Sophie Masson (text) and Cheryl Orsini (Illustrator), Four All at Sea, Christmas Press, September 2021, 72 pp., RRP $13.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780648815419
From award-winning author Sophie Masson comes Four All at Sea. This is the second adventure of Maxie, Lady, Flash and Fergie, four vehicle friends whose friendships are tested when they flee their farm home under threat of the scrap yard, and together faced danger, excitement, and adventure in their first tale, Four On The Run.
Aimed at young readers aged 5-8, Four All at Sea is told in seven action-packed chapters with double spaced text and Cheryl Orsini’s black and white line illustrations. My 5-year-old enjoyed having this bite-sized chapter book read to him and my 8-year-old read the book by himself in one sitting. Having not read the first adventure, both children felt that the cheery illustrations were needed to keep track of who was who and to help distinguish the different character traits of the four vehicles.
Fresh from their first adventure and destined for stardom, Maxie, Lady, Flash and Fergie set sail on a luxury cruise only for their container to be washed overboard in a storm. Working together as a team, the four prise open their container to find themselves on a beautiful desert island.
Brave Fergie goes off to explore but is soon brought back, escorted by a rusty old tank, ‘The Captain’, who thinks he’s still at war and, worse than that, believes that the four friends are his enemy!
Our four friends use cunning and communication to make their escape and mastermind their rescue, learning some fascinating facts about ‘The Captain’ along the way.
With themes of friendship, resilience, and teamwork, a fast-paced story, and fabulously expressive illustrations, young readers will delight in the adventures of these talking vehicle friends.
Reviewed by Lisa Hoad
