Pirate House Swap

After years of spending their summer holidays on DIY and other mundane activities, the Clark family are determined to do something different. So, a house swap seems the ideal thing especially one advertised like this: ‘Lovely timber home. Picturesque views. Right on the sea – fish, swim and sail! Sleeps four.’ Armed with a map, they set off but as we know – even if the Clarks don’t – adverts can be more than a little deceptive and their holiday home is unexpected to say the least for this family of landlubbers. Their city house tenants meanwhile are making the most of the facilities the Clarks have left behind. Thus, we have two holidays unfolding in parallel as each group becomes more and more settled in until, all too soon, it’s time to head home once more. However, the surprises don’t end there. For the Clark family certainly, things are not quite as they left them.

Told in comic strip style with gatefold pages, this is essentially a picture book for young readers to explore for themselves or for sharing one to one or with a small group of listeners. It certainly merits close attention.