#WritersReviews: King Coo

King Coo

written and illustrated by Adam Stower

published by David Fickling Books

176 pages in paperback with many illustrations (I lost count)

 

tree-mendous fun!

(yes, the pun IS meant to be there)

A Reader’s perspective

It gave me great pleasure to hand this hilarious book to a local school on World Book Day. I could recommend it wholeheartedly – as I’d expect from DFB. A couple of children hung round hopefully – but the teacher wisely grabbed it first for a class reader!

It’ll be ideal for reading aloud. It’s funny, has a clever mix of ridiculousness and situations children will recognise, and twists off in ways they might well not expect. The illustrations are not just an entertaining bonus – they deepen the whole story. There are diagrams of contraptions and smaller images around the text which add to the experience too.

I think you can tell by the cover shown above and below that it’s a warm and appealing tale – and I’d recommend for a family bedtime. The pictures in its comic-like formula could be read* by a younger or less experienced reader, whilst an older one would enjoy both the silliness and the story.

*images can be read too – explored and interpreted

Summary from the back of the book:

A Writer and Editor’s VieW (some spoilers)

What King Coo does brilliantly

  • makes you laugh
  • inspires kids to invent
  • mucks about with gender expectations
  • encourages empathy
  • combines visual and verbal literacy

What King Coo does not do:

  • preach
  • bore
  • cover up a lack of story with comedy

Bonus

Look – there’s another one to come! June this year (2019). If anyone from DFB cares to send me one to review – not only will it be welcomed by me, but by the kids at my #BookBuddy school!

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