Title: Pugs of the Frozen North
Author: Philip Reeve
Illustrator: Sarah McIntyre
Publisher: OUP
Published: 2015
Format: Hardback
Source: My own copy
“Pugs
Of The Frozen North” is the third book created by both Phillip
Reeve and Sarah McIntyre, and I was lucky enough to attend a workshop
focusing on it at the Guardian Offices in London. The book contains
the same humour and depth as their first two collaborations “Oliver
And The Seawigs” and “Cakes In Space”.
After
the Lucky Star is crushed by ice, the cabin boy Shen escapes
with 66 pugs and meets up with Sika, who plans to enter the Great
Northern Race so that she can ask the Snowfather to cure her
grandfather. Upon entering the race with the pugs taking the place of
huskies, they find themselves up against a colourful cast of
contestants and encountering snow trolls, sea monsters and
noodle-eating yetis. The story contains many memorable characters
including the adorable pugs themselves that help the heroes to make
it through the race. Some of the contestants in the race remind me of
characters from the classic TV series “Wacky Races”; for example,
the moustache-twirling antagonist brings to mind the memorable
villain Dick Dastardly. However, this is intertwined with an original
plotline by Reeve in order to create a new and fascinating story that
will appeal to all ages, not just fans of “Wacky Races”.
Additionally, McIntyre includes stunning drawings on every page,
which help to engage the child even more with the already amazing
storytelling. The end papers have pictures of all the 66 adorable
pugs in the book, along with their names. I had great fun trying to
work out who they were named after, with some more obvious than
others (Ardagh for example).
In
conclusion, I love this book as much as I love Reeve and McIntyre's
previous two books and would recommend this to people of all ages.
Both of the creators have achieved in producing a well-written story
with beautiful illustrations that you will want to read over and over
again.
