AGENT LLAMA

Supervillains beware: Charlie Palmer, agent llama, always saves the day!

This superspy is a powerhouse of brains, athleticism, and moxie. She’s also a llama. When the hippo prime minister finds his underwear stolen, it falls to Charlie to hunt down the culprit and restore international world order. Readers follow Charlie’s adventures—adult readers will recognize the usual tomfoolery of movie spy shenanigans—until both day and underwear are saved. Young readers and those caregivers who love spy movies will be amused by Charlie’s adventures, and dramatically minded librarians and educators will be able to make the most of the appropriately overblown narration and turn the story into an exciting read-aloud for individuals or groups. The rhyming couplets flow smoothly and include enough reach words to entice a vocabulary-themed conversation with young readers. The cartoon illustrations are bold and have a tinge of 1960s mod glam that should be seen equally well from a lap or the last row of storytime. As in many spy stories, the plot and motivations are a little thin, but the overall thrill of the chase makes up for these shortcomings and turns the romp into enjoyable, action-packed fun.

Double-Oh-Delightful.