Title: Alber and the Wind (Albert the Tortoise #2)
Author: Ian Brown
Illustrator: Eoin Clarke
Publisher: Graffeg
Genre: Children’s picture book
Book format: Paperback
Sweet Strawberries: 
Description: Albert the pet tortoise is having a bad day. His sleep is disturbed by the wind in the trees and then, as he goes to tuck into his food, the wind blows it away. Can the other garden creatures rally round and help Albert retrieve his meal? Will Albert be able to thank them all properly? Comical, charming illustrations bring this timeless tale to life, revealing the importance of helping others and showing gratitude for that help.
Also included are fascinating facts about the real tortoise called Albert, who inpired this story, a modern-day mini-dinosaur living life on the veg!
*Free copy provided by publisher for review…
Review: Albert the tortoise is in the garden one day, and is ready to eat the food that has been left for him. But suddenly a huge gust of wind appears and throws Albert’s food into the air and scatters it throughout the garden. Soon all the creatures in the garden, bees, snails, spiders, etc., one by one, come to see Albert to bring him bits of his food which they have found. But while Albert’s concentrating on making sure his food doesn’t fly away again, he forgets to say something important to the creatures that helped him.
This story is so funny. Albert’s food blows all over the garden and the different creatures set about finding and bringing back his food to him. But every time a creature comes to him, Albert forgets to thank them straight away, and later wonders how he’ll ever get his message to everyone who helped him. The paperback is filled with thick matt pages of some lovely illustrations and text. I can’t help but love this story and the fact that it’s apparently what has happened to the real Albert, who is a real life tortoise that the author owns. The story is so simple but I just adore the way that Albert is so slow in everything he does, but also how he’s determined to do the right thing, even though it ends up happening in a bizarre way.
I don’t want to give away the ending but it’s not quite what I expected from the story. It’s funny but a little bit ewww at the same time, lol, which I’m sure will make many kids laugh! The illustrations are what really make this book so appealing to me. The style of illustrations is like nothing I’ve seen before reading my first Albert book, ‘Albert Upside Down’. The pictures are all so engaging with quite realistic looking creatures but at the same time made to look cuter than their real life counterparts. I love how detailed every picture is, how much there is to spot in each page and I love the fact that there are some creatures from the last book making their re-appearance like the ant in a hat and the shoe-clad daddy long legs!
Overall this is a nice book and a good story, with a good message of what to do if others help you. I’m not sure the ending will be adored by everyone, but it is a funny and silly one which I’m sure will be liked and loved by many. With facts at the end of the story about the real Albert and tortoises in general, it makes this book even more interesting read. And with such wonderful illustrations this book will, I’m sure, make you want to look at it again and again!
What do you think of this book? Do you like tortoises? Let me know what you think in the comments below 🙂
The Strawberry Post 