Follow That Bus! Is a great adventure story for kids. It has bank robbers, mistaken identity, kidnapping, baddies in (bad) disguise, a car/tractor chase, a hilarious policeman and a pack of dogs. And aniseed balls. The story takes place on a school trip to the farm, when the class unwittingly becomes embroiled in a bank robbery, which of course, they eventually foil to become the heroes of the day.

It's genuinely funny. There are some great characters amongst the children - particularly the determined Avril and the fanciful Jessica, who will make kids chuckle as well as working well to move the story along. The best character by far is the bumbling community policeman - I can vividly remember reading this part to my younger sister when she was probably 6 and I was 12, and us both being doubled up with laughter.

And of course, one of the best things about the book are the great illustrations by Laurence Hutchins (Pat's husband). The front cover alone is enough to make you pick up the book, but the black and white pictures are full of humour and energy and have an almost comic book feel to them, matching the story perfectly.

Follow That Bus! remains in print, 41 years after it was first written in 1977. This is probably because (with the exception of aniseed balls - what happened to those?!) there is very little in the story to suggest the era. It reads pretty much like a book that was written recently. Even the drawings hold up. Great stuff all round. ( )