Peanut Jones and the End of the Rainbow

Rob Biddulph’s Peanut Jones books have been a delight, right from the very first, and this latest is no exception. Riotous adventuring from Peanut and her ‘gang’ (so many delightful characters, both flesh and blood ones of different ethnicities, and some of the most brilliant metal ones to have been created since R2D2 and K-9) are supported by page after page of the most wonderfully entertaining illustrations – this a pure kid-fest of reading joy. It is not just gratification for the seekers of amusing adventures, though. Rob Biddulph manages to pack his high jinks with lots of arty references too. Where else could kids learn so entertainingly about Swan Lake, Caravaggio, Leonardo’s Last Supper, Banksy (and many others famous artists) the technique of ‘trompe l’oeil’ and loads of other cultural stuff as well? Drawing pencils make some brilliant guest appearances too, not to mention Crayola wax crayons. This is just such a wonderfully inventive and creative world. And all within a highly exciting, amusing, thrilling, totally absorbing story. This book, and its two companions, are a real gift to children, and will do much to bring more and more of them into the wonderful company of those whose life is enhanced by reading (and perhaps drawing) for pleasure.

Wow! What an epic ending to a brilliant series. I utterly adore how at the heart of this whole series has been the concepts of creativity and friendship - both of which are tried and tested throughout this final instalment. I love that it’s a team effort to battle the villain. I love that characters make mistakes and apologise. I love that sometimes they needed to follow their heart and other times follow their heads. I really enjoyed that this series was all about Peanut Jones but that she isn’t a perfect hero, and that it requires every character to play their part. It’s a real ensemble piece. And above all I love Little Bit! She’s amazing and deserves a series in her own right (and even if she doesn’t get one I’ve created one for her in my head!)

The illustrations really do bring this story to life and create a magic that can sometimes be lacking from older kids fiction - I’d love to see more books created in this way where illustrations are part of the storytelling too.

The epilogue is also just *chefs kiss* and left my mind wandering into a whole new world of creativity - ingenious way to end the series.