It's a Groovy World, Alfredo!

Sean Taylor has already made his mark with Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise where he was partnered to great effect with the illustrator Jean Jullien. Here he works with Chris Garbutt to create another lively picture book where text and illustration match. Alfredo is a frog with a problem. He wants to dance – there is a birthday party to attend with groovy dancing. But all he can do is … yes, jump!

Taylor’s unfussy storytelling makes use of plenty of dialogue to drive the action on, while exploiting the energy of the repeated word ‘jump’. His text is complemented by Garbutt’s ‘groovy disco’ style where bold, neon colours and stylised images keep the movement of the story going right to the party at the end. However it is not completely frivolous; the fun is combined with a moral – that being different is not necessarily a disaster. A very enjoyable picture book that would be appreciated by children in KS1.