopts a typical young boyish attitude of dislike of all things girl related and complains continuously when she happens to touch him or hint at the fact that she fancies him. Despite this slight awkwardness, they are good friends and a great team to tackle Charlie and the theft. The adventure is action packed and you won't get bored as their is always something going on, usually something messy or destructive.
This is a great story for young readers who want to move on to a "proper" book as it's very easy to read and will keep them entertained and laughing right up to the end. It will appeal to both boys and girls and could be a good choice for the build up to Christmas.
Our Thanks to Puffin for sending us a copy.
Review by James@KidsCompass
What follows is a chaotic series of events which includes Streaker's destruction of the town's Christmas decorations and a few nasty encounters with Charlie. Eventually they find the pups and discover that the thief was none other than the bully himself! Trevor and Tina must catch him in the act and save the puppies but the question is can any sort of plan work when Streaker's around?
This is the fifth of the series featuring Trevor and his dog. As always, the story is full of fun and tongue in cheek humour. Streaker is typical of boisterous dog who despite being well intentioned always seems to end up in some sort of trouble and making a nuisance of herself. This almost always ends up in trouble for Trevor, whose character is very likable and his interaction with his parents tends to be very amusing. Young readers will probably recognize some of the methods used in his arguments with his Mum and Dad. His main companion is Tina, who obviously has a bit of a thing for our dashing young hero. Despite her advances, including bribery with chocolate, Trevor adopts a typical young boyish attitude of dislike of all things girl related and complains continuously when she happens to touch him or hint at the fact that she fancies him. Despite this slight awkwardness, they are good friends and a great team to tackle Charlie and the theft. The adventure is action packed and you won't get bored as their is always something going on, usually something messy or destructive.
This is a great story for young readers who want to move on to a "proper" book as it's very easy to read and will keep them entertained and laughing right up to the end. It will appeal to both boys and girls and could be a good choice for the build up to Christmas.
Our Thanks to Puffin for sending us a copy.
Review by James@KidsCompass
Toad Surprise by Morris Gleitzman
To begin with, the young Limpy witnesses a massacre. That's right, nearly a dozen cane toads crushed beneath the onrushing tyres of a car. Humans are out to get the simple toad, there's just no denying it! But when Limpy and the macho Goliath are caught out in the open one day with nowhere to hide, the approaching car swerves and narrowly manages to avoid them. Having caught a glimpse of the driver as the car shudders to a halt, Limpy knows this is no mistake. The man behind the wheel is none other than Santa! This is the opportunity to change the lives of cane toads everywhere, if Limpy can just get humans to accept them as Santa's new little helpers.
Limpy and Goliath hitch a ride in the car into town where they set about their plan to make humans like them. But when it turns out that Santa is actually Stan, a poor, lonely, old fireman who's wife has recently died it looks like they have failed before they even started. Following a series of misjudged and chaotic events it looks as if humans will never like toads and that there is only one thing they can do. Somehow they have to find a way to cheer Stan up and turn his life around.
The fourth of the Toad series this is the most bizarre Christmas story you will ever come across. For starters, the adventure takes place down under in Australia where the weather is warm, which cuts out some of the usual Christmas atmosphere. Instead of good will to all men the message here is one of care towards the animal kingdom. Despite these few differences it is still definitely recognizable as a Christmas tale with presents, stockings, Christmas trees and the slightly quirky inclusion of pizza.
There's a lot of fun to be had with this most unlikely of all tales with plenty of humour for those readers. The comedy is charming and harmless with the occasional toad flying through the air and an attempt to turn a lawnmower into a lint-remover. Above all, kids will love Goliath and his approach to life, or to be precise, food. You will quickly find that there are few things that this indomitable toad won't fight or eat. The characterisation in this book is excellent and definitely one of its best features.
However, all this does come with some downsides. The story does seem to drag on a bit after a while with a few natural endings bypassed in order to take the plot on yet another twist. Also to be considered is the fact that there is a little bit of Australian language and vocabulary so a parent might need to be on hand to explain some words.
Despite these very slight hiccups Toad Surprise remains a pleasant book with an interesting twist on the usual Christmas message.
Our thanks to Puffin for sending us a copy
Limpy and Goliath hitch a ride in the car into town where they set about their plan to make humans like them. But when it turns out that Santa is actually Stan, a poor, lonely, old fireman who's wife has recently died it looks like they have failed before they even started. Following a series of misjudged and chaotic events it looks as if humans will never like toads and that there is only one thing they can do. Somehow they have to find a way to cheer Stan up and turn his life around.
The fourth of the Toad series this is the most bizarre Christmas story you will ever come across. For starters, the adventure takes place down under in Australia where the weather is warm, which cuts out some of the usual Christmas atmosphere. Instead of good will to all men the message here is one of care towards the animal kingdom. Despite these few differences it is still definitely recognizable as a Christmas tale with presents, stockings, Christmas trees and the slightly quirky inclusion of pizza.
