The fourth volume in a gentle series chronicling the adventures of a tiny gray Persian cat called Bonnie Boadicea, or Little Bo for short.
Bo is sailing with her human friend Billy and her feline friend Panache on a yacht called Legend when it is attacked by pirates. Billy, Bo and Panache are instrumental in thwarting the attack and saving Legend’s owners, Lord and Lady Goodlad. The news of their heroics spreads quickly, and they soon find themselves on a course for England to have tea with the queen. The adventures in this episodic tale continue at the palace, where Bo and Panache are chased off by a bunch of corgis and have to find their way back to Billy by way of the queen’s stables. The sophisticated vocabulary and prose style combined with the quaint, nostalgic feel of this offering will likely make it more appealing to adults than children. However, those young readers who enjoy gentle, lyrical, meandering stories will happily lose themselves in the charmed world presented here. Cole’s illustrations are a welcome addition, lending whimsy and vibrancy to settings and characters—human and feline—alike.
While this sweet adventure story with feline protagonists won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, it will resonate with just the right reader. (Fantasy. 8-12)
