'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Friday 12 October 2012

Review: Figaro and Rumba and the Crocodile Cafe

Figaro is a fun-loving dog who loves adventure. His best friend Rumba is a cat who loves music and remembers the salsa music he once sang and danced to in his homeland of Cuba.

When Figaro plans to catch the Very Fast Train all the way to the beach, Rumba is worried. He has heard that villains travel on the Very Fast Train, but he can’t resist Figaro’s enthusiasm and the two friends find themselves travelling towards the coast and an adventure involving salsa music, catnapping and a crocodile who isn’t quite what he seems.

Figaro and Rumba and the Crocodile Café is a fun early chapter book for young readers featuring the loveable Figaro and Rumba and their friends. Figaro is eager and excitable, stumbling into adventures and misadventures, while Rumba is sure and steady with a love of music.

Anna Fienberg’s fun story is complemented perfectly by Stephen Michael King’s sweet drawings of Figaro, Rumba and their friends. This book is a great stepping stone for young readers moving from picture books and early readers to junior novels, offering a longer story and chapter format liberally interspersed with colourful illustrations.


Title: Figaro and Rumba and the Crocodile Cafe
Author: Anna Fienberg
Illustrator: Stephen Michael King
Publisher: Allen & Unwin, $19.99 RRP
Publication Date: 1st October 2012
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781742373119
For ages: 5 - 8 years
Type: Picture book, Young junior fiction