Indigo Wilde and the Creatures at Jellybean Crescent

In this fabulous book, the first in a new series, we enter the colourful world of Indigo Wilde and the magical creatures living at Jellybean Crescent. Indigo, discovered in the Unknown Wilderness when she was but a babe, was adopted by the world-famous explorers, Philomena and Bertram, who are always off adventuring. Indigo is left alone in the house with her little brother, Quigley, and a crazy bunch of magical creatures that her parents have taken in over the years. There is an always grumpy Fishkin, half cat, half fish; a llama-corn who has a particular taste for tinsel, and Olli and Umpf, bright pink and blue yetis. When a new delivery arrives, Indigo is horrified to discover the box is empty, apart from empty chocolate wrappers, the contents having… disappeared? Escaped? Every page brings new characters, all illustrated in detail in the amazing colourful pictures. There’s a new monster on the loose, causing havoc even to the stampeding snortlephants. Every page-turn reveals more disasters, and often a double spread of pictures absorbs the reader before pressing on with the text. Floors need repairing, walls to be rebuilt. More noise and annoyed neighbours. Chief Inspector Pudding and Sergeant Plum arrive to report a claim that a member of the public has stated there were children left in the home alone without adult supervision… and a variety of dangerous  animals housed here. How does Indigo wriggle out of that one, as the officers make a search of the house? The house Indigo loves so much it makes her chest ache. There is so much about this book to appeal to readers. It has points of reference, as in chapter one where the magical house has 16 twisty chimneys and a flock of glittery glamingos nesting on a sparkly roof; perched on the very tippity-top roof is a rusty old weather- vane shaped like a pig eating a sandwich. Magical fantastical creatures frolic about, causing problem after problem. Inside, the thick fog of stinky, rainbow-coloured gas glides about, whilst a small tornado sucks up half the hall furniture. Indigo needs to fix this mess…. This is a real romp of an adventure, a book which will be devoured in one sitting, 140 pages, and then returned to, absorbing with a more leisurely read the thrill of the adventure. Remember this is book one in a series.