It is a racy read, but one that never feels less than emotionally true - particularly when Fliss finds a devious way to punish her absent father and herself. It also scores highly in its depiction of adult feelings and behaviour, and the suggestion that parents have their own needs and don't always behave well. The resolution is a little sudden and pat, but this a scrupulously honest book that doesn't gloss over the hard realities of divorce. But, of course, the animals do chat to the bus driver, and chaos ensues. Roddie and Newton's book is a delight, set in a flower-garlanded rural wonderland where a group of disobedient animals do what the title forbids and cause complete transport breakdown.
Nobody seems to mind in the least.
The story has an in-built rhythm that makes it good for reading aloud and, because of the repetition, this is a good book to help early word recognition. This isn't bright and buzzy enough, though, to turn youngsters on to poetry without a little help. Read it with them. There is plenty for the younger age group here, including classics such as Walter De La Mare's The Listeners and AA Milne's The King's Breakfast. A few years on, they can savour WH Auden.