Cantankerous King Colin by Phil Allcock and Steve Stone
| Cantankerous King Colin by Phil Allcock and Steve Stone | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Zoe Page
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| Summary: King Colin is in a foul mood and he's acting out. Can anyone make him behave before the kingdom is ruined and his royal subjects are running scared? | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: May 2014 |
| Publisher: Maverick Arts Publishing | |
| ISBN: 978-1848861138 | |
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King Colin definitely got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. He’s being very crotchety and rude, but whenever anyone tells him off he ignores them. After all, a king can do what he wants.
This is a silly, light hearted story about breaking all the rules and being out of control. I remember reading recently that you weren’t supposed to label children any more, but label their behaviour (You are naughty vs. That’s a naughty thing to do) and so it’s a relief to see this book hasn’t bought into that nonsense. By the end of the story, King Colin has a LOT of labels to his name. He’s crazy King Colin, silly King Colin, dirty, smelly, grumpy King Colin. He’s not the messiah, but he is a very naughty boy.
The really fun bit about this story is all the things King Colin doesn’t do that you and I both know he should. You should wash your hands after going to the toilet. You should wear clean clothes each day. You shouldn’t shout nastily at the staff (#middleclassproblems) and you should always remove your muddy shoes at the door before you stomp off upstairs. There’s lots more they could have added too, like brushing your teeth or clearing the table, but overall there’s a good mix here of things little readers will already know you should or shouldn’t be doing, so they can watch in delight as King Colin misbehaves.
For anyone worried where this is going, fear not. The ending well and truly puts King Colin in his place. Plot spoiler: his mum appears and sends him to his room. I especially loved the last page: And she did because she could because she was the king’s mum. The end.
Apart from a rather mind-scarring picture of a topless, podgy king, this is a lovely book full of bright, cheerful pictures and funny misdemeanours. Highly recommended.
Thanks go to the publishers for sending us this book.
On a sort of similar theme, Yucky Mucky Manners by Sam Lloyd sounds ace and our reviewer recommends it.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Cantankerous King Colin by Phil Allcock and Steve Stone 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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