League of Llamas 4 – Rogue Llama

Aleesah Darlison's Rogue Llama is a very silly spy adventure for 7 year olds about a secret agent llama who has to prove he's innocent.

What happens

Phillipe Llamar is Agent 0011 of the League of Llamas, or LOL for short. He's brave, he's handsome and he's extremely proud of his fringe. He's also not the sharpest tool in the box.

When the book opens he's already in trouble. A chase after the stinky badger General Bottomburp has ended with Phillipe cartwheeling into a killer whale's pool at Ocean World. His boss, Mama Llama, is furious. One more boo-boo and he's out.

So when a squeaky voice rings with a tip-off, Phillipe goes to meet the caller alone at midnight. It's a rat called Ratrick Tailbiter. And it's a trap.

A tower gets blown up, a news helicopter films the whole thing, and by morning the TV is calling Phillipe a rogue llama. Nobody believes his story about the rat. So he goes on the run to find Ratrick and prove it.

This is where it gets really daft. Phillipe's cunning disguise is to dye himself as a giraffe. The spots come out rather dodgy (and very itchy). He flies to Ratopia, where the city is called Manrattan, and ends up in Catagonia bribing a big ginger cat in a toupee with a doughnut.

His best friend Lloyd, Agent 0013, is a joy too. He eats everything in sight, cries when he thinks Phillipe is dead, then asks if he's a ghost. Who wouldn't want Lloyd on their side?

It's packed with puns. Llamanade. The Llamaborghini. A cat-thedral. And there's a LOT of bottom humour, because Bottomburp's weapon of choice is exactly what his name suggests.

Just so you know, the action is big and cartoonish. There's an explosion, rats firing at the llamas' car and a flood in the catacombs. It's all played for laughs, so it suits a child who likes a bit of slapstick peril.

If you've got a reader who giggles at every fart joke and loves a spy gadget (Phillipe's coat has a button camera called the Butt-Cam), this one's a winner.

What to read next

If they want more of Phillipe and Lloyd, The Golden Llama has the pair sneaking into Bottomburp's mansion on Badger Island. Phillipe has to crack a door code while dangling from a rope. Guess who forgot the code?