The Blue-Footed Booby
A mystery is afoot! Desmond and his fellow red-footed boobies have been following their passion and baking up lots of treats. However, when Desmond’s frangipane tart disappears, he sets off, following a trail of mysterious blue footprints and is soon joined by the other boobies. When the footprints lead to a blue door, Desmond, Maureen, Rod and the others come face to face with a booby with BLUE feet. Although this booby protests his innocence and claims he only eats greens, Des is suspicious until he spots a trail of tart crumbs. Everyone hurriedly follows this new clue which leads to the discovery of the real culprit. Mystery solved…or is it?
Every book by Rob Biddulph is guaranteed to be an absolute joy- and this is no exception! The title alone is sure to be met with giggles galore despite the inclusion of a definition of the word on the opening end paper- which might encourage children to find out more about these charming birds with brightly coloured tootsies. Desmond and his friends are a loveable bunch with their oversized red feet and each sporting their own style of baker’s hat. There is so much to notice and enjoy in Rob’s wonderful illustrations, including a list of things to find which you can tick off at the front of the book. And one of them is quite tricky to locate (I had to enlist the support of my husband)..! Indeed, eagle eyed children (and adults) may well notice a hidden clue to help solve the final mystery as the story develops!
The wonderful illustrations are accompanied by bouncy rhyme with plenty of interesting words to investigate and enjoy! Sections of the text are perfect for joining in with…in fact, it’s almost impossible not to! I can almost hear classes of children having the best time learning left and right without even meaning to as their quick-thinking teacher encourages them to act out ‘Left footprint…right footprint…’ Desmond learns that he should not jump to conclusions about others and yet, there is a further surprise to end this delightfully silly tale. There is even a QR code included which will lead you to an episode of ‘Draw with Rob’, which shows the reader what a real blue-footed booby looks like as well as teaching how to draw one.
Another triumph from Mr Biddulph! Make sure you take off the dust jacket so you can enjoy the illustrations beneath.
The Blue-Footed Booby Rob Biddulph
Harper Collins ISBN: 978-0008413392
You can read my review of ‘An Odd Dog Christmas’ here.
