Completely and utterly STUCK! on Oliver Jeffers

Well hark, look what I found lodged in the box topiary at Book Sniffer Towers this week - only a brand spanking new hardback copy of Oliver Jeffers fabulous vision in olive STUCK!

Oliver Jeffers Stuck published by Harper Collins - OUT NOW





Regular visitors to the Book Sniffer blog will know that I am ever so partial to the work of Jeffers - his books are always a clever mix of arty wonderment, child friendly charcters, zany comedy detail and simplistic perfection (Swoon)

 Stuck provided all of these classic elements in HUGE bucketfuls.

Mouse can hardly wait for me to turn the page!!!

Stuck introduces the audience to Floyd a curious ginger kid with a very sharp plaid shirt.  Floyd finds himself in the perennially tricksy position of getting his beloved red kite stuck waaaaay up high in a tree - What to do in such an emergency? ....well chuck loads of stuff up there to get it down of course!

Hilarity ensues, A personal climax for me being the lobbing of a bewildered Orangutan into the tree by way of kite retrieval - makes sense non?  It does to Floyd!

This could only end badly!



Floyd proceeds to thrown a multitude of random items into the tree to dislodge his kite including the kitchen sink, the milkman, a cat, a WHALE!, a truck a duck and a fire engine (containing a disgruntled fireman!). 

Such such such a simple idea executed so fantastically it really warms the cockles  - when people say there are no original ideas in picture books anymore they may (in a way) be right but there are always clever twists and alternative takes which can make a seemingly obvious idea into a little perfectly formed gem.

I loved this new addition to the Jeffers catalogue it hit the picture book perfection button square on, arguablbly some of Oliver's best illustrative work to date (There will be more to come no doubt)

My only tinge of disappointment was that I absolutely love more than anything peeling back the dust jacket on a Jeffers hardback to discover a secret treasure and underneath and on this one there was none. But of course the contents was treat enough!

The Sniffer is totally Stuck on Stuck and think Harper C and Oliver have done a smashing job on creating another Jeffers classic. More joyful than a whole bucket of baby orangutans.

A Jefferific creation of hilarious blue whale proportions!

A foot note:

                     I like to cast my mind back to the very first time I met Oliver Jeffers many many years ago at an Ottakar's (RIP) dinner in London - I believe it was a "Hot New Talent" soiree - back then Oliver was an excited newbie on the picture book carousel launching his very first hardback picture book - the sublime How To Catch A Star -

I remember fondly he swiped a "free" copy from one of the displays which he promptly signed for me proclaiming "stolen books are the best kind", that picture book as predicted way back then turned out to be a huge sucess - although it was a little too popular in the Book Sniffer household and as you can see Mouse (the cat) decided it was almost good enough to eat - She has not yet been forgiven ...

Wishing Oliver Jeffers fondest tidings and looking forward to the next wonderful creation.

Don't forget to check out our review of his MAGICAL app The Heart and the Bottle here... which is also well worth a look!