Fabio The World’s Greatest Flamingo Detective: The Case of the Missing Hippo by Laura James
Illustrated by Emily Fox
Published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Date: 1 March 2018
R.R.P. $12.99
There is no one quite like Fabio – The World’s Greatest Flamingo – He is slightly Bizarre but has great intuition which makes him a great detective. With the assistance of his friend and associate George -a giraffe whose terrible at disguise- Fabio solves crime in a somewhat fun and quirky way, but always get to the truth. This fresh new series by Laura James is imaginative, packed full of lively and sometimes extraordinary characters that you will want to read more about.
It’s not often I recommend wearing sun glasses when reading a book, but The Case of the Missing Hippo is bright…ok, so it’s fluorescent green and pink, with the odd shade of grey and white. You will never lose it, and despite being bowled over by colour it certainly grabbed my attention and I was not disappointed when I began reading those first few pages.
The mystery began with Fabio being asked to be one of the three judges for a contest to raise funds for the Hotel Royale. What was meant to be an entertaining night showcasing some of the talented contestants, and a few ear-piercing locals, ended up with the gifted Jazz Singing Hippo – Julia, going missing. Much to Fabio’s delight, the police in Lake Laloozee were slow and unreliable which meant he got to show of his accomplished detective skills.
Simply put, this book is a whole lot of flipped out fun, well paced and easy to read. The illustrations are a nice addition (although you may need those sunglasses), with short chapters, a well sized readable font making it an achievable read for a 7-9 year old. I had such fun reading this book and am looking forward to more books about Fabio, George and the other animals of Lake Laloozee.
Thank you Bloomsbury Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Little Big Reads 