Hodder Children’s Books ISBN 9781444934212 £12.99
This is fourth in the ‘Queen’ collection of picture books by author/illustrator Steve Antony, following The Queen’s Hat, The Queen’s Handbag and The Queen’s Present. Through sparse, but well-chosen text, we follow the Queen’s unexpected trip through the solar system, until she is sucked into a black hole. Fortunately, she is rescued and gets home in time for, of course, afternoon tea. A clear black, white, grey and yellow palette complements the text. Her Majesty is accompanied on her journey by a corgi and an increasing number of spacemen. Where have they all come from? How are they travelling? Are they trying to rescue her? Do they get home too? We don’t know! If you go to www.steveantony.com you can find a list of 25 things to spot in the book, such as Laika the space dog, a face on Mars and the American Flag as well as some references to other books in the series. This adds to the fun, but it would have been good to have this at the end of the book itself. Age range: 3 to 6.
Pam Dowson, retired primary teacher and PGCE tutor