Dave Pigeon – Swapna Haddow & Sheena Dempsey

So before I tell you about this book I need to ask you to make a really important decision.

It’s time to decide if you are Team Dave Pigeon or Team Mean Cat…

If you think you may be erring on the side of Team Mean Cat then this might not be the book for you. ‘Dave Pigeon’ or ‘Dave Pigeon How to Deal with Bad Cats and Keep (most of) Your Feathers’ (to give it its full title) is a hilarious tale from Swapna Haddow delightfully illustrated by Sheena Dempsey and is definitely a ‘Team Dave Pigeon’ type of book.

I knew from the opening page that this would be a fantastically, funny read  which will be massively appealing to children.

“you can read this, you obviously understand Pigeonese. You may read my book.

If you’re a cat and you’ve learnt Pigeonese (HA HA HA! As if a cat would be smart enough to learn Pigeonese) . . .
If you are a cat and you are able to read this, it must mean you have taken a pigeon hostage so that you can trick them into translating the Pigeonese words into Meow. I demand you release the hostage pigeon now. My book contains TOP SECRET ideas that are NONE of a cat’s business.

Signed: Dave Pigeon”

Meet Dave and Skipper two fearsome pigeons who are on a quest to get rid of the mean cat from the human lady’s home where they have been taken to recover. Seeking revenge for the vicious attack on Dave, they plot to make the garden and house a safe place so they can have full access to the very best biscuits, (the ones with the jam in the middle in case you were wondering). Join our heroes as they undertake this dangerous mission in an attempt to make the world a better place for pigeons everywhere.

This book is brilliantly written  with some real laugh out loud moments, Dave and Skipper manage to cause so much chaos and hilarity which is really endearing. I love the style and layout of the book with it’s mix of captions, illustrations and scribbling out of words it is so engaging for newly confident readers. The relationship between Dave and Skipper is key to the story, the bickering and correcting of each other is wonderfully entertaining. Sheena Dempsey’s illustrations perfectly compliment the story I particularly love Mean Cat his expressions are deliciously menacing. She captures the charm and humour of the story and children will be captivated by all of the characters as we watch our hapless duo try desperately to complete their mission. This book is a real triumph and I can’t wait for the next instalment ‘Dave Pigeon: How Not to Get Plucked, Minced, Roasted and Served up with Ketchup’ due for release in Spring 2017. I can see it being a huge hit at school, perfect for fans of Pamela Butchart and Alex T. Smith.

 

To find out more about Swapna Haddow you can visit her website here or follow her on Twitter @SwapnaHaddow You can read an interview with Swapna about Dave Pigeon on girlsheartbooks.com here.

To find out more about Sheena Dempsey you can visit her website here or follow her on Twitter @SheenaDempsey . You can read an Swapna’s interview with Sheena on her website here

Thank you to Hannah Love at Faber & Faber for sending me a copy of this book to review.