Review of Where is Hairy Maclary?: Hairy Maclary and Friends – Lynley Dodd

Lift-the-flap, hide-and-seek fun with mischievous Hairy Maclary and all his friends!
Have you seen Hairy Maclary? Where is he hiding? Lift the flaps to see if you can spot the raggedy rascal and his rollicking gang!

Is he having a scratch in the strawberry patch? No, that’s Bitzer Maloney. Is he taking a bath at the side of the path? No, that’s Muffin McLay. Babies and toddlers will have loads of fun spotting the clues in the illustrations and lifting the flaps to discover which of the characters it is.

This delightful board book with sturdy cardboard flaps showcases the famous animal characters from Lynley Dodd’s bestselling series of picture books. From page to page, Hairy Maclary’s gang is hidden behind a variety of objects for little fingers to move aside, until, at last, Hairy Maclary’s hiding place is discovered!

Where is Hairy Maclary?: Hairy Maclary and Friends

Lynley Dodd

Picture Puffin

Supplied by Penguin Random House New Zealand

Reviewed by Jan Butterworth

An adorable board book with stiff pages and sturdy cardboard flaps for little fingers to play hide and seek with. The story tries to find Hairy Maclary in various hiding places but instead a friend of his is there. All of his gang are found, Scarface Claw, Slinkl Malinki and Zachary Quack too, until Hairy Maclary’s hiding place s finally discovered! The words are short sentences that rhyme and are fun to say out loud. There are clues in the clever, familiar illustrations and the use of colours is happy and joyful.

A must-have for any toddler.

Review of Argylle – Elly Conway

The globe-trotting spy thriller that inspired the action blockbuster Argylle , starring Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard and Samuel L. Jackson, directed by Matthew Vaughn of Kingsman trilogy fame.
One Russian magnate’s dream of restoring a nation to greatness has set in motion a chain of events which will take the world to the brink of chaos. Only Frances Coffey, the CIA’s most legendary spymaster, can prevent it. But to do so, she needs someone special.

Enter Argylle. His life came to a crashing halt as a teenager. Since when he has been treading water, building barriers between himself and the world. Until one moment of compassion and brilliance will bring him to the attention of the most powerful woman in the secret world.

Coffey knows all about Argylle’s dark past. She knows it haunts him. But she also knows it may give him the skills to join the team going up against one of the most powerful men in the world. His crash course in espionage will take him from the jungles of Thailand to the boulevards of Monaco, from the monasteries of Mount Athos to a forgotten cavern buried deep in the mountains.

It is a deathly rollercoaster ride that will either make him – or break him…

Argylle

Elly Conway

Bantam

Supplied by Penguin Random House New Zealand

Reviewed by Stephen Litten

Aubrey Argylle, adult orphan son of itinerant drug dealers, is living a dead-end existence in the Golden Triangle acting as tour guide to people who think the area somehow glamorous.
He sees a light plane crash and steps in to help the survivors. This attracts the attention of the CIA, and the drug lords whose toes he crushed.
The story follows Argylle’s basic training with the CIA, integration into a pre-existing team (that had suffered betrayal by one of its number) and a convoluted plan to thwart a Russian oligarch’s search for the Amber Room. The action proceeds across a variety of locations, from Monaco to a Belgian industrial estate, to Versailles, and to the northern slopes of the Carpathians.
Now, spyfy is not my usual genre but it’s something I quite enjoy watching. But this is a book, and after 365 pages, I think Elly Conway didn’t get it quite right. In the Author’s Note for New Edition (which caused me to search for any previous editions and all I could find was a 2022 copyright for the cover image), Conway claims the character of Argylle arrived fully formed and the book more or less wrote itself.
Unfortunately, she should have edited it, because the story deserves at least two books. From recruitment to the first encounter with the Russian oligarch, we have book one. And from there forward we have one, maybe two books leading
to the conclusion of the plot arc, because a decent villain is a shame to waste in only one book.
I liked the story, and generally I liked the characters, but the handling was at times clumsy. I believe this is Conway’s first novel, so most of the flaws can be attributed to beginner’s style
and a lazy editor. If you’re into spyfy, this could easily be your thing. If you’re not, it’s worth a crack.

Review of Croak: A book of fun for frog lovers – Phil Bishop

Croak is a collection of delightful quotes and gorgeous photographs celebrating the underappreciated beauty of frogs. Many of the stunning, colourful images were taken by author Phil Bishop on his travels around the world. They showcase frogs in their natural habitats, paired with quotes from famous faces such as Cameron Diaz and John Steinbeck. Simultaneously amusing and illuminating, this perfect coffee table book is a celebration of one of the most varied and vibrant species on earth.

Review of Croak: A book of fun for frog lovers

Phil Bishop

Exisle Publishing

Reviewed by Jan Butterworth

A celebration of the natural beauty of frogs

As amphibians, frogs are part of the most threatened group of land animals. They come in every shape and form, from round blobs to leaf-like mimics; they live on every continent in the world except for Antarctica; and they have a huge variety of lifestyles and reproductive modes, from giving birth to live young and carrying babies around on their backs to living their entire lives in deep caves underground.

There is a gorgeous a photo on one page, accompanied with a relevant quote opposite. The quotes are credited to a mix of people, some famous household names and others obscure scientists that need to be googled. I was expecting a Kermit quote to be somewhere and it’s a laugh – ‘time’s fun when you’re having flies”. I love the anonymous quote – ‘Frogs have it made; they get to eat what bugs them’ and the Irish proverb – ‘Every little frog is great in his own bog’. Even royalty joins in with the classic ‘The things I do for frogs!’ Prince Charles

The photos are beautiful works of art, showing off each frog’s striking colours that stand out vividly. The glossary at the back lists the scientific name of each frog, where the photo was taken, and by whom.

A stunning book for any nature lover.