Published by Scholastic, 2017.

Let’s Find Fred is such a fun read. You know you’re on to a winner when the front cover has wobbly eyes! In fact, it’s a wonder we ever opened the book at all – pulling the tab to make Fred’s eyes move kept my son amused for ages!

Fred is a panda who lives in Garden City Zoo but he’s hungry for an adventure. One evening he escapes. Stanley the zookeeper is soon in hot pursuit. What follows is a high-jinx caper across town, taking in the market, a maze, the funfair, the art gallery and finally ending up at the Panda-monium Ball.

I absolutely love all the detail in the pictures. There’s so much to look at and I’ve spotted something new each time I’ve read the book. For those of a certain age, look out for the Got to Be Certain-era Kylie on the carousel. There’s lots of humour in the illustrations too – some of which will pass over the heads of young children but it will make the adult reader smile. There are puns galore and you’d be hard-pushed to count all of the clever panda references. The final scene is a magnificent fold out page which brings Fred’s adventure to a fitting climax.

Children will love finding Fred and will enjoy following him through the pages. The fantastic detail and humour mean that it’s a book that will stand up to repeated readings and it’s sure to become a firm family favourite.

Rating: 💙💙💙💙💙

Suitable for children aged 2+

Thank you to Scholastic for sending me this book to review.