Undercover Llamas is book number three in the engaging and hilarious League of Llamas series by Aleesah Darlison. Ari (8) and I loved the first in this series (the Golden Llama) and were very excited to read the rest of the books in this series. Undercover Llamas is just as funny, fast-faced and fabulous as it’s predecessors. Ari and I loved that in this book the LOL’s were going under cover as rock stars (give me a book about rock stars/bands and I’ll read it – even if the rock stars happen to be a group of quirky secret agent llamas!)
Phillipe, Lloyd and Elloise join pop sensation Bruno Llamars on his tour to Chickenlovakia, where they embark on a mission to track down the missing Llama Republic files.
Why does Bruno Llamar’s grumpy manager Wally the chimpanzee seem so nervous? How will Phillipe handle his growing feelings of jealousy as he observes Elloise eating out of Bruno’s hoof (literally) and sadly realises he cannot compete with Bruno’s magnificent fringe extensions? Will the LOL’s cover be blown before they can track down the missing files?
And – last but not least - why must Lloyd insist on eating the table decorations at the hotel buffet?
So many questions, so many mysteries to solve!
This is a rollicking read right up to the fast-paced ending. Young readers (and their adults!) won’t be able to put this book down, hoping the heroes will achieve their mission and evade the evil clutches of the pesky peck-happy Hilda and her hench-hens.
Finding suitable books to engage readers in the 7-9 year age bracket - when kids are wanting to start to read independently but can still be intimidated by long pages of text - can be challenging, but the LOL series fits the bill perfectly.
This book is visually appealing, with large easy-to-read text font and various words highlighted for emphasis, short easy-to-manage chapters, and cool quirky black and white illustrations to break up the text. Add in lots of jokes, and a scattering of llama and chicken-related puns, and kids will be clamouring to read the rest of the books in this series.
And, seriously, what kid doesn’t like a story featuring super cool spy gadgets, such as the Fotoflame - a pen spy camera that doubles as a gas lighter!
Ari and his friends are loving spy stories right now, especially if they are full of mayhem and mystery, so this series is definitely a hit with them. Strap yourselves in for a fun and fast-paced ride as the LOL’s tackle their latest mission with gusto!
Thank you to the author Aleesah for gifting a copy of this book to Ari.
Published by Puffin Books.