Aggie Flea Steals the Show

Aggie Flea Steals the Show by Tania Ingram & A. Yi (Scholastic Australia) JF PB RRP $16.99 9781760976309

Reviewed by Karen Hendriks

Tania Ingram is an internationally published, best-selling author of children’s picture books and novels including the Jinny and Cooper Series and the hilarious Aggie Flea series.

A. Yi is an illustrator and animation artist based in Sydney. She has illustrated various children’s books including the best-selling Alice Miranda series.

Aggie Flea Steals the Show takes a reader on a such a fun journey. Aggie wants the role of Web Legs the superhero spider from Mars in the school play. But her imagination lands her in big trouble when the school play is ready to go on stage. Will Aggie shine or break the set and destroy the cast’s play dreams?

Ingram has created such a brilliant, fun character. Aggie Flea is imaginative, brave, and true to herself. You just can’t help fall in love with her. The energetic text takes you into Aggie’s world and you don’t want to leave until you reach the end of the story. Then you miss Aggie. The writing is playful but has an honesty about it that really is childlike and imaginative. Sometimes my big imagination gets me into trouble, though. Like, the time I thought my new neighbour was a vampire.

Ingram builds information into the story so that when something happens it has a greater impact. Mrs Flossy is deathly afraid of spiders. Whenever she sees one, she turns a strange grey colour and blinks a lot. You know spiders are going to appear in the story you just don’t know when. The dialogue and language are spot on and direct. ‘Go home, dork, and if I catch you spying on me again, I’ll give you a dead arm,’ he says. Each chapter builds the anticipation of the school play but also adds depth and layers to the characters and the story. Cleverly, comic strips have been added into the text featuring Aggie’s favourite character Princess Zombie and what she would do. This allowed A. Yi even more creative space. 

Yi’s illustrations are cartoon-like, full of action and include full pages and vignettes. The facial expressions and body language of the characters add depth, meaning and even more humour to the story. Aggie Flea on the lilac cover in school uniform with a pink feather boa, star sunglasses and cross eyes lets readers know who the story is about and that she is funny. The Princess Zombie comic strips add pizazz and allows you into another part of Aggie Flea’s imagination.

Aggie Flea Steals the Show is a junior fiction book that is the second book in a series and it sure does not disappoint. It makes you look forward to more Aggie Flea adventures.  It is suitable for 7 plus years. I think teachers will enjoy sharing this book with their class or a parent reading to their child. It really is a junior fiction book to hook children into reading.