Croaky: Caverns of the Gemosaurus

LoveReading4Kids Says

Radiant with pick-me-up appeal — from its gloriously green cover, to its protagonist being billed as “Froggy, Fearless, and Ready for Adventure!” — Matt Long’s hilarious Croaky: Caverns of the Gemosaurus is an utter (ahem!) gem of a book for newly-confident readers who are mad about funny fiction, and madcap adventures.

Second book in a series, this can be enjoyed afresh, thanks to the funny first pages that introduce us to the endearing crazy cast of characters, not least Croaky himself, “an excitable and enthusiastic frog who leaps before he looks”.

And it’s Croaky’s boundless energy that drives a story that sees him and his Woggle Scout chums embark on a mayhem-packed mission to locate the Gemosaurus. Though this creature has been relegated to legendary status, back in the day, Winston Woggle Scout’s explorer ancestor, Grandpa Cornelius, definitely encountered it.

Peppered with cartoon-style panels, and packed with dialogue bubbles, Caverns of the Gemosaurus invites immersive fun — it’s all but impossible for readers to not get sucked into Croaky’s crazy adventure, hook, line and sinker.

Reviewed by Joanne Owen
Joanne Owen is a writer, reviewer and workshop presenter whose lifelong love of books began when she was growing up in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
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