Dixie O’Day Up, Up and Away
Shirley Hughes and Clara Vulliamy
The Bodley Head
Hip! Hip Hooray! Dixie’s up and away. Well not quite yet but he will be soon in this, his third adventure.
Dixie and Percy have a new friend, Ariel, a parrot belonging to their neighbour and arch enemy, Lou Ella. When the three friends set off to Didsworth Air Show, she’s quickly in her car and hot on their trail to recover her bird. Ariel however, has no wish to be caught so when he spies her, he makes a dive for the basket of a hot air balloon, hastily followed by Percy and Dixie.

A gust of wind saves them from her clutches and, loosened from its tethers, the balloon takes flight – up, up and up it soars leaving a furious Lou Ella far below. None of the three aeronauts has any ballooning experience so it’s a case of learning by doing and UP seems their best option.
Time passes, lunch begins to feature in their thoughts but suddenly, down comes the rain, followed by thunder and lightning. The friends are soon soaked through and as the wind buffets them dangerously, they cling on searching for somewhere to land till they spot what appears to be an island.

Down they go but it’s not quite the tropical variety Ariel had in mind. Rather, it’s a roundabout at the centre of a busy junction.
Clearly the animals have never been to forest school: their efforts at shelter building are a dismal failure and even worse, there’s Lou Ella come to claim her pet. He though, tells her in no uncertain terms what he thinks of her and flies off into the nearest tree; but that’s not the end of the story.
I won’t spoil that but suffice it to say, there’s another frantic balloon flight, an encounter with a flock of parakeets

(have they flown over from Bushey Park?) after which Ariel decides to spread his wings, and a stop-off at a favourite venue for Dixie and Percy.

I know a good few young readers who have been eagerly awaiting this book and they won’t be disappointed. In addition to another exciting story from Shirley, gloriously funny, retro-style illustrations by Clara, grace every spread; there are pages of interesting activities and a short taster of the next adventure of Dixie and Percy. Who can ask for more?

 

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