The Quest In A Vest (Gordon the Goblin) by Tariq Kurd and Laura Robertson

The Quest In A Vest (Gordon the Goblin) by Tariq Kurd and Laura Robertson
Buy The Quest In A Vest (Gordon the Goblin) by Tariq Kurd and Laura Robertson at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Confident Readers
Reviewer: Jo Heffer
Summary: Gordon is a very small goblin who lives in a land called Gordonia. In fact he is so small that all of the other goblins make fun of him and do not think that he is very brave at all. One day, determined to prove the others wrong, Gordon sets out on his very own quest to slay a dragon. No one else expects him to succeed though especially as he is only protected by a scruffy green vest.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 34	Date: August 2011
Publisher: Malt Publishing
ISBN: 9781907762055
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Gordon the Goblin is more than a little fed up because he is so small and not big and tough like all of the other goblins. They are all fearless hunters and go off on exciting adventures whilst Gordon is left behind. He decides that there is nothing else for it but to set out on his very own quest even though he feels very nervous at the thought of it. He approaches the chief goblin who laughs at him, before deciding to send him off to capture a dragon – not for one moment thinking that Gordon will succeed. It does look like an impossible feat especially as Gordon does lack strength and muscles. Maybe though, he will be able to use his brains and charm rather than relying on brute force. Will Gordon be able to find a dragon and actually persuade him that he wants to be captured and what will happen if he does?

This is an enjoyable read as Gordon sets off on his entertaining but potentially dangerous adventure. He has to travel a long way and is followed by a gremlin called Gary, who is not mentioned until the end, but he can be seen lurking in some of the pictures. There are some lovely illustrations depicting his journey and they show how Gordon is feeling at different parts of the story. My daughter loved the map at the start of the story showing the kingdom of Gordonia. This same map also appears at the end of the story but this time it shows where different parts of the story occurred. This is an interesting addition and one that fascinated my daughter. Also at the end of the book there is a challenge to see whether you spotted different numbers of things such as squirrels, spiders, barrels and fairies among others. This is a good excuse to re-read the book and pay even more attention to the lovely illustrations.

The entire story is written in rhyming couplets which work very well and add to the overall enjoyment and humour within the story. I do have one slight criticism though and that is I think that there is probably too much text on most of the pages. This is particularly so because the print is quite dense and I think that this detracts from the attractiveness of the illustrations. Apart from that the book is fun and appealing with a cute hero. At the end of the book, it is implied that there will be more quests for Gordon so we will definitely keep a look out for more books in the series.

If this sounds good, why not take a look at Shark and Lobster's Amazing Undersea Adventure by Viviane Schwarz.

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You can read more book reviews or buy The Quest In A Vest (Gordon the Goblin) by Tariq Kurd and Laura Robertson at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Quest In A Vest (Gordon the Goblin) by Tariq Kurd and Laura Robertson at Amazon.com.

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Tariq Kurd said:

Thanks for the nice review of our first ever book! I'm interested that the reviewer's daughter liked the map at the end, as I was considering whether or not to include that in the next book.

Thanks!

Tariq Kurd