Eva’s Treetop Festival

Rebecca Elliott's Eva's Treetop Festival is a funny diary story for 5 year olds about a little owl who takes on far too much.

What happens

Eva Wingdale lives in Treehouse 11 in Treetopolis. She's an owl, so she goes to school at night and sleeps all day. She also has a pet bat called Baxter, which is just brilliant.

The diary opens with Eva's lists of what she loves and what she really doesn't. Drawing, the colour red and the word pumpkin are in. Her brother's stinky socks, the word plop and her mum's slug sandwiches are out. So is asking for help (keep an eye on that one).

Then Eva gets bored. Very bored. Her best friend Lucy mentions it's the first day of spring, and Eva has a FLAPPY-FABULOUS idea. A whole spring festival at school, with a talent show, a bake-off, a fashion show and an art show. And she'll make all the prizes herself!

Her teacher, Miss Featherbottom, says yes. She also says to share the work. Eva has exactly one week.

You can probably guess how that goes. Eva helps Lucy with her entries, spends ages on the prizes and keeps putting off the big jobs. Sue Clawson, the meanest owl in class, wants to know who made Eva festival queen. Eva would rather do it all alone than ask Sue for anything.

Reading it really is like reading a child's diary. Eva tells you everything, from the panic to the giggles, and she talks straight to you. Little readers will love the owl words too (flap-tastic, what a hoot, squirrel-head as an insult).

There's a lovely bit about how hard it is to admit you need a hand. Who hasn't tried to do it all themselves and come unstuck? Eva gets there in her own way, and there's plenty of mess along the way. Lucy's cupcakes, for one, end up looking like gloopy snot balls.

If you've got a reader who's just starting to read chapters on their own, the short diary entries are very manageable. They're bright and silly but there's a real feeling under the jokes.

What to read next

If they like an animal telling you everything in their own diary, The Dinosaur's Diary by Julia Donaldson is a great next step. A little dinosaur called H falls through a deep puddle and pops up in a pond full of cross, quacking strangers. Nothing makes any sense to her at all!