You, Me and Thing - The Dreaded Noodle-Doodles by Karen McCombie

Want to know a secret? There is something very, very strange living in the trees behind my house. If you tiptoe slowly and quietly (ssh!) to the bottom of my garden, you might hear it rustling and rootling and 'peh!'ing in the dark undergrowth, on the other side of the low stone wall. And if you peek over the wall - holding your breath - there's a chance you could spot two saucer-round eyes blinking out of a strangely square opening in the tree roots...Ruby and Jackson get the surprise of their lives when they discover a Thing living at the bottom of their gardens. But Thing is cute, and funny, even if sometimes when he's upset he gets a bit ARRGHH! And that's when the trouble starts. Like the time he comes to school, and Ruby and Jackson find themselves mixed up in a terrible tangle of noodle-doodles! The second in a hilarious new series by best-selling author Karen McCombie, illustrated throughout with irresistible black and white line art by Alex T. Smith.

This is book 2 in the new series by Karen McCombie, book 1 was entitled 

You, Me and Thing - The Curse of the Jelly Babies by Karen McCombie, which I reviewed here. 

This book begins with a swish! A song, sung by Thing. Ruby and Jackson, visit Thing after school one day, where Jackson complains about a teacher who had marked his geography homework at only 2/10. Of course, Thing doesn't know what a school is and after Jackson and Ruby explain what a school is, Thing, of course, wants to visit their school. Jackson and Ruby are unsure - but their main problem is how to get Thing into school without anybody seeing him. Who knew Thing would get travel sick?? Of course a trip with Thing is not uneventful but I won't ruin that for readers!

I enjoyed this book as much as the first and it was great to see Alex T. Smith's fantastic line drawings throughout the book. I think Thing looks cute and full of mischief - Alex appears to have captured the cheekiness of Thing perfectly. I also liked the inclusion within the text of parts which have been written by hand - usually Ruby's private thoughts on things and is written using language currently popular with youngsters today.

McCombie's writing style is fantastic and I think children aged 7+ will enjoy reading this book alone or sharing with their peers. The chapters are the perfect length to share at bedtime and will capture the children's imagination quickly.

Thank you to the publishers, Faber, for sending me the book to review.