Monster's Terrible Toothache; Monster and Frog Get Fit

There are four books in this latest series about two animals who are friends. I admire Rose Impey as an excellent writer of humorous stories for under-9s, but even she cannot avoid the slight feeling of sameness that's creeping into this genre of story. There's a rather boastful and bossy character (Frog in this case) and a slower witted follower character. The former always thinks he can solve the problem but only makes things worse and the latter comes up with the goods in the end for which the other takes the credit. It has an honourable pedigree, from Winnie the Pooh through Frog and Toad and beyond but it is often predictable. However, these are very good of their type, as one would expect from Ms Impey, and the stories have sensible messages under the fun ... everyone can find the right keep fit regime if they try and dentists are Good Things. Nice, clear pictures complement the entertaining, straightforward text very well.