If all the world was a picture, what would you do?

Title: Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City

Author and Illustrator: Rob Biddulph @RobBiddulph

Published by: Macmillan @MacmillanKidsUK

Published on: 17th March 2022

ISBN: 978 1 5290 4053 1 Price: £7.99

First line: The world, like a brand new page, was white.

Genre: Action, adventure, quest

Age: 8+

What’s it all about? Rob Biddulph must ring a bell with most people who lived through the pandemic and had something to do with children, as ‘Draw with Rob’ was such a wide spread phenomenon. Now, here he is, turning his hand to fiction writing, with the determined and plucky character ‘Peanut Jones’ (there must be a considered link to Indiana Jones there)! The story centres on her journey to another world called Chroma, (entering it in a similar fashion to ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’) with the help of a magic pencil, to rescue her missing dad. With her goes her sister, ‘Littlebit’, and her new ‘friend’/studybuddy, Rockwell. She leaves behind a drab world of boring new schools and homework to explode into a world of colour and artistry. Sadly, this world’s beauty is being rubbed out and they are the ones to help by joining the resistance.

Why should I read it?Beautifully illustrated and written with a vast array of different art inspired phrases, such as: decorated with a few pale brushstrokes clouds; charcoal coloured trees; a sketch of a dog. I can’t wait to use this in Art, Design and Technology and English lessons – there’s even space for some differential maths in mathematics lessons! This is a brilliant story for children of 8 and above. 

Thanks to the UKLA for my review copy.