01-05-2025
'Crazy, bright and bold': The best books for your kids - WHAT'S THAT NOISE? by Charlie Higson, A MERMAID'S DIARY by Chris Riddell, THE BLOCKBUSTERS by Frank Cottrell-Boyce
WHAT'S THAT NOISE? by Charlie Higson Illustrated by Nadia Shireen (S&S £7.99, 32pp)
Sorry grown-ups, but the only way to read this book is to shout it out LOUD!
When Bob finds an empty box, he sneaks inside with his toy car, his cat and his cap and yells out to a passing plumber.
The plumber's sure she hears something – but then Bob stays very quiet so she wanders off.
Empowered by this, Bob fills the box with more noisy things (a yodelling monkey, a mooing yak, a wobbly jelly...) as a succession of passers-by become increasingly bemused.
This completely crazy, bright and bold picture book is fabulous fun and will appeal to every child who's ever had the imagination to play with an empty cardboard box. Which is everyone.
3+
A MERMAID'S DIARY by Chris Riddell (Macmillan £12.99, 230pp)
Little mermaid Atalanta lives a quiet life in Sleepy Cove but occasionally visits dry land, secretly walking on her tail.
One day she overhears a walrus and a carpenter planning to turn the scenic Lorna Dunes into a hotel and golf course.
Horrified, she rallies support from her 300 siblings and her friends Creech and Herman the Hermit crab to defeat them and the wicked Sand Witch and so protect their precious beach.
This gorgeous book, written as a diary with Riddell's stunning illustrations, is so packed with literary puns and cultural jokes that I had to read it twice in case I missed something.
The first in a series, this is the perfect summer read.
7+
THE BLOCKBUSTERS by Frank Cottrell-Boyce (Macmillan £12.99, 258pp)
Rafa and his older brother Cillian are having a tough time. They've moved in with an uncle because Mum has lost her job and gone somewhere undisclosed and they have to start a new school.
But when an inspirational teacher takes Rafa and friends on to the set of a Hollywood movie being filmed locally, his resemblance to the child star, BB, leads to him being her body double.
When the star then disappears, the studio is desperate to cover it up and Rafa finds himself on a madcap journey to Hollywood.
The author's experience as a screenwriter brings added humour and authenticity to this thrill ride, which is full of warmth, wit and action – with a surprising final twist.
9+
