Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton (Walker Books)

We're fashionably late to the party for this one but we couldn't resist reviewing Chris Haughton's perfect slice of comedic mayhem. Here's "Shh! We Have a Plan!"
From the moment you clap eyes on the cover of "Shh! We Have a Plan" you'll fall in love with the gallant (and completely inept) gang of would-be bird rustlers, particularly the tiniest little scamp who is pivotal to the hilarious way the story unfolds. On spying the most beautiful bird nestling in the branches of a tree while out on a walk, the gang simply must have the bird for themselves. So a plan is formulated. Surely it can't be that hard to capture a bird?

Younger children thrive on repetition in stories, but there's a real knack to making them laugh out loud when each scene leads to complete and utter failure on the part of the gang.

Chris Haughton's art is utterly luscious, building the most incredible scenes out of simple shapes and shades, with minimalist characters that still manage to be full of personality and expression.

Of course we'd hate to spoil the last few pages of the book but Chris saves the biggest belly laughs right until the end and in this board book format, it's an absolutely perfect addition to your tiniest tinies' growing library.

Charlotte's favourite bit: The littlest character steals practically every scene and is pivotal to the perfect pay-off at the end. Wonderful!

Daddy's favourite bit: We love Chris's books, but this is our favourite so far. Madcap, crazy and hilarious in equal measure (though should we really feel sympathetic towards a bunch of bird-nappers, no matter how funny they are?)

(Kindly sent to us for review by Walker Books)

"Shh! We Have a Plan"

Written and Illustrated by Chris Haughton

Published by Walker Books. 

Release Date (Board Book): 2nd April 2015