A funny graphic novel for all lovers of chippies … and who doesn’t like chippies?
Many people will be familiar with Sam Cotton’s work on Australian television; Diary of an Uber Driver, Rosehaven and Mr Inbetween are just a few. He also has a big presence on TikTok with over 44 million likes, and 3 million followers on Instagram, where he posts his hand-drawn illustrations interwoven with real life footage.
The Chippy Chasers: Chippy Jackpot is the first novel in the Chippy Chaser series.
It begins with an older seagull, aptly named Grandgull, who is talked into telling a nest-time (bedtime) story to four baby gulls. The story is set on a Sydney wharf where Brock has his famous chippy van. But Brock is notorious amongst the bird world as a hater of seagulls who successfully does away with any gull who tries to steal his chippies.
Steve-O the seagull is well known as the only one who has ever outsmarted Brock, so good gull mates Stanley and Stacey set off to find out what happened to Steve and enlist his help. They are joined by wormy, who really has no choice but to go with them, as he may be their next meal!
This story is very funny, but I am not sure the ages it has been directed towards (6+) will understand some of the funnier puns (Steven Spielbird, nest-time, or that the baby bird is a wing-ful).
The Chippy Chasers: Chippy Jackpot is told in nine chapters, with black and white illustrations by Cotton which perfectly tie the story together. The reader will need to spend time looking at the pictures as well as reading the text. They are very funny and at times, extremely subtle! Cotton is able to convey a lot of meaning with the facial expressions, especially the eyebrows, on both the birds and people.
The montage of Steve-O’s workout is very clever, as is the plan to steal the chippies. At the end of the book there is some information about Sam Cotton, written by himself, including a couple of his trademark photos with eyes, as well as background information on Steve-O, Stanley, Stacey, and Wormy.
This book is perfect for reluctant readers but also any child or adult with a sense of the absurd who enjoys a snack of chippies.
Reviewed by Sue Mauger
This review is the opinion of the reviewer and not necessarily of Glam Adelaide.
Distributed by: Penguin Books Australia
Released: August 2022
RRP: $14.99
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