Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City: from the creator of Draw with Rob (Peanut Jones, 1)

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His fifth, Kevin, was nominated for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal and shortlisted for the BSC Festival of Literature Picture Book Award and the IBW Book Award.

Peanut is so artistic and clever, I love her character the author did a great job at describing her.Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City is a thrilling journey into a magical world packed with Rob’s brilliant humour.

Parents are not usually the focus of books for children – they’re not the ones having the adventures, after all! Her artist father has gone missing, and her own love of drawing is being stifled in her new school and not valued by her mother.Fresh and original, it's full of Biddulph's characteristic warmth and, of course, his striking illustrations. It’s a far cry from Melody High where Peanut had flourished and been encouraged in all her artistic endeavours. Before he became a full-time author/illustrator Rob was the art director of the Observer Magazine, NME, Uncut, SKY and Just Seventeen. His tenth picture book, Dog Gone, was published in September 2020 and his eleventh, An Odd Dog Christmas, published in October 2021, was read by Tom Hardy as the 2021 Christmas Eve Bedtime Story on CBeebies. In July 2023, the first in a new series of Draw With Rob books for pre-school children was published.

Then there’s the Cute Quarter which is very reminiscent of the Japanese Kawaii aesthetic, and the Light District which is like stepping into a painting by Monet.

Her big brother won’t hang out with her anymore, and her mum’s seriously sleazy boss seems intent on taking her mum out for dinner. was nominated for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal and shortlisted for The People's Book Award and Oscar's Book Prize. When 12-year-old Peanut’s dad mysteriously disappeared, it seems like he took all the fun and colour from life with him - because since then everything’s gone wrong. This is a beautiful book, the images on the page and the magnificent imagery created by the words exist in perfect harmony, each helping the other to tell the story of Peanut's emotions and journey.

There is a real joy in this book, one of finding strength and friendships along with the sting of real life and the pain of losing a parent.It has an interesting central mystery and all of the characters are relatable and develop throughout the story. There are twelve different districts to the city, each with its own distinct artistic style ranging from the chaotic Strip where everyone’s conversations are displayed in speech bubbles, to Vincent Fields which is full of cornfields, sunflowers and haystacks. The second installment of the trilogy, Peanut Jones and the Twelve Portals, was published in September 2022 and was awarded Cover of the Year 2023 at The Week Junior Book Awards, and the third, Peanut Jones and the End of the Rainbow, was published in September 2023. To make matters worse, Peanut has had to move schools and now attends St Hubert’s School for the Seriously Scientific and Terminally Mathematic. The first book in Rob Biddulph’s breathtaking new trilogy, and his first aimed at slightly older readers, heaves with imaginative ideas and brilliantly original characters (the useless superhero Table Guy, whose sole power is making tables fly, is sure to be a firm favourite).