Out for the Count

A funny and thought-provoking Little Gem from national treasure Anne Fine, with sensitive and charming artwork by up-and-coming illustration star Vicki Gausden – Anne’s collaborator on 2015’s The Gingerbread Star. Hugo wants a gerbil, but his dad says it’s cruel to keep an animal in a cage. Hugo doesn’t agree, and so Dad challenges him to spend a day cooped up in his room. The countdown has barely begun when Hugo starts to go stir-crazy. Warm, witty and wise to the impatience of childhood, this is Anne Fine on great form, encouraging young readers to develop imagination and empathy.