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You, Me and Thing: The Legend of the Loch Ness Lilo by Karen McCombie


Ruby lives next door to Jackson and although he can be somewhat annoying, being a boy, they share a BIG secret. At the bottom of their garden lives a Thing. There's no other way to describe it really, but Thing can be cute, funny, adorable - and something of a liability when it decides to do a little magic. You see, when Thing gets upset (which happens quite frequently - the world can get very confusing when you're only a little Thing) its magic spells are not completely reliable, which is why Ruby and Jackson went to a pool party and found themselves face-to-face with a giant inflatable monster.

You, Me and Thing: The Legend of the Loch Ness Lilo by Karen McCombie

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Buy You, Me and Thing: The Legend of the Loch Ness Lilo by Karen McCombie at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Category: Confident Readers
Rating: 4.5/5
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Reviewed by Sue Magee
Summary: The third book in the 'You, Me and Thing' series lives up to the promise of the earlier books. It's highly recommended for the emerging reader.
Buy? Yes Borrow? Yes
Pages: 144 Date: July 2012
Publisher: Faber & Faber
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-0571272617

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It's a fun story. Ruby (or 'Rubby', as Thing calls her) and Jackson can't tell their parents about Thing. Well, it does sound a rather odd story, doesn't it? Unfortunately, Thing hasn't quite appreciated that it's not appropriate to appear in Ruby's bedroom uninvited or to completely trash the bathroom. Talcum powder does make such a mess, you know. And well, as for the pool party, it was Jackson who brought Thing along, but even he couldn't have expected the appearance of the Loch Ness Lilo. There's real excitement in the story - and I did wonder quite how it would all work out!

I liked the fact that there's lots of conversation in the story. Children relate to this very easily and it does make for more interesting - and faster - reading than description. The vocabulary is demanding in places - that's the point of a book like this - but it's never daunting. It should appeal to girls and boys - with one of each as the lead characters and Thing not being assigned a gender - but I think the girls will be the ones to make a beeline for the book.

The Legend of the Loch Ness Lilo is a great story for the emerging reader. There are loads of illustrations which supplement the text and give clues as to what's going on. They're by Alex T Smith and we're a big fan of his after we read Claude in the City. There are just a few double pages without an illustration but the fun and excitement of the book will easily carry the emerging reader in the 7+ age group through to the exciting finale.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

Girls who enjoy this type of story might also appreciate Iggy and Me and the New Baby by Jenny Valentine. The You, Me and Thing stories all read well as standalone books but if you'd like to go back and read from the beginning, then you should start with The Curse of the Jelly Babies and then The Dreaded Noodle-doodles.

Karen McCombie's You, Me and Thing series in chronological order

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Buy You, Me and Thing: The Legend of the Loch Ness Lilo by Karen McCombie at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy You, Me and Thing: The Legend of the Loch Ness Lilo by Karen McCombie at Amazon.com.

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