Cleo the Completely Fine Camel
Wendy Meddour and Carmen Saldaña
Oxford Children’s Books

Nothing can stop Cleo the camel feeling on top of the world and absolutely fine or can it? She’s such a ‘glass half full’ kind of creature that even when the sand under her feet is burning hot, the sweat is pouring off her face and she’s so thirsty that she licks the surface of a rock, she insists to fellow desert dwellers Lizard, Jerboa, and the circling vultures, that she feels happy.

Suddenly a fearsome sandstorm blows up, almost completely burying Cleo. Her friends dig her out and still she maintains that she is fine, despite her hump having shrunk significantly. Along comes Ostrich who has just emerged from the sand. “I’m fed up. Fed up of sandstorms, Fed up of the heat. And fed up of getting sand in my eyes.” Cleo still tries the ‘we’re desert animals’ line but Ostrich continues with “Yes, I feel rubbish. Totally awful. Absolute pants. How about you?” Will Cleo finally take that leap of confidence and admit how she really feels?

Thankfully for all, yes she can and having faced up to reality, she follows Ostrich’s lead in search of an oasis where welcome refreshment awaits.

Wendy Meddour’s story gently and humorously imparts an important life lesson to young children: it’s all very well putting on a brave face but not to the detriment of your own well-being. Carmen Saldaña makes the searing desert heat radiate from the pages in her illustrations, which show the impact on the animals – humped or not – as they struggle to cope with the harsh reality of desert life.