This Book Has Alpacas and Bears – Emma Perry & Rikin Parekh

Today on the blog I’m thrilled to share with you the fabulous, ‘This Books has Alpacas and Bears,’ written by Emma Perry and illustrated by Rikin Parekh. Alfonso the Alpaca loves to read but is incredibly frustrated about the lack of alpacas in his books. There seems to be a multitude of stories featuring all different types of bears from funny to grumpy ones but absolutely no alpacas! Determined to make a stand for alpacas everywhere he decides to write his own story but he soon realises the only way he can do this is to enlist his friend Colin who happens to be a bear! This is such a clever and brilliantly funny book. Alfonso and Colin are a truly delightful duo who will engage and entertain you with their bizarre and hilarious antics. Rikin’s vibrant and energetic illustrations capture all the fun and humour of this story wonderfully.

To celebrate the release of, ‘This Story Has Alpacas and Bears,’ I have a special guest post from author Emma Perry and a fun activity for children (and adults) to try.

Alfonso’s all-important Bow Tie: An Alpaca Activity for Kids

If you peer closely at the front cover of This Book Has Alpacas and Bears, and then a bit closer at the title page, the eagled eyed amongst you will spot that both Colin and Alfonso are sporting rather fetching bow ties.

A bow tie? Why a bow tie, I hear you asking rather urgently.

I know Rikin Parekh doesn’t mind me telling you that the bow ties he has placed on both of our characters have most definitely been influenced by this man…

Never spotted (get it, ‘spotted’, sorry/not sorry) without a bow tie this is David Fickling, of David Fickling Books – always nice to get a nod to your publisher snuck into your books. Nicely done, Mr Parekh!
Alfonso is definitely a flamboyant character, and I’m pretty sure he has more than one bow tie lurking around. I wonder what the others would look like?
Do you think he has particular bow ties for particular occasions?
A particularly snazzy party bow tie, maybe?
A soothing bedtime bow tie?
Or even… a rock and roll themed bow tie for when he strums on his electric guitar?
I wonder what they would look like?
I bet you’ve got a good idea. Tell you what…. why don’t you have a go at designing a bow tie for Alfonso? I bet you could come up with a GREAT one that Alfonso would LOVE.
Download the template below, (click on the link) print it out, grab some colours and let your imagination go WILD!

Design Alfonso’s bow tie…

Rikin and I would love to see your creations – ask an adult to pop it on social media (details below) – we can’t wait to see them!

Twitter: @_emmaperry @r1k1n

Instagram: @emmaperry @r1k1n_parekh

Websites: www.emmaperryauthor.com www.rikinparekh.com

Thank you to Emma, Rikin and David Fickling Books for inviting me to join in with the blog tour. You can get your hands on a copy of, ‘This Book has Alpacas and Bears,’ online or from your local bookshop. Please support your local independent bookshop if possible.