There's a lot of fun to be had with this most unlikely of all tales with plenty of humour for those readers. The comedy is charming and harmless with the occasional toad flying through the air and an attempt to turn a lawnmower into a lint-remover. Above all, kids will love Goliath and his approach to life, or to be precise, food. You will quickly find that there are few things that this indomitable toad won't fight or eat. The characterisation in this book is excellent and definitely one of its best features.
However, all this does come with some downsides. The story does seem to drag on a bit after a while with a few natural endings bypassed in order to take the plot on yet another twist. Also to be considered is the fact that there is a little bit of Australian language and vocabulary so a parent might need to be on hand to explain some words.
Despite these very slight hiccups Toad Surprise remains a pleasant book with an interesting twist on the usual Christmas message.
Our thanks to Puffin for sending us a copy
Dear Hound by Jill Murphy
Alfie is a deerhound. He's only a puppy but he's still a very big and clumsy dog. He lives with his boy Charlie and his main hobbies consist of digging holes and causing trouble. When Alfie is put into kennels for a night while his family go to a wedding, he firmly believes he is being punished. Determined to escape he makes a run for it while out for a walk, charging through the local town before ending up hidden deep inside the woods with a huge and terrifying storm approaching.
Alerted to Alfie's disappearance, Charlie and his mother begin a search of the countryside for their dog, leaving posters attached to every post and window shop they can find.
In the meantime to foxes Fixit and his mate Sunset are returning to their den after an evening scavenging for food. Much to their surprise they discover huge hulking shape looming out at them from the dark! It's only Alfie however, frightened and lonely, desperate for help and comfort. The foxes take him in and teach him how to survive in the wild and Alfie becomes very useful by using his unusual ears to listen out for danger.
Months pass without Alfie being found and Charlie's mum is starting to lose hope but the young boy refuses to give up. He just can't imagine life without his friend and won't even consider replacing him with a new puppy and so insist that the search continues despite his mothers reluctance. His search takes Charlie to the very restaurant that Alfie and the foxes raid nightly, but just moments away from reunion, Alfie is kidnapped. Taken away to become a hunting dog it looks like his chances of ever getting home are disappearing fast!
There was no doubt in my mind as I read this book that it will soon become a classic. Jill Murphy is an excellent writer but she has really outdone herself with Dear Hound. She's created a wonderfully written story which was drawn from her own experience of losing a beloved pet. As a result some very strong emotional moments occur at various points throughout the tale as the main characters deal with the worry caused by the Alfie's absence. Above all this is a story of love and loyalty, especially in regards to Charlie's feelings. It's incredibly touching just how upset this little boy feels over the loss of his best friend and his endless optimism that the dog will be found despite growing evidence to the contrary is extremely heart-warming. One moment that particularly springs to mind features Charlie hanging over his garden gate desperately sending positive thoughts through the air in an effort to influence the outcome of the latest search. Anyone who has ever lost a pet of their own should easily identify with the feelings behind such an act.
The overall charm of this book, the brilliant character of the young and naive puppy and the depth of emotional feeling from Charlie should make this a story to remember for all those young readers devoted to their pets. The plot is also well supported by some excellent illustrations.
Our thanks to Puffin for sending us a copy.
Review by James@KidsCompass.
Alerted to Alfie's disappearance, Charlie and his mother begin a search of the countryside for their dog, leaving posters attached to every post and window shop they can find.
In the meantime to foxes Fixit and his mate Sunset are returning to their den after an evening scavenging for food. Much to their surprise they discover huge hulking shape looming out at them from the dark! It's only Alfie however, frightened and lonely, desperate for help and comfort. The foxes take him in and teach him how to survive in the wild and Alfie becomes very useful by using his unusual ears to listen out for danger.
Months pass without Alfie being found and Charlie's mum is starting to lose hope but the young boy refuses to give up. He just can't imagine life without his friend and won't even consider replacing him with a new puppy and so insist that the search continues despite his mothers reluctance. His search takes Charlie to the very restaurant that Alfie and the foxes raid nightly, but just moments away from reunion, Alfie is kidnapped. Taken away to become a hunting dog it looks like his chances of ever getting home are disappearing fast!
There was no doubt in my mind as I read this book that it will soon become a classic. Jill Murphy is an excellent writer but she has really outdone herself with Dear Hound. She's created a wonderfully written story which was drawn from her own experience of losing a beloved pet. As a result some very strong emotional moments occur at various points throughout the tale as the main characters deal with the worry caused by the Alfie's absence. Above all this is a story of love and loyalty, especially in regards to Charlie's feelings. It's incredibly touching just how upset this little boy feels over the loss of his best friend and his endless optimism that the dog will be found despite growing evidence to the contrary is extremely heart-warming. One moment that particularly springs to mind features Charlie hanging over his garden gate desperately sending positive thoughts through the air in an effort to influence the outcome of the latest search. Anyone who has ever lost a pet of their own should easily identify with the feelings behind such an act.
The overall charm of this book, the brilliant character of the young and naive puppy and the depth of emotional feeling from Charlie should make this a story to remember for all those young readers devoted to their pets. The plot is also well supported by some excellent illustrations.
Our thanks to Puffin for sending us a copy.
Review by James@KidsCompass.
