Kidliterate

This was a hoot. I read it aloud to my seven year old daughter at bedtime over four nights, and we loved it enough that I ordered the next two from the UK. (This comes out in February from Macmillan.)

In brief: infant Emily Vole is found in a hatbox in an airport, and adopted by two shallow people who are looking for a baby to be their latest toy/accessory. When her adoptive parents have triplets, she is turned into the nanny/housekeeper at the age of five. Fortunately she is befriended by her very odd next door neighbors, Miss String and Fidget (a human-size cat who walks on two legs and talks). Soon Emily is swept into an adventure involving pink rabbits, fairies, houses that walk, keys with feet, and even more crazy things. And she's never been happier.

This is very British, and they don't de-British the language which I love. The humor is quirky and smart and the mystery intriguing. The adventure is well-paced. It's illustrated and the illustrations are funny and a little off-kilter; the style matches the text very well. I enjoyed reading it and hearing my daughter laugh. I look forward to the next one very much.