The Bolds to the Rescue

Julian Clary's The Bolds to the Rescue is a silly, chaotic story for 6 year olds about a family of hyenas whose house fills up with animals who want to pass as people too.

What happens

The Bolds have been living as humans in Teddington for years. Tails tucked in, hats on and LOTS of laughing. Somehow word has got round the animal world, and now everybody wants lessons.

First up is Sheila, a crocodile who's lived her whole life in the sewers. She arrives through the loo (Mrs Bold finds out when something nips her bottom). She wants a shower, a towel wrapped round her head and a job as a lifeguard. She isn't leaving.

Then there's Fifi, a French poodle who sings love songs and is sure she's going to be a star. Roger the sheep isn't very outdoorsy and would quite like to be a nanny. A cat has her kittens in a cupboard and a turtle moves into the washing machine.

Last of all, two racehorses knock at the door with blankets over their heads. They don't like racing, and a nasty man called Dodgy Dean is out looking for them.

So Mrs Bold writes a timetable. Table Manners at eight. Walking on Hind Legs at nine. Toilet Training at ten. Who wouldn't want to sit in on that last one?

It's one of the funniest bits of the book. Sheila keeps chomping through the forks. Roger muddles up his lessons and does a poo on a plate, because he thinks Table Manners is Toilet Training.

The narrator starts by telling your reader to keep this book away from grown-ups, because they just won't get it. Most children will love being let in on that.

It's worth knowing what the racehorses are running from. Their old owner wanted the jockeys to whip them, and Dodgy Dean bought them to sell for meat. The characters say so plainly and there are jokes about horsey lasagne. Sheila also has to be told that a kitten is not a kebab!

For lots of young readers that's all part of the madness. If yours loves horses or gets upset about animals being hurt, it might be one to read alongside them.

This one carries on from the first book, so if you haven't met the family yet, start with The Bolds.

What to read next

If the racehorses turn out to be the best bit, The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop is a gentler horse story for a little later on. Charlie spots a terrified racehorse at a sale who won't take a step without his scruffy pony friend beside him.