Flora and Nora Hunt for Treasure

A winner of the Best Illustrated Book category at the 2023 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, Kim Hillyard is certainly an author/illustrator to seek out. This book will enthral all young adventurers and the pictures will be pored over with glee. Introduced are Flora and Nora, two cats, Flora being the with the brilliant ideas, whilst Nora is the one with an organized toolbox! Turn the page and discover they are off in their boat to find the secret treasure. Everything is going swimmingly until lightning strikes (twice!). Their ship splits in two, the cats are thrown into the sea, Flora going one way, Nora another. Flora, sucked into a whirlpool, thinks, ‘What would Nora do?’ Nora, trapped in the jaws of a very unreasonable sea serpent, thinks, ‘What would Flora do?’ Dry land is a relief. The reunion of the two cats far away beats the draw of the glimmering, glistening, glowing Secret Treasure, and, united, they build themselves a new boat. Sharing their adventures as they sail home, they rejoice in their friendship, the greatest treasure of all. The illustrations excite at each page turn, from the deepest dark, never-ending caves to tangled trees, to soupy swamps. Readers will love the quirkiness of the tale, marvelling at the exceedingly quirky pictures. A delight all round.