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

Friday 21 July 2017

Review: Bruno: Some of the More Interesting Days of My Life So Far

Bruno is a cat that wears a blue checkered hat. The ‘more interesting days of his life so far’ are presented in six linked stories using animal characters. 

Beautifully illustrated, the tales are filled with humour and are more than a bit bizarre. It’s a book that will definitely entertain.
 
For Bruno, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. In fact, peculiar things keep occurring in Bruno’s life. Ringo, one of Bruno’s many friends, is an old pony that walks backwards. 

A flying fish tries living on land. His exploits encourage Bruno and Ringo to take a swim with him in the river. They discover that what is beneath the water is equally if not more beautiful, than what is found above.

The day the power went out’, turns into a day of beauty and quiet reflection for Bruno. Trying new things for inexplicable reasons can make life interesting.

These are examples of the unexpected and unusual happenings readers will encounter with disbelief in this exquisite book filled with illustrations in washed watercolour and pen.

The stories are filled with silliness and nonsense. They cover ‘a rainy day’ when staying indoors has its own benefits, or not, as visitors keep arriving to get out of the rain. On ‘a stupid day’ silly things happen but all ends well. Adventures that have unhappy happenings include a crazy cow, a lost canary that incessantly talks nonsense, and a car full of wild boars.

A much less interesting day’ is presented with speech bubbles as Ringo changes a dull day into a better one by telling a ridiculous riddle. And Bruno proves that a perfect day is what you make of it.

Sounds like a challenging read? Some books are simply entertaining without having logic to them. This is one of them which is none-the-less, beautiful and interesting in its singular fashion. Hooray to Gecko Press! Their books always impress!

Title: Bruno: Some of the More Interesting Days of My Life So Far
Author: Catharina Valkx
Illustrator: Nicholas Hubesch
Publisher: Gecko Press
Publication Date: April 2017, $19.99
Format: Paperback
Age: 5 - 9
Type: Junior Fiction