Andrew Hansen (text) and Jessica Roberts (illustrator), The Prickly Battle (Bab Sharkey and the Animal Mummies #4), Walker Books Australia, February 2020, 240 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760651190
This is the fourth and final book in the Bab Sharkey and the Animal Mummies series. The problem with reviewing a book so far into the series is that there is a lot of story history and world creation that has already happened. To address this, the first chapter of The Prickly Battle builds a lot of exposition, through a conversation with what turns out to be the main villain, the Unpharoah, a sorceress currently without a body, and her main sidekick, the jackal Cainus. They live in Mumphis, a world reminiscent of Ancient Egypt and inhabited by Mummy Animals. This world sits side by side with our own. The next few chapters then introduce the reader to the hero, Bab, and his mother, Prof Sharkey, a history professor. At times, re-establishing the world and past events becomes confusing, although this wouldn’t be an issue for readers familiar with the earlier books.
It gradually becomes apparent that Bab was once the Pharoah ruler of Mumphis, before returning to his own world. A magical Pharoah beard bestowed him with power, but in a previous story this was destroyed. As the Unpharoah tries to regain physical form and seize power in Mumphis, enslaving all the animal mummies, Bab has to find a way to reconnect the two worlds and reclaim power. He is aided by a Mummy Ibis (Prong) and a Mummy Fish (Scaler), as well as his mother.
Once the background information is established, the story moves at a crazy pace, with plenty of bizarre, unexpected twists and turns. There is magic, an army of mummy animals, spiky cactuses, plenty of mythological references and lashings of humour. As the two worlds collide in a battle of beards to see who will win ultimate power over Mumphis, Bab must restore a missing piece of his mother’s brain so that she can face off in a nose-snorting contest that will decide the fate of both worlds. Fully illustrated throughout with witty illustrations, The Prickly Battle will no doubt keep kids laughing throughout this crazy and wildly imaginative adventure.
Reviewed by Rachel le Rossignol
