The proposed age range of Nobby Travels seems rather curious as I can't see many nine year olds being gripped by the stories. Unfortunately our younger reviewers were not inspired by them either...
Nobby Travels to France
reviewed by Alex and Toby Bell
Nobby is a chocolate brown Labrador puppy who travels on adventures to different countries by jumping through his magical dog-flap.
In this adventure Nobby goes to Paris where he meets and falls in love with a poodle called Trixabelle who introduces him to the landmarks of the city including the Eiffel Tower.
If these books sound familiar, you may have seen them on the BBC programme Dragon's Den in 2007. The series is aimed at teaching four to nine year olds about different countries. Our three year old whilst keen on dogs and interested in France as it is the home of his beloved cousins, was not engaged by the story.
I don't know whether he found there was too much copy or whether the educational story-telling technique did not engage him but we have yet to finish the story together.
Perhaps Nobby Travels would work better in a school context teaching about France rather than as a bedtime story for a pre-schooler.
Nobby Travels to Scotland
reviewed by Harriet and Joseph Elliot
Whilst the premise behind this series of books is a nice one - a small dog magically travels the world experiencing different countries - the reality is rather dull. The illustrations are not original or engaging enough for small people to get really involved in and the narrative is extremely wordy in a rather humourless way - it's hard work for the reader and harder work for the listener.
Not a hugely enjoyable read by any stretch of the imagination, I'm afraid.
Nobby Travels is published by Weird Grape Ltd and includes five books in a carry case. To order a set from Amazon click the link below:
Nobby Travels: Magical Travel Books for Little People (Nobby Travels)
