ReadItDaddy's Second Picture Book of the Week - Week Ending 21st June 2019: "Secret Agent Elephant" by Eoin McLaughlin and Ross Collins (Orchard Books)

Our second Picture Book of the Week is a hilarious spy romp with a difference.

In "Secret Agent Elephant" by Eoin McLaughlin and Ross Collins, the spy isn't some suave sophisticated lantern-jawed action man. It's an elephant, and one who can barely wriggle into his stylish tuxedo, let alone cope with the rigours of a life as an international elephant of mystery.

There's a nefarious plot by an arch super-criminal to end the world, and the only man...er Elephant for the job is a pizza-obsessed klutz who is going to need some firm but gentle guidance in the ways of becoming a spy.

Eoin and Ross offer up a great little picture book homage to James Bond (check out Elephant's poor crushed sports car, for example) before diving headlong into the giggles with a brilliant showdown with the nefarious Vincent Le Morte.

As always with picture books, I can never quite tell whether they're going to be a hit, miss or maybe with C - but she enjoyed this one. Psst, secret stuff, she was actually rooting for Vincent at the end so I hope there's a sequel planned with some sort of super-villain jailbreak involved!

Sum this book up in a sentence: A brilliant spy romp with lots of knowing nods and winks to spy movies, as well as the brilliant physical humour of a colossal klutz of an animal trying to slink their way (largely unsuccessfully) through an awesome spy adventure.

"Secret Agent Elephant" by Eoin McLaughlin and Ross Collins is out now, published by Orchard Books (kindly supplied for review).