Pippa and the Sheep Snatchers product reviews

Although this book was meant to be for Miss Seven, her parents and I enjoyed it just as much! The story itself is fully accessible to a youngster in primary school, but there is an additional lure for older readers in the humorous comments that complement the text. While Miss Seven was delighting in the way Pippa and Lulabelle managed to get one over on the thieves, the adults were chuckling at some of the footnotes and other sophisticated observations.

Parodies of book and song titles are scattered throughout the book, with a disclaimer added to each - until the author decides it is becoming a bore and declares that any further parodies are just coincidences! Also included are several authentic comments on things like possums, Mjolnir (Thor's hammer), and the origin of the exclamation "Eureka!" These explanations and other comments are designed for older readers rather than the child who is just there to enjoy a fun tale. At the same time, these hidden extras will be revealed in time as the young reader revisits the book.

Robyn Glendinning's illustrations are simple but evocative of New Zealand country life, featuring gumboots, black shorts, bare tummies, sheep, a possum, and lots of mud! There is a delightful image of Gary, Dan, and Paul the one-eyed possum doing a jubilant dance as they make their plans to become sheep rustlers, and another of Detective Mike Te Hira posing in his suit and thinking back to his time as a bodybuilder while the sheep and a puzzled spider look on.

The story itself is predictable - baddies commit a crime, goodies solve it, baddies are caught, and they all live happily ever after. But what makes the story special is the way it unfolds. Pippa's pet Lulabelle is not any old sheep; she is a chatterbox and a sheep with a mission. Having escaped the shed where she had been locked up, she knows just where to go for help. Paul the possum is another quirky character, more intelligent than either Dan or Gary, and with a grumpy outlook on life. He also has a unique way of letting his enemy know exactly what he thinks of her, decorating her car with "unpleasantness"!

Having finished the book, Miss Seven thought it would be rather nice to have a pet sheep of her own. Living right in the middle of a city might not be the best place to do that, but as she said, the family could always move to Dargaville!