The Great Snortle Hunt

Four friends set out to see the Snortle who lives ‘on a hill bumpy-steepy’ in a big old house. No one has ever seen the Snortle but everyone knows he has a huge appetite and is very, very scary. Snortles, it is also known, love moonlit nights, so one night the brave group sets out armed with everything they might need, including a big iced-cake for the Snortle. On the way they are scared, but not deterred, by all sorts of creepy noises; they even enter the Snortle’s bedroom despite the growls, groans, strange gurgly moans and horribly Snortley sounds coming from under a big bedspread covering a huge monster Snortle. There is more excitement and surprises as the friends hastily exit the house, but the tale takes an unexpected turn when the Snortle, who is a really friendly chap, invites them all for tea the very next day.

Recommended for three year-olds plus, young readers will love the build-up of excitement as the gang of four approaches the house, and the ending which gently shows without telling, that you can’t make assumptions about Snortles – and perhaps people.

Freedman is an accomplished author who knows what children like and her words are well-matched by Hindley’s spikey images. These, laid on mat paper which suitably tones down the brighter colours, imbue each of the friends, and the Snortle, with character, and create a sense of mounting tension. The page shape too is used to maximum effect in this affirming production.