Easy to read with just enough description and black and white illustrations to add to the text.
Aleesah Darlison is an Australian author who has written over twenty picture books and novels for children. She likes to champion the cause of animals and this is very evident in this brand-new series.
Phillipe Llamar (agent 0011) and his off-sider Lloyd Llamanator (agent 0013) both work for the League of Llamas (LOL for short). Neither are particularly clever and they both bumble their way through each case. They meet Eloise Llamaresky, (agent 0077) and together they try to solve crimes for the boss of LOL, Mama Llama.
The Golden Llama is about the theft of a golden statue from the Llama Republic, stolen by the evil badger General Bottombump and Llama Impossible is about a diamond heist in New Llama City.
Both stories are fast-paced with loads of action and humour. They are like James Bond stories for young children. The lead character, Phillipe Llamar, thinks he is super suave and imagines that all the girls (animals) must be looking at him with envy. In his opinion, his most important feature is his hair, specifically his luxuriant fringe.
The Golden Llama and Llama Impossible are both chock full of puns, ranging from the names of countries and places (Papua New Guinea Pig, Chickenlovakia, Crowatia, Portugull and Guggenllama) to alternative lyrics to well-known songs. For example:
All the singles
llamas,
All the single llamas
Now put your hooves up!
I had a little chuckle at all these references, but I think that for children aged between six and nine, who these books are aimed at, this humour will be wasted and go over their heads. Will they actually know and understand references such as Barack Ollama or Leonardo DiCarp? I am not sure. I think much of the humour relies on these references and even if explained by an adult, would have little meaning to younger children.
There is however a lot of farting and burping involved, both of which appeal to this age group.
Interestingly, throughout the book, random words have been printed in bold letters for no apparent reason. Often the bold words are important to reinforce but many seem to be haphazard. This did however, keep me on my toes and changed the way I read the text, emphasising in my head words which I would normally have passed over.
The Golden Llama and Llama Impossible are both easy to readwith just enough description and black and white illustrations to add to the text, which will help children imagine each character and scene.
Reviewed by Sue Mauger
Distributed by: Penguin Books Australia
Released: March 2020
RRP: $9.99 each
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