Claude on Holiday

Name: Claude on Holiday
Author: Alex T. Smith
ISBN: 9780340999011

by Alex T. Smith

Ages 5–8 Reading age 6 Short chapters Set in outdoors and wild places funnywarm

Claude and Sir Bobblysock go to the seaside, dig an enormous hole, and accidentally uncover buried treasure.

A story about animals, funny and warm in tone. We would put it with children of 5–8, and at a reading age of about 6 for reading alone.

Nothing flagged

We have not flagged any content in this one that a parent would usually want warning about.

Part of a series

This is book 2 of the Claude series, so there is more to read if it goes down well — which is worth a great deal with a reluctant reader.

Our take on this book

Claude is a small, round, dapper dog in a red beret and jumper who, whenever his owners go out, sets off on adventures with his best friend Sir Bobblysock — who is, as advertised, a sock. On holiday at the seaside, the pair manage to find buried treasure and foil a spot of villainy before teatime. Alex T. Smith's series is a joy for a newly independent reader: short chapters, huge amounts of red-and-black illustration, and a deadpan comic voice that trusts children to find the absurdity funny. The peril is entirely silly and the tone endlessly cheerful. For a five- to eight-year-old just gaining confidence with chapter books, Claude is nearly ideal — enough pictures to feel manageable, enough story to feel grown-up, and a genuinely funny odd couple at the centre. It is the kind of book that makes a child ask for the next one in the series before they've finished this one.