Claude in the City.

Right I'm going to come out and say it straight away.

I LOVE CLAUDE AND SIR BOBBLYSOCK!

Now I've got that out of the way, lets talk a little about the complete and utter genius of Alex T. Smith and his timeless creation: Claude.

At the start of the book we meet Claude, a small plump dog, with a fondness for a natty red jumper and a beret. Who can fail to be entranced? If you say me, then I hereby call you a heathen and banish you from my tiny little corner of the blogosphere.
At this point I probably should say that the Claude books are intended for developing and confident readers from the age of around 5 upwards, and are fully and magnificently illustrated on every page in hues of red and grey.
Claude lives with his owners, Mr and Mrs Shinyshoes, who a little like Mammy Two Shoes in the Tom and Jerry cartoons, are only seen from the waist down, and his best friend Sir Bobblysock, who as his name suggests, is a bobbly sock. However to describe Sir Bobblysock as just a bobbly sock is an insult to him. He's a slightly world weary hypochondriac, who has seen and done everything, but he tacks along with his best friend, a young, inquisitive dog, in the hope of a cup of tea or a fruity cocktail (that looks more like something Carmen Miranda might have worn on her head) and some form of pastry. He's a slightly camp character that almost every children's book really would benefit from having.
There are two stories in this first instalment of Claude's extraordinary adventures, both of which are superb. Now, I'm not wanting to give anything away, but almost by accident Claude almost always manages to find himself in the wrong place and yet he has the canny ability to accidentally turn the situation around and turn himself into the hero. The first story is lovely, involving a shopping trip into town and then to the museum where Claude foils a magnificently coiffured thief, yet it's the second where I feel Claude really finds his feet. Sir Bobblysock is feeling a little more listless than usual and so Claude rushes him to the hospital. There a magnificently named doctor takes Sir Bobblysock away for treatment and a wonderful Hattie Jacques inspired nurse mistakes Claude for a doctor. A number of patients including some women wrestlers and a tattooed, bearded biker with a penchant for embroidery, are suddenly taken ill and Claude is their last hope! By careful powers of deduction Claude diagnoses the problem!
There are so many great things about this book it's difficult to know where to begin. It is delightfully modern and yet there's a distinctly old fashioned feel about it which is meant as a compliment! The books is full of puns and japes and there's enough to keep an adult amused which is notable in itself, both with the fun storyline and the jokes which can work on more than one level, the witty illustrations are just sublime and very distinct, which I love.
As a final note, I've made many of my colleagues read this, I do tend to force books on them, but as most of them are reasonably short, they don't seem to mind too much, and all of them now love Claude almost as much as I do. I was paid the very great compliment, that the Claude books are like something I would create. If only I had the talent...