Tuesday 17 May 2011

Up and Down













The boy and his penguin friend are back! If you remember our review of "Lost and Found" you'll remember we found Oliver Jeffers' rather touching tale of a lonely boy and a lonely penguin finding each other a fantastic book with great artwork. 

There's more of the same here, and this time the boy and his penguin friend want to solve one of life's greatest mysteries. Why penguins can't fly. 

There is, of course, a very good reason but you'll have to read the book to find out what it is. As usual though, it's the underlying study of true friendship that underpins Jeffer's excellent crisp illustrations. 

Now Jeffers is in the big league with his own animated features and toy merchandise based on his books, he's probably old hat to a lot of you - but if you haven't discovered one of the best author illustrators working in children's books today, it's high time you did. 

Charlotte's best bit: Penguin's various failed attempts at flight. 

Daddy's favourite bit: The sneaky nod to Jeffers' other books

Rating: 5 out of 5