Beatrice ("The Marvellous Fluffy Squishy Itty Bitty, A Lion in Paris, BouBou") Alemagna's new book is a decidedly different story just like the 5 characters who feature in it. Meet "The 5 Misfits" who all live together in a tumbledown ramshackle house, each struggling with their daily lives and feeling that they're lost in a world of perfection. One of the characters is full of holes like a sieve, one is lazy and can barely scrape together the energy to get out of bed. One lady spends her entire life upside down and the rest don't fare much better either. They live in blissful ignorance of their differences until a pink-coiffed stranger turns up, the rather brash and boorish Mr Perfect.
Mr Perfect befriends the weird quintet, but as he tries to help them improve themselves he realises that his task is a thankless one, the 5 really just can't be helped but they do have one thing that Mr Perfect seems to lack - a strong friendship exists between the 5 of them as they look out for each other and work together.
Beatrice's allegorical tale is quirky, original and fresh. Though it wasn't as immediate a hit with Charlotte as "The Marvellous Fluffy Squishy Itty Bitty" she still rather enjoyed the tale of 5 oddities overcoming their differences to become a solid team to be reckoned with.
Charlotte's favourite bit: The marvellous upside down lady.
Daddy's favourite bit: A fun, quirky and wholly original tale of friendship and teamwork.
(Kindly sent to us for review by Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
"The 5 Misfits"
Written and Illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna
Published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Release Date: 6th August 2015.