Monday, May 29, 2017

The Queen's Handbag

The Queen's Handbag. Steve Antony. 2017. Scholastic. 32 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: The Queen was ready for her tour of Great Britain when...swoosh! A sneaky swan swooped off with her handbag! The swan was fast, but so was the Queen. She drove after it to...Windsor Castle. Then she rode after it to...

Premise/plot: The Queen is about to set off on a great adventure. Her adventure may not be the intentional tour of Great Britain she had scheduled, but, her wild-swan-chase takes her all over the UK. Readers catch a glimpse--in passing--of Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, the White Cliffs of Dover, Oxford, Snowdonia, the Giant's Causeway, Angel of the North, Edinburgh Castle, and the London Marathon. A note at the back of the book gives a bit more information about each.
Snowdonia is a national park in north Wales. It has the biggest mountain in the United Kingdom. Many rare animals live in the park, including feral goats, rainbow leaf beetles, and red kites.
My thoughts: Is The Queen's Handbag really for children? Maybe, maybe not. I know plenty of adults who will get a thrill out of watching the Queen chase after her handbag. It's just amusing to see the Queen pilot a plane, ride a motorcycle, run along the top of a train, etc. It's just as amusing to see anyone and everyone chase after the Queen. Some of the pages have a Where's Waldo feel to them. It takes a little work to spot the Queen among the crowd. For example, when the Queen 'accidentally' participates in the London marathon. The book is of interest to anyone of any age who loves all things British. The illustrations definitely are worth paying attention to. Like the end when a policeman is scolding the swan!

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 9 out of 10



© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

1 comment:

Joy Weese Moll said...

That sounds like a really fun way to take a virtual visit to Great Britain!