Little Horror

This hilarious debut tale by Daniel Peak, is narrated by Rita, a toddler with the brains, speech and attitude of a super-smart teenager! She takes us back to her earliest memories, where she soon discovers that not all children her age can talk and understand as much as she can … in fact she has yet to meet another child that can. She also soon realises that her abilities are best kept under wraps, other than from her slightly older brother, whom her parents, assuming her exploits are his, think is a child genius and never believe his stories about Rita anyway.

Whilst at nursery one day, a strange meeting with Tiptoes (the worst clown in the world), followed by the disappearance of her family, starts an adventure that takes Rita on a hunt for answers, through soft-play centres, cat-flaps, mobility scooters and a very unusual ice cream van.

There are a host of twists and turns to this story, plus many laugh out loud moments. I’d like to think that a toddler walking around on their own as much as Rita does would cause more alarm than it does in the story, but frankly it all just adds to the silliness and fun of her quest for the truth.

Although this is his first novel for children, Daniel Peak also writes comedy for television and his experience in entertaining definitely shines through. This is a unique and clever story, with madcap, mystery and danger thrown in. I’m sure we will see more from him very soon.