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Get Ahead Fred by Daisy Dawes (view source)
Revision as of 20:10, 28 June 2010
, 20:10, 28 June 2010no edit summary
''Get Ahead Fred'' has a lot of nice touches. I particularly enjoyed seeing through Fred's hat collection - it felt like a headwear version of Monty Python's Cheese Shop sketch. Even if the young audience aren't immediately familiar with all the different types of hat, they won't feel left out. It's a fun little fashion show! Most of the writing is crisp, with decent rhymes - a couple feel a little forced, but there's nothing outrageous. On a few occasions I had to backtrack to get the rhythm right. Once you get it, it's not a problem in repeated readings, but it does catch you out a little more than you'd want.
Daisy Dawes is a model maker, who's worked on {{amzonurl|texttitle=Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone|isbn=B00288A1MY}}, {{amazonurl|texttitle=Rex the Runt|isbn=B000068QOF}} and perennial favourite {{amazonurl|texttitle=Pingu|isbn=B000YDAJFO}}. Impressive! In a change from most picture books, the illustrations are models which have been photographed. These models are packed with character, have a familiar style that will immediately click with children, and set the mood wonderfully. The style is mostly seen with the sort of TV tie-in book that we tend to shy away from, but it works really well with an original story. The quality bodes really well for future books from Daisy Dawes.
Although I enjoyed Fred's hat collection, I wasn't blown away by the whole story. The plot ticks along pleasantly most of the time, but Fred's comeuppance feels a bit sudden. Sudden and quirky can work well in cautionary tales - [[Super Dooper Jezebel by Tony Ross]] does it particularly well - but Fred's crime is just to wear an ill-fitting hat, so the ending feels unsatisfying. Fred's tale is bookended by an aside about some cats. It's a little garnish on the top, and cats are always cute, but it's not entirely necessary, and reading a bit more about Fred would have been my preference.