ReaditDaddy's Chapter Book of the Week - Week Ending 6th October 2017 - "Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure" (Mr Penguin Book 1) by Alex T. Smith (Hodder Children's Books)

Our Chapter Book of the Week uses that awesome illustration-heavy format to brilliant effect as we meet Alex T. Smith's amazing new pint sized hero, Mr Penguin.
In "Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure", book one of a new and exciting series from the ace illustrator and creator of the fabulous "Claude" books, we meet the penguin equivalent of Indiana Jones.

Mr Penguin and his trusty sidekick Colin the Spider (who might not say a lot but still manages to steal practically every scene) are idling around at home, when there's a call - a call to adventure!

The Museum of Extraordinary Objects has mislaid a valuable treasure, and it's up to clue-solving derring-do herring-scoffing Mr Penguin to pick up the trail and solve the case.

In a story that will have young sleuths guessing right up until the final few chapters, Mr Penguin fights irrepressible monsters, solves tricky secret codes and wolfs down fish finger sandwiches (we thoroughly approve, nothing beats a fish finger sarnie with thousand island dressing!)

It's a fantastically exciting series that once again introduces a pint-sized hero with a taste for problem solving, and more than a dose of good luck needed to get to the bottom of this strange case.

The calm before the storm as Mr Penguin gears up for another case

We are completely in love with this story format, and Alex has always made this brilliant transitionary format his own - just the ticket for kids who are beginning their first solo reading journeys and want something a bit longer and more word heavy than your average picture book.

Brilliance, once again. How DOES he do it!!

"Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure" by Alex T. Smith is out now, published by Hodder Children's Books (kindly supplied for review).