Yelp! Yeti! Chaos in Kathmandu

Flying Eye Books have, yet again, produced an engaging title to help stem the tide of children in this age bracket deciding against reading for pleasure. Chaos in Kathmandu is exactly the kind of title that might just make those young readers think again.

Set in Nepal, and including regular new words and phrases from the locality and explanations for authenticity, we meet Dev who spots a Yeti and sets off on an inevitable adventure he could never have imagined. Initially expecting the summer many of his readers might well empathise with – staying with relatives, playing with cousins, holding sleepovers…before he knows it he is on the trail of the Yeti which has given him such a bad name. No-one believes Dev when he claims a Yeti has caused the chaos…but in time perhaps they will be convinced to change their mind.

This is a classic summer holiday read, reflecting the usual friction between parents, children and even between siblings on the long summer break: who has made all this mess, who has raided the fridge, who is making all that noise. True too, that often the person who is blamed for such antics is often not solely to blame… and so this is a title which will resonate for the intended audience. But, rather than feeling somewhat tired, as a concept covered before might, this is a graphic which is more likely to reengage reluctant readers than be something they set aside. The pages are full of colour and a level of detail that encourages questions to be asked, the text is engaging and appropriate – avoiding the pitfalls of using too much simplistic language which can often blight this format, and we are left wanting to accompany Dev on further adventures. Something which seems certain, given the ending and the possibilities for many more titles to come.