Henry Pond the Poet; Emily's Legs

In this pair of books, King-Smith shows that he has not lost his touch for writing simple yet enjoyable books for young readers. The plots are essentially straightforward with light touches of humour. As usual, King-Smith is able to drop in facts about the world of nature without ever seeming remotely didactic, and the illustrations are quirky and lend well to the text.

In Henry Pond the Poet, Henry Pond is a toad who writes poetry. How Henry achieves eventual success in wooing Victoria Garden-Pool occurs partly by luck as well as by using his wits. The lines of poetry that Henry writes will amuse young readers. In Emily's Legs, Emily turns out to be a natural athlete in the world of spiders until it is discovered that she has two extra legs! Although it is Not Her Fault, she is disqualified from the Spider Sports. But there is something special about her legs ...