Musical Markus: Super Moopers Book One (Fiona Harris, illus by Scott Edgar, Five Mile)

Markus is a Mooper who loves to sing loudly and constantly! Unfortunately, most of the Moopers in Moopertown find this, well, annoying. Poor Markus. Who wouldn’t feel sorry for him when everyone’s telling him to stop doing the thing he loves most in the world? But luckily there is someone who has a need for his vocal talents. Musical Markus is the first book in a great new series spearheaded by Sally Rippin, written by Fiona Harris and illustrated by Scott Edgar. Each of the first four ‘Super Moopers’ books is about finding a place for all the quirks that make us unique. The language is empathetic, humorous and simple, and the quirky and busy illustrations are a wonderful mix of Roland Harvey and Dr Seuss. The four main characters from the first four books (Musical Markus, Giggling Gertie, Dramatic Dom and Nervous Nelly) all make appearances in each other’s stories, giving the impression that Moopertown keeps on going, even when the books are on the shelves waiting to be read! Bridging the gap between picture books and junior fiction, Musical Markus and co are excellent reads for fans of Mo Willems’ ‘Elephant and Piggie’ books, aged four years and up, although the text in this series is slightly more complex than Willems’ books.

Dani Solomon is a bookseller at Readings Carlton

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