Children’s Book Review: Archibald the Naughtiest Elf in the World Goes to the Zoo by Skye Davidson, illustrated by Ágnes Rokiczky

Title: Archibald the Naughtiest Elf in the World Goes to the Zoo

Author: Skye Davidson

Illustrator: Ágnes Rokiczky

Published: 1st March 2019

Publisher: Elephant Tree Publishing

Pages: 28

Genres:  Children

RRP: $19.99

Archibald is the naughtiest elf in the whole wide world, who loves nothing more than doing extremely mischievous things, all with very good intentions.

Archibald has decided to visit the Zoo and chat to all the animals. But the Zookeeper is a bit worried – what possible mischief could Archibald get up to?

Come discover new worlds and ideas as you follow Archibald on one of his many exciting adventures.

Review:

‘Archibald was no ordinary elf. He was the naughtiest elf in the whole wide world.’

The first picture book from freelance writer Skye Davidson from Queensland, is the ever delightful and super fun, Archibald the Naughtiest Elf in the World Goes to the Zoo. The first in a fabulous series for young children, this book is all about the mishaps and adventures of Archibald as he takes his very first trip to the zoo. As the story unfolds, readers will be captivated by the mischievous Archibald and his antics.

Known as the ‘naughtiest elf in the whole wide world’ Archibald not only loves to play naughty tricks and pranks, he also loves animals. When he makes his very first trip to the zoo, he is over the moon. However, things soon get out of hand when Archibald decides he would like to perform an amazing magic trick that will set the lonely animals from the zoo free from their enclosures. It creates utter chaos in the zoo and it earns the ire of the zookeeper. But Archibald has a big heart and all he wants is for the animals to feel happy again.

What a fun book this proved to be! I really enjoyed reading Archibald the Naughtiest Elf in the World Goes to the Zoo with my own children and I look forward to the opportunity to share this one in a school setting with my students. I am confident Archibald the Naughtiest Elf in the World Goes to the Zoo would work both as a bedtime story in households and in larger daycare, library or school settings. There are some great points of discussion here, from drawing young children’s attention to zoo animals and African animals.

Accompanying the text of Archibald the Naughtiest Elf in the World Goes to the Zoo are the eye-catching illustrations of Ágnes Rokiczky. The illustrations add colour and vitality to the text. I enjoyed the moving and bustling feeling the pictures exuded. Archibald really comes into his own thanks to the excellent collaboration process between the author and illustrator of the text. I could easily imagine this sneaky little elf getting up to the tricks he performs while at the zoo.

I loved the make believe and magical element to Archibald and the story. There is also a nice underlying message about considering the happiness of wild animals in the zoo. The end of the book delivers a nice happy ever after, which carefully considers the feelings of the animals Archibald encounters during his zoo visit.

I look forward to more crazy adventures with Archibald, a bold character with a heart of gold! Archibald the Naughtiest Elf in the World Goes to the Zoo was a charming read that I genuinely enjoyed sharing with my young readers.

Archibald the Naughtiest Elf in the World Goes to the Zoo by Skye Davidson and illustrated by Ágnes Rokiczky was published on 1st March 2019 by Elephant Tree Publishing. Details on how to purchase the book can be found here.

I wish to thank Elephant Tree Publishing for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes.

Archibald the Naughtiest Elf in the World Goes to the Zoo is book #57 of the 2019 Australian Women Writers Challenge