View source for Carried Away With the Carnival by Ed Boxall

{{infobox1
|title=Carried Away With the Carnival
|author=Ed Boxall
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A young boy gets lost at the carnival but all turns out well in the end and some lessons are delivered with a very light touch. Recommended.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=48
|publisher=The Pearbox Press
|date=September 2021
|isbn=978-1838226831
|website=https://edboxall.co.uk/
|cover=1838226834
|aznuk=1838226834
|aznus=1838226834
}}
It was one of those memories we treasure from our childhoods: an outing with our grandparents. They're there to undo all the good that parents do, so the trips out were always so much fun.  A young boy was going to the carnival with his Grandad, who told him:

''It'll be brilliant, just remember, don't let go of my hand.''

But it was so exciting that our young friend ''did'' let go of his Grandad's hand and it was so colourful that Grandad didn't notice.  It wasn't just colourful, either.  It was great fun.  The boy found himself:

''Carried away by happy hands, over friendly shouts and smiles.''

It would have been difficult not to be carried away: there were dragons with fierce faces and long colourful tails.  Neptune was there with the mermaid and they were swimming through the sky.  There were drums to bang - and then suddenly the boy realised:

''Grandad wasn't there.''

And the boy was frightened.  He was even more frightened when the giant strong woman with the skull tattoos put her hand on his shoulder and the boy ran away as fast as he could.  It wasn't long before he was lost. 

I'm not going to tell you what happens next: you'll have to read ''Carried Away by the Carnival'' to find out but there is a lovely, heart-warming ending and we leave our young friend with a smile on his face.  The strong woman with the skull tattoos is called Janet, by the way, and she's a friend of Grandad's.

There are some important lessons delivered with a very light touch.  The most important is if you're told not to let go of a hand, then don't.  Grandad, we're looking at you too on this point!  Then we learn that you shouldn't judge people by appearances.  This time it was someone who was trying to help who was misjudged but it won't be long before the boy realises that it could work the other way round too.  The most important lesson is not to panic.  Reassure yourself (silly glasses and a wig in this case) and then make a noise so that you can be found.  It's a gentle way of teaching children to think around a problem - and it's great fun too.  There's a hint of danger - just enough to send a shiver down the spine - but not too much!

The text is simple and it's all delivered in a font that the aspiring reader will be able to handle.  There's not too much to read on any one page and although some of the vocabulary is challenging (as it should be) there are plenty of hints on the page to help.  It's a book which will be returned to, time and time again.

Of course, the text delivers the story but (as always) Ed Boxall's [[The Old Woman from Friuli by Ghillian Potts and Ed Boxall|images]] bring the story to life.  The colours are vivid and exciting - you'll feel yourself drawn into the carnival but when the boy gets lost, the grey dreariness of the streets brings home how he is feeling.  There's one picture where an empty bottle has been left next to a lamp post.  It's perfect.

At 48 pages the book is rather longer than the usual picture book but the length is perfect and I'd like to thank the publisher for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

You might also enjoy [[The Way To The Zoo by John Burningham]].

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