Squid Bits! That’s A Nice Hat!
Jess Bradley
David Fickling Books

It’s great to see a new graphic novel series emerging, this being the first book. Herein readers will find brief, bizarre comic strip tales featuring all manner of creatures named the ‘Doodles’ ie Dog, Cat, Lizard, Rabbit, Mouse and Goat – a motley crew if ever there was one. This crazy lot decide that to please the Squid they should make it a hat, but what kind and will one ever be completed?

One story that particularly ticked my fancy was The Magic Narwhal wherein said narwhal is eager to play tennis but every time a potential opponent appears it ends up impaled on the narwhal’s horn. The title of this is something of a misnomer I have to say. ’Why doesn’t anyone like me or want to play tennis?’the unicorn of the sea wants to know.

There are astonishing sections such as Squid Bits Horoscopes, The Red Panda: Nature’s Jerk, The Adventurer’s Guide #51: Jobs! and Stick Insect Romance. Readers never know what’s coming next and that’s all part of the fun. At the end, Jess Bradley gives some lessons on ‘How to draw the Squid Bits Way’ so everyone can have a go at making their own crazy comic strip.

This book is especially brilliant for visual readers and I imagine if you put a copy into a KS2 classroom there will be a queue of readers waiting for their turn to read it. What more can an educator ask?