Agatha Parrot and the Floating Head

Agatha Parrot and the Floating Head by Kjartan Poskitt, illustrated by David Tazzyman (Hardie Grant Egmont)

PB RRP $12.95

ISBN 978-1-4052-5596-7

Reviewed by Lillian Rodrigues-Pang

Agatha Parrot is a strong outspoken character with a huge imagination and attitude. From the very first page her sense of fun and unique style are obvious. She starts with an introduction to her friends, including “Big Jolly Martha (who) likes chips and football and can sort out boys anytime. Mad Ivy (who) once did 103 hops on the same leg without stopping. Nobody knows why, not even her. (And) Ellie (who) is scared of being in this book because she had a dream that the pages were squashing her.”

Agatha is good fast easy reading fun. Aimed at a reading audience aged seven and above Agatha Parrot contains large print and is jam packed with cartoon style graphics. I enjoyed the variety of graphics and how they were placed, full page, double spread, interweaving with text, in between pages and text layout and at times randomly appearing as decorations or side scribble.

In this story the main characters outwit parents, teachers, mean girls, we read about kids against adults and some funny situations are described – these are all classic themes with timeless appeal. I think Agatha Parrot is going to be a well-liked character amongst young female readers.