Spud and Snowball and the Fancy Fish (Spud and Snowball, #1)

Written and illustrated by Judith Rossell

Reviewed by Mia Macrossan

Judith Rossell has made a name for herself as one of those rare creatures who can both write like a dream and illustrate her writing with quirky charming memorable images. She has illustrated many picture and chapter books for other writers as well as her own. She wrote the Stella Montgomery series and The Midwatch, an original historical fantasy set in an alternative New York. Spud andSnowball and the Fancy Fish is the first in a new junior fiction series full of fun, irrepressible feline high jinks, and a fancy fish with delusions of grandeur, all gleefully illustrated by the mischievous author.

Spud and Snowball are bored with the Kitty-Bix in their food bowls and order some fancy fish online. What arrives is a large parcel containing a tank full of water with a big fish inside. It was the fanciest fish ever. Its name is Sir Mimsy Woffle-Poffle-Foffington and it is a famous and important opera singer. The bemused cats are treated as staff, given lots of demands and subjected to some very loud singing.

Spud likes thinking up bad plans while Snowball is more indolent and will eat almost anything. How they get rid of their unwanted Fancy Fish is a delight to discover. The illustrations are an integral part of the story, sometimes taking a graphic novel format, always full of energy and fun, dominating the pages. The  text in varied fonts and sizes is pitch perfect for beginning readers but middle grade readers will also enjoy the over the top humour. The two cats are an appealing duo whose ridiculous adventures will gain many fans.

Bring on the next Spud and Snowball adventure!

ABC Books 2025

Judith Rossell