Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City by Rob Biddulph

Some legends are born, some are drawn . . .

Drawing feels like magic to Peanut Jones. But art can't fix her problems. Her dad has gone missing, and she's stuck in a boring new school. Until the day she finds a unique pencil turbo-charged with special powers. Suddenly she's pulled into a world packed with more colour, creativity, excitement and danger than she could ever have imagined. And maybe, just maybe, she might find out what happened to her dad.

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Although the story here is fantastic - funny, heartfelt, full of twists, finishing up nicely but with loads of space for more adventures to follow - the star here is the illustrations. The book is packed with them, both small versions and full page, mostly in shades of red, black and white (that's not a complaint! I'm amazed at the feeling Rob evokes with just those few colours.)

The basis for the story is, of course, the #packedlunchpostits Rob started when his youngest daughter began school. (Warning, there are a lot of images on that page, it might take some time to load.)  It's such a lovely thing to commemorate and this is a fantastic way to do it. Even after reading the story, I still found myself coming back to pick up the book and look at the pictures again. There's so much detail and I kept noticing things I'd missed before, for all that they look simple.

This is a fantastic book, a brilliant start to a wonderful new series, and I can't wait to keep reading more of it.

Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City publishes on the 2nd of September, 2021. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.