Francesca Gambatesa Books

An adventurous and entertaining short chapter book, ideal for fluent, recently independent readers.

Huxley (an irrepressible koala) and Flapjack (a slightly-nervous penguin) live together in a tree house. There is never a dull day for this adventurous pair. On a visit to the grand opening of a new department store, Huxley spots that there’s a thief amongst the shoppers and so the race to catch him begins. There are many capers along the way including Huxley being framed as the thief himself whilst Flapjack attempts to rein in his wild friend.

This book is ideal for newly independent readers with approximately 3-5 sentences per page and is just less than 100 pages long. It also features amusing and colourful illustrations. Themes of friendship, mild peril and adventure are explored in this story which is aimed at 6-8 year olds. The 6-year-olds I shared this book with thoroughly enjoyed the humour and daft, slapstick-style elements of the story, particularly the mishaps that happen to Huxley whilst browsing the store. I think this story is well-paced for the target age range. As the first book in a series, I have no doubt that future instalments will appeal to children as much as this one does.