A review by helendipietro
A Hugh Dunnit Mystery: Taking Shelter by Guy Bass

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Packed full of puns, similes and humour, this book will have you smiling to yourself with its clever word play! It’s a great crime caper (a goofy little joke or prank, a crime, or a ridiculous adventure) where we follow Hugh Dunnit on his mission to crack the case of the shredded maths homework! This is a great starting point for conversations around language and well known sayings! It’s also the perfect mix of comic and chapters to keep a child engaged throughout! 


My students favourite lines:

- Rain had started to fall. It was heavier than my tummy after a baked potato. 

- When bad things happen, they don’t often let you know they’re on their way. They sneak up on you like a soundproofed ninja in soft socks. 

- This is the last straw - and she chewed my last straw!

- The pause hung in the air like damp laundry. 

- Her words were as sharp as scissors, and her meaning was as blunt as safety scissors. 

- Her words rang in my head like an unanswered telephone. 

- By the end of the day, I’d drawn a blank. Then again, I never was very good at drawing.

- Suddenly, a thought hit my brain like a fly on a windscreen. 

- He definitely wasn’t about to come clean - not with that smell coming from his nappy. This stinks, I thought. 

- Even though if given it to them straight, Mum looked bent out of shape. 

- I felt cold and hot at the same time like a sink with both taps running. 

- The truth, like a sweaty wrestler, was hard to get to grips with. 

- It was a lie and Dad saw through me like I was a window.

- Then it hit me like a badly thrown frisbee. Something had happened! 

- Words can’t hurt me unless they’re painted on a sword!

- And that meant committing the crime right under, or relatively near, my nose! 

- If I tried to convince Pearl to talk, she’d clam up like a mussel.

- We were different, Mum and me, like chalk and a different colour chalk. 

- My mind raced faster than a dog chasing a cat chasing a mouse! 

- My train of thought was derailed, like a car skidding off the road into a derailed train.

- I was already more nervous than a pumpkin on Halloween! 🎃 

- She must have thought I was born yesterday. Well she was off by nine years, three months and one week. 

- Like Shelter with a tennis ball, I wasn’t sure I was ready to let go!

- Like an owl with a stuck neck, I was going to have to watch my back!