KIDS’ BOOK OF THE WEEK

MAMMOTH

By Anna Kemp, illustrated by Adam Beer, Simon & Schuster Children’s UK, £6.99 (ebook £4.99) ★★★★✩

When a woolly mammoth wakes up after thousands of years in a frozen cave, he is confused to find the world completely changed. Setting off to find his herd takes him to the big city, but can he fit into this new way of life with shouty cavemen and petrol-powered ‘beetles’?

Adam Beer’s modern illustrations have a touch of Quentin Blake, and Anna Kemp’s writing is amusing and full of joyful pop culture in-jokes. At face value it describes the frustrations of living in a society where no one seems to understand you. It is aimed at children over three, but is really a celebration of anyone who feels they don’t fit in and is looking for their herd – with rainbow-hued trumpeting giving a subtle nod to the LGBT+ community.