Hodder Children's Books Mr Penguin and the Lost Treasure: 1

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I’ve been eyeing up Alex T Smith’s books for a while, suspecting they’d be great for our family read at bed time with my seven year old. I’m happy to report I was right!This is a great introduction to Mr Penguin on his first foray as a professional adventurer. Slightly naive, but giving it a go anyway and with great support from his trusty non-verbal side kick, Colin and friend Edith.My child loved this story, we’re ordering the next one. The chapters are a great length for squeezing a couple in before bed time and my child could read this on their own too. It’s very funny and well paced. We’re on to the last couple of chapters now, looking forward to reading the next in the series soon!

The fact that our author, Alex Smith, is responsible for the amusing "Claude" series was all I needed to interest me in this book, the first in a new "Mr. Penguin" series. This one seems aimed at a slightly older crowd, but has the same charm and appeal as the "Claude" books.This time out our heroes are the newly minted Adventurer/detective Mr. Penguin and his bowler-hatted spider sidekick, Colin. We're off to search for treasure in an old museum building, and maybe to foil some would be robbers.Mr. Penguin is new to the Adventure business, and untested, but he proves his mettle in this tale. Smith excels at creating characters who are a bit innocent and inexperienced, but full of good instincts, good intentions, and the right stuff. I think these are great sorts of main characters for kids books. Mr. Penguin isn't foolish or sappy or cowardly or "silly". Like the book's readers, he's keen to have adventures, have experiences, do right, and "grow up". That you can have all of that with some excitement and a lot of laughs is just super extra bonus time.The drawing supports all of that wonderfully. The lines are crisp and clear, and color is understated. The drawings illustrate what's going on in the story, so they are both amusing in their own right and helpful in understanding and following the action. Whimsy is in the eye of the beholder, but at least to me these characters just come across as fun and friendly."Smart" might seem to be an odd word to use to describe a funsy chapter book, but that's one of the distinguishing aspects of this book. The vocabulary isn't unfairly demanding, but Smith sometimes uses words that offer just enough challenge to engage an older reader and to broaden the reading experience. ("The sun was just peeking up above the roofs of the skyscrapers and sparkling off their windows. It made the entire town look like it was covered in sequins.") Sentences are complex, and there's enough subtle irony and deadpan humor mixed in to make the text a bit more sophisticated than seems usual to me.So, I thought this was both good-natured fun and a quality reading experience, and I was delighted to have this new step up from "Claude".

This is such a great book. My 8 year old was stuck on the Dog Man series, and was worried about tackling a "real chapter book." She's now really enjoying it - loves the story line and has a sense of achievement about reading a "proper book" independently and quite quickly. From an English teacher's point of view, I love the more sophisticated vocabulary. It provides a good challenge while the fun story carries them along. Highly recommended.

It's my 6yo favourite book! He has recommended it to his whole class. We bought this copy as a birthday gift for one of his friends.