The Bolds Go Green

If you haven’t come across the Bolds yet, you’re missing out. This is the sixth, and possibly final book in the series about this family of hyenas who live happily in Teddington, disguised as humans. It’s just as glorious as the previous instalments, full of joy and jokes and ridiculous adventures, all underpinned by lightly delivered messages of kindness and tolerance and perfectly illustrated by David Roberts. The Bolds twins Bobby and Betty have been made school Green Monitors and are embracing the challenge of sustainable living when a recycling trip to the charity shop leads to a new rescue mission. They come across an aardvark called Annika, recently escaped from a zoo, who explains that her fellow escapees, a skunk called Charlie and a fruit bat named Fergie, are also in need of aid. Delightfully, Charlie and Fergie turn out to be sharing a tent in Parliament Square with a group of eco-warriors. All this and there’s a surprise return from an old friend of the Bolds too. The different plot stands are tied up neatly by the end of the story which culminates in the twins’ birthday party, cake and laughter all round. If this is the last outing for the Bolds, they’ll still have delivered more happiness and satisfaction than most characters do in three times that many outings.