The Yellow Bills by Michelle McKenna Illustrated by Steven Johnson ** Blog Tour Review** #TheYellowBills

There's a great Cat and Mouse Reading... welcome today to Michelle McKenna's The Yellow Bills which is published by Matador. It is aimed at children aged 6-9 years old and looks great fun.  

Mya loves planes and wants to be a pilot when she grows up. As luck would have it she comes across a flying school run by lieutenant Drake who awards his pupils splendid pilot hats when they graduate. Mya wants to join the class but there's just one problem. She's not a duck! Could Goose the little duckling with big flying ambitions be the key to Mya getting her pilot's hat? Or will Mr Sour the teacher who never quite made the grade have other ideas...Inspired by authors such as Lewis Carroll, Roald Dahl and Angela Sommer-Bodenburg, Michelle weaves a story with the humour and invention of Nick Ward's 'Charlie Small' series meets Dick King Smith's wonder of the animal world.

Mya embodies all the curiosity and eagerness to learn which are the hallmarks of young children and which a young reader will be able to identify with and at 80 pages and split into 8 chapters, it is readily accesible to them. Mya is a lovely central character, whose interest in model planes and ambition to become a pilot crosses the lines of gender stereo-typing. She is feisty at times and unsure at others, just like a real youngster would be and the glimpses into her relationship with her mother will bring a smile to a parent's face, I am sure.

    I like the illustrations with the beautifully expressive ducks and appreciate the fact that they reflect all types from the helpful to the bully - a great talking point for sharing. With a blend of fantasy through the talking ducks and her everyday life, it is a story which young children will enjoy and leaves you wondering what Mya and the ducks do next- will we ever find out? I hope so!

Cat and Mouse say... talking ducks - what's so odd about that?
 

                                                                           About the Author

During the day Michelle works part time in an office in London and then gets home to her full time job looking after two little fab ones. Michelle has been writing stories on and off for years but The Yellow Bills is the first time she’s had the confidence to put her children’s story into print.She finds her inspiration for writing is on the train journey to and from work.When she was younger one of her favourite stories to read was (still is) Lewis Carroll’s, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In fact she loved it so much she used to try and think of ways to see how she could change her name to Alice. She was about seven so had to listen to her Mum, who said she couldn’t change her name until she left home. By the time that day came she decided she didn’t mind being called Michelle after all. Michelle’s other favourite’s are Roald Dahl’s, The BFG and The Little Vampire by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg.

You can follow Michelle here: Twitter | Website 

Book links: Amazon UK

Paperback: 80 pages

Publisher: Matador (7 Mar. 2017)

Age Range: 6-9 years

ISBN-10: 1788036611

ISBN-13: 978-1788036610

 

Thanks to Michelle McKenna and Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

Don't forget the rest of the tour!