Hyde & Squeak!

     I am in Pun Heaven!
     Fiona Ross is an absolute dynamo with her witty words and iconic illustrations in this "hilarious comic-book twist in the classic tale of Jekyll and Hyde".

Please excuse my thumb. 

     I have been waiting to get my hands on this book for a while now, mainly because the title really intrigued me. I'm counting three puns in a single title, surely that's a record? (Hyde and Squeak = Jekyll and HYDE / Hide and SEEK / SQUEAK as in mouse etc.) This being said, I'm going to go out on a whim and say that most of these puns are going to go over the targeted audience's lil heads. Little Tiger Press's website states that this book is 3+ / 5+, so unless they are Robert Louis Stevenson fans, may be worth just skipping over the multi-layered title situation. But isn't that what makes children's books so great? I can just imagine a tired parent/guardian, reading this to their little person, tired and just wanting a wine, laughing to themselves while the kid is like "ooh jelly!". Beautiful moments.
    My favourite element in Ross' re-imagining of Stevenson's classic is the colour palette. It reminds me of Korky Paul's with Winnie the Witch. The monochrome background somehow still stands out despite the splashes of colours dominating the front layer. Magic! I love the contrast between the green and the black and white; it is so iconic for those dark-ish stories and suits this niche mini-genre down to a tee.

Anyone else with the Korky Paul vibe? Anyone?

     I am also a big fan of the comic book vibe Ross has going on. It packs more into the 36 pages (A4 for hardback, I assume the same for paper) and the fast pace of the story is captured beautifully. There are images for nearly every sentence and all the silly things Hyde does is presented in this really fun cartoon way. This, and the way each "scene" is divided still allows the story to be followed with ease, which is obviously very important for all involved.
     Small illustrative details, such as Squeak's dotty bow-tie turning into a spidery one when he turns into Hyde, make these books so sweet and you can tell there is a lot of love and effort gone into its creation. Even Granny has purple hair? Rad.
    I found the ending a bit anti-climatic, but not really sure what I was specifically expecting. It seemed to end a bit abruptly for me. Generally speaking though, this is a really sweet book with gorgeous images and text that makes you giggle throughout.

 BUTTON RATING:

Bye x

Available at Waterstones, Amazon, WH Smith or wherever else you get your books! Definitely try your local library!

P.S. Check out the Little Tiger Press website for activities to do with children this summer! Why not colour in Squeak and his jelly?