Thursday 2 March 2017

Henry and the Yeti by Russell Ayto (Bloomsbury Publishing)

What on earth IS a Yeti and do they actually even exist? Young Henry seems to think so, and he's determined to prove they're out there once and for all...
In the hugely original and fun "Henry and the Yeti" by Russell Ayto, Russell turns his fine-tuned sense of humour and illustrative skills to relating the tale of a very determined little boy called Henry.

Henry, you see, LOVES Yetis and is absolutely 100% convinced of their existence.

He's so determined to prove they are real to the whole world that he begs his scientist father for permission to embark on a perilous expedition to the mountains to find a Yeti and bring back the evidence that they really truly do exist after all.

Henry even goes to his head teacher to beg for time off school - and with the head teacher's ringing endorsement of "Make sure you bring back proof!", Henry packs his expedition kit and off he goes.

Henry's journey is long and tiring, there are seas to cross, jungles to hack your way through and then the small matter of huge colossal mountains to climb once you reach the snowy wastes where Yetis are said to live.

Amazingly, Henry is successful in his quest, and soon makes firm friends with a huge, gigantic (and thankfully rather friendly Yeti). Taking some quick pictures to use as proof, Henry plays with the Yeti for a while and then packs up his kit back and heads for home.

Once back, he unpacks and is about to proudly present his 'evidence' to his dad - when he realises that he's forgotten his camera! CALAMITIES!

As you'd expect, no one believes Henry (and when he gets back to school the Headmaster makes him write millions of lines - ooch!) but could the tale have one more twist in it?

You know what we're going to say, we'll let you find out. This is a fantastic little book that's full of quirky and original touches, and we must admit after reading it we're becoming huge fans of Yetis too!

"Henry and the Yeti" by Russell Ayto is out now, published by Bloomsbury (kindly sent for review).