Bertha and Blink: Rumble in the Jungle

Bertha and Blink: Rumble in the Jungle is a new adventure series all about Bertha the inventing bear. Bertha is a world renowned inventor who lives her life in the city with her inventing friends and winning awards. It all comes crashing down when an unsuspecting friend betrays her. Bertha is forced to change her life which becomes lonely for a bear. Bertha realises she can’t be on her own anymore, so she invents and creates, Blink! Bertha and Blink impart on an adventure together through the jungle…

The story ends on a terrific cliff hanger leaving the reader wanting more! I think theses books (I am hoping there will be more!) will be a great addition to children who are new to reading longer stories and looking for a challenge in first chapter books. The story is fast-paced and full of fun, and will definitely inspire a new wave of inventors.

The illustrations are fantastic, I loved pouring over the blueprints and details in Bertha's designs, imagining them for myself.  I think these alone will inspire readers to get creative and see what they can design and even make for themselves.

I am looking forward to seeing what happens next on Bertha and Blinks next adventure…!

96 pages / Reviewed by Lauren Maidman, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 7+

Bertha and Blink: Rumble in the Jungle is the first book in an exciting new series and both myself, and my 8-year-old daughter really enjoyed reading it.

We meet Bertha the bear who is an inspiring inventor but has moved far away to live in solitude after a disagreement with her tiger friend. High up in the jungle canopy, no one can steal her inventions. However, loud and unusual noises from the trees disturb Bertha's creative flow and she becomes curious as to what is making the racket. She makes Blink' a very excited, mechanical, robot bird who asks loads of questions and helps Bertha leave her home to explore.

The book ends on a cliff-hanger, which has us sitting on the edge of our seat for the sequel! The illustrations make this book come alive! They are absolutely incredible, jam-packed with detail and humour, with many speech bubbles and a beautiful colour pallet. It is these illustrations that make this book so engaging and we found it very difficult to put down. So much so, we read the full story in just two sittings! We took it in turns to read a page each, and although the amount of text is quite minimal, the vocabulary is extensive, which made it great for my daughter.

As a teacher, I am very much looking forward to using this book with primary children aged five years plus. It is going to be perfect for using when teaching about character personalities, the different ways to show direct speech and the power of intricate illustrations. I can't wait to use the visualiser to show the pictures full screen on the board. I have no doubt they will help generate rich book talk and the pupils will love it.

We highly recommend this delightful, funny story which had us laughing out loud many times.

96 pages / Reviewed by Jemma Jeffrey, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 5+