Recommended Reading

Sensible Hare and the Case of Carrots by Daren King

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Sensible Hare is a detective. When Mazy Rabbit knocks on his door with a case - a missing suitcase of carrots - her silky ears and ruby-red eyes persuade him to take it on. But Mazy's case means trouble for Sensible; a bunch of poker-playing villains, led by Uncle Carbuncle, are also after the suitcase. Carbuncle and his cronies Jack Gin, Deaf Louie and Blind Huey pull the hare into a wild adventure of train chases, stakeouts and baddies in disguise. But luckily, Sensible has a clever friend, Ottoman the Otter, and a special weapon - feet as fast as kung fu...

I picked this book up today at Waterstones. I’m visiting my sister at the weekend and I wanted to buy something nice for her daughter, my niece. Now, I don’t know my niece at all, except that she’s four years old, has just started school and loves to colour. I’ve never even met her and probably won’t meet her until Christmas. Yet I wish to leave her some gifts, partly for positive association, partly because it’s an oddly peculiar and novel feeling to buy for a niece I didn’t even know I had until a few months ago, and partly because I wish to be known as ‘Mummy’s weird older sister who keeps buying me all the books.’

I’ll create another bookworm in the family even if it kills me.

But enough of all that. Back to the book. The nice blue cover with the odd-looking hare caught my eye. Cute. Would a child of four like it? Goodness knows. I read the blurb inside the front jacket. Funny. Would a child of four like it? Dunno. I picked a chapter at random and read a little. Absolutely side-splitting. Would a child of four like it? I have absolutely no idea, but if she doesn’t, I’m stealing it back. Seriously, it’s a book from the Under 5’s section and I would dearly love a copy. I sat down with a mug of tea when I got home and read it straight through in fifteen minutes. If the carrot jokes didn’t split my sides, then the otter jokes certainly did. Otterly hilarious.