Rob Biddulph is an award-winning author and illustrator of picture books, but this is his first published novel and we can easily see it garnering more awards for him!

Peanut Jones is miserable because her beloved artist father has gone missing but whilst looking through the collection of illustrated post-its he drew for her, she discovers a secret compartment in the box with a worn down pencil. Peanut can’t believe her eyes when she draws a quick sketch only to find it come alive. She enlists the help of her study buddy, Rockwell and draws a door which takes them into a whole new illustrated world. The search for her Dad is on!

They quickly discover they are up against the malevolent Mr White who wants to remove all forms of creativity from the world. Just to complicate matters, her little sister has snuck in behind them. Their journey is fraught with danger at every turn but they receive help from some extraordinary characters along the way, all brought to life with Rob’s trade mark illustrations. The world he has created is full of endless possibilities and this would be a brilliant book to read aloud to a whole KS2 class or as a bedtime story for a mixed age audience. A story with real heart; you find yourself cheering on Peanut, Rockwell and Little-Bit. The book finished all too soon for me but it looks like it is set for a sequel.  Hurrah!

Peanut Jones And The Illustrated City is out 2nd September

(Review by Nicola)