Arthur and the Land of Nimbostratus: Arthur's Able Adventures by Rob Keeley
| Arthur and the Land of Nimbostratus: Arthur's Able Adventures by Rob Keeley | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Jill Murphy
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| Summary: Arthur and Maxine journey into the sky itself - a lovely story for sharing with a gentle but clear message that having a disability doesn't mean you can't also have adventures. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 24 | Date: July 2026 |
| Publisher: Troubador | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1806344772 | |
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Arthur always looks forward to Saturdays with Maxine – and today, they’re going on a special trip. A journey into the sky! In the Land of Nimbostratus, they meet cloud creatures, visit a giant teapot and see castles in the air. But storm-clouds are on their way...
Ooh! Bookbag favourite Rob Keeley has a new book series planned and we at Bookbag Towers got our hands on the first one!
Arthur dreams of adventures. He looks out of his window each day and thinks of all the escapades he could have, the places he could go and the things he could see. His favourite day is Saturday because that's the day his friend Maxine - she of the booming laugh and silver bangles - comes to visit. Maxine is a great believer in the power of imagination.
On this particular Saturday, Arthur and Maxine go to the park but where Arthur really wants to go is up, up, up, right into the sky. And the pair of them imagine so hard what it would be like to go there, that they actually do! Nimbostratus is a fabulous place, full of wonders - houses like marshmallows, cloudlings wearing hats like umbrellas, a cafe like a teapot and a castle completely made of white, fluffy clouds. But then Maxine finds a grey, damp cloud just that bit too tempting....
....and they have to think and imagine just as hard to get back home before the downpour!
Arthur and the Land of Nimbostratus isn't Rob Keeley's first story with a wheelchair user - the wonderful The Double Life of a Wheelchair User takes that honour - but it is his first picture book to do that. While it's great to see a wheelchair-using child having the same adventures as his peers in other picture books, what is especially great is that Arthur's chair is entirely incidental to the story - he and his friend Maxine are simply using their imaginations to have adventures just as any children would. I do hope Arthur continues on in this inclusive vein. Everyone can go on adventures.
The illustrations by Simon Goodway are colourful and engaging and full of detail that parents and children can notice, share and return to, often finding something new. Rob's text, as ever, captures joy and fun while sneaking in a little bit of vocabulary-stretching. This is a true story for sharing.
As ever, recommended.
As this will be my last time reviewing one of Rob Keeley's fabulous stories, I'd like to say that working with Rob over the years has been my absolute privilege. He has a wholehearted and joyous commitment to storytelling for children that makes my heart sing. He understands kids and what makes them tick and he is such a positive role model himself. I'm sure he has instilled a love of words and narrative into countless children over the years and I hope he inspires just as many more in the years to come.
Cheers, Rob!
Rob Keeley's ''Spirits'' series in Chronological Order
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You can read more book reviews or buy Arthur and the Land of Nimbostratus: Arthur's Able Adventures by Rob Keeley at Amazon.com. (Paid link)
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