Review: The Anaconda Attack

Kirsteen: The Anaconda Attack is a funny, suburban adventure in graphic novel format. It's a book which takes two creative threads, words by Sam Smith (Don’t Scare the Dentist) and illustrations by César Lador and laces them together into a neatly tied plot. It's a tale in which two children, Amelia Miles and Shackleton Jones, face knotty and serpentine problems. And, it's also a story about tying shoelaces.

Shackleton (clad in his 'velcros'—sneakers without laces) and his dad Sam are out walking, on their way to meet Amelia for Shackleton’s first ever sleepover. When torrential rain changes the landscape entirely, Shackleton, Amelia and their parents have to find a way through the new suburban water world and deal with a family of anacondas. This is the first book in what is set to be a series. 

Libby: I thought this book was quite clever in the way that it broke the fourth wall (this might be a TV term but I think it works here because this book is a graphic novel). Near the beginning, Shackleton and his dad are on their way to pick up Amelia and Shackleton says: ‘ “She’s just on the other side of the park, it’s not like it’s going to take more than one book to get home” ’. 

Later on, when Shackleton and Sam see the villain Glam Evil in the park, she’s shouting and storming and it actually makes the weather storm—then she storms off. Shackleton says: ‘ “I’ve read ahead. She comes back in chapter 12” ’. 

I like that the book is kind of seeing you with these. It’s not something you find often in a story.

Another thing I like is the way Glam Evil’s words are written in a curlier font, as it made me think about how she might sound compared to Shackleton and Amelia and their parents (their words are in a plain font more like arial). I think Glam Evil might sound a bit over the top or dramatic.

The characters also have their own sounds for their footsteps. Shackleton’s are written as ‘tap, tap, tap’, his dad’s are written as ‘plod, plod, plod’.

Kirsteen:  Smith is a comedian as well as a writer and reformed dentist, and he puts the kind of callback storytelling used in standup to good use here. This is a cleverly illustrated and told story about solving problems, both big (man-eating snakes) and small (tying shoes). Loop one, loop two, around the tree and through the hole, The Anaconda Attack sets up the shoe tying motif early and circles back several times in a way that feels charming and fresh.

Aimed at readers between five and eight years old, it’s the kind of fun and funny book children in this range will love. It’s also got enough humour, interesting things to notice, and amusing nods to the reader (or breaks of the fourth wall, if you prefer) that will ensure many older children will enjoy it too.