A Standout New Series: Read Our Review of Archie and Reddie by Candy James

Candy James, a husband and wife creative duo, have spent years designing toys, gardens, and digital art. If that wasn’t enough creative outlets, now they’ve delved into children’s writing with the hilariously fantastic Archie and Reddie series. The first book, I Really Dig Pizza, and the second, We Will Find Your Hat have been released at the same time so you can jump straight from one to the other. Elephant & Piggie meets Narwhal and Jelly in this hilarious new early-reader graphic novel series about two fox friends who have wild fun!

Both novels in the series (so far) are packed