Where's Asterix? by Albert Uderzo and Rene Goscinny

Where's Asterix? by Albert Uderzo and Renee Goscinny
Buy Where's Asterix? by Albert Uderzo and Rene Goscinny at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Confident Readers
Reviewer: Ruth Ng
Summary: Feeling in need of five minutes peace? Give your little darlings the challenge of finding Asterix, and all his friends!
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: September 2011
Publisher: Orion Children's Books
ISBN: 978-1444004441
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Following in the tradition of Where's Wally books here we have Where's Asterix? There are 12 different scenes from the Asterix stories where you have to find not just Asterix but a whole range of other characters hidden throughout as well. Turn it into a competition as you win a laurel wreath for each character you find!

Although this is aimed at children, this is one of those books that the grown ups will want to 'borrow' too! My husband is a huge fan of Asterix, so I'm not sure who was more excited to see this book - him or our daughter! She's only four but has already been introduced to the world of Asterix and actually we only recently returned from a trip to Paris where we spent a happy day at the Asterix theme park!

Although you might expect the book to be quite simple since it's for children it is occasionally a challenge to find Asterix and his friends on every page. I have to admit that I needed to cheat on one page - fortunately there's a handy guide at the back of the book to show you where the characters are located in the different scenes!

The illustrated scenes range from antics in the Gaulish village through to fights in the Roman camp as well as out at sea, in Egypt and even on the rugby pitch in England! There's lots to look at, even if you're not looking for Asterix and the other characters any more but just want to see what's happening in each scene.

I felt that the standard of the drawings varies through the book, and my husband, the resident Asterix expert, was disappointed that it wasn't new material but rather scenes that have been rehashed from the original stories, with extra bits copied in or expanded. I think he'd hoped for something completely new, especially since he's found the most recent Asterix stories, being written without the original author Goscinny who died in 1977, to be disappointing, so he'd thought perhaps this book, which required only artwork rather than a storyline and dialogue, might be a chance for some new, funny pictures.

My favourite page for hunting is a scene of the Roman Legion with their shields up over their heads. It's just a sea of blue and white shields with scattered heads in amongst them and it's very tricky to find anyone on that page! There must be a good five minutes worth of peace and quiet in that page alone! This would be a fun introduction to the characters for those unfamiliar with them, as well as being something a bit different for those who know the stories by heart.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

Further reading suggestion: If you enjoy detailed illustrations you might also like to take a look through The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman and Gris Grimly.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Where's Asterix? by Albert Uderzo and Rene Goscinny at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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