They didn't teach THIS in worm school!

If you are searching for a laugh-out-loud funny story for a 7+ reader with a finely-tuned sense of the ridiculous, then look no further.  This hilarious tale of misadventures and unexpected friendship is narrated by Marcus.  Marcus is a worm who meets Laurence, a chicken-like bird.  Marcus saves himself from becoming Laurence’s breakfast by greeting him with a cheery ‘Good morning’ and enquiring about his hobbies, and so begins an unlikely friendship.  It turns out that Laurence thinks he is really a flamingo and longs to travel to Lake Nakuru in Kenya to join his fellow flamingos.  He trusts to Marcus’ supposed map-reading skills to navigate them there and a surreal and funny journey begins with the calamity-prone duo mistaking an electricity pylon for the Eiffel Tower and the local zoo for Africa.

Simone, Lia, graphic novelist, comic artist and Observer and Guardian cartoonist, has created a quirky, witty illustrated novel that will appeal to young readers, reluctant readers and indeed anyone who needs cheering up.  The humorous text is complemented by the expressive comic illustrations.  The whole book is deceptively simple, engaging the reader via jokes, naive narration and layers of visual and verbal humour.  The characters are very appealing and the themes of friendship and self-confidence are surprisingly moving conveyed as they are via a buddy road/air- trip story involving a beat boxing worm and a chicken with a flamingo fixation.  Highly recommended.