Book Synopsis:
Mya loves planes and wants to be a pilot when she grows up. As luck would have it she comes across a flying school run by lieutenant Drake who awards his pupils splendid pilot hats when they graduate. Mya wants to join the class but there’s just one problem. She’s not a duck! Could Goose the little duckling with big flying ambitions be the key to Mya getting her pilot’s hat? Or will Mr Sour the teacher who never quite made the grade have other ideas…Inspired by authors such as Lewis Carroll, Roald Dahl and Angela Sommer-Bodenburg, Michelle weaves a story with the humour and invention of Nick Ward’s ‘Charlie Small’ series meets Dick King Smith’s wonder of the animal world.
The Yellow Bills is available in paperback now and you can purchase your copy here.
My Review:
I really enjoyed this charming children’s fiction book with some truly unforgettable characters.
Firstly I loved the concept of this book. The idea that there is a flying school for ducks was a brilliant one and I loved learning more about it. The author makes the duck’s world seem very real and I loved the descriptions of this world just tantalisingly out of sight for most people. I can well imagine young children searching through bushes in search of hidden control towers!
The book challenges gender and disability stereotypes too in a subtle way that children will hopefully learn from. We have Mia, a mix raced little girl who loves to play with aeroplanes and Officer Peacock who has managed to get to her high ranking despite having a disability. I hope that this would encourage similar children to not let their differences hold them back and to treat everyone with respect.
The adventure was pitched perfectly for a child and my son absolutely loved the story, despite being a little younger then the age this book is aimed at. I also read it with my 8 year old god daughter who loved it and seemed to have no problem with the language used. Selfishly I would have loved to have seen more pictures as I loved the characters and would love to have seen more of them in action.
This is Michelle’s debut novel and I look forward to seeing what her wonderful imagination will come up with next. She has been compared to one of my favourite childhood author’s Dick King Smith and I am pleased to say I think that is well deserved.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book. I will definitely be recommending it to friends.
About The Author:
During the day Michelle works part time in an office in London and then gets home to her full time job looking after two little fab ones. Michelle has been writing stories on and off for years but The Yellow Bills is the first time she’s had the confidence to put her children’s story into print.She finds her inspiration for writing is on the train journey to and from work.When she was younger one of her favourite stories to read was (still is) Lewis Carroll’s, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In fact she loved it so much she used to try and think of ways to see how she could change her name to Alice. She was about seven so had to listen to her Mum, who said she couldn’t change her name until she left home. By the time that day came she decided she didn’t mind being called Michelle after all.Michelle’s other favourite’s are Roald Dahl’s, The BFG and The Little Vampire by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg.
Over The Rainbow Blog 
Thanks Jo x
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