Excuses, Excuses

Neel seems to have some wild and wonderful excuses, told here in verse, for the many rules he breaks. One of the stanzas at the end would have been better placed at the start to set the scene for the reader and make it clear that it’s not just about excuses for school but for everything he does that he shouldn’t do. The humour in the text provided some interest but the match of text and illustration is inconsistent. The illustrations are in a style that will attract some but not all readers. The mix of photo montage, thick colour pen line and painted images all on a white background is not always successful; the same can be said of the text. This is one of those titles that requires a bit of explanation and clarification to be enjoyed as intended.