Steve Light, creator of some of our favourite children's books is back for 2017 with a new picture book revolving around an endearing fellow called Lazlo.
He's going to see the girl of his dreams, starring at the local theatre in their production of "Alice in Wonderland" and like the thoughtful chap he is, he decides to pick up a single red rose to give to her on her opening night.
Lazlo's luck runs out however, when he meets a mischievous cat who runs off with the rose, and leads poor Lazlo on a hectic chase through the theatre and onto the stage just as things are getting under way.
Will that pesky cat get his comeuppance? Will Lazlo rescue the rose to give to his lady love?
Weirdly, we usually give Steve's books plenty of praise and attention on the blog but for some reason this one just didn't work for either of us. I adore Steve's artwork, and the chase story is fine but it's lacking something - I really can't explain what it us but neither Charlotte nor I could shake the feeling that we'd seen this before somewhere.
We dug deep into the archives and found that it was very similar to Harriet Ziefert and Jenni Desmond's excellent "Backstage Cat"..
There was a lot to like about this book despite that slightly deflated feeling that this wasn't as great as "Zephyr Takes Flight" (A book we've talked about and adored so many times on this blog) and the equally fab "Swap" (which felt fun and original).
We do love the artwork, a mix of fab detailed monochrome line drawings with gorgeous splashes of colour. Lazlo is a great little character but this one just didn't really work for either of us. Perhaps you'll enjoy it more, as it's a delightful little book for younger readers who love a hectic chase.
"Lucky Lazlo" by Steve Light is out now, published by Walker Books (kindly supplied for review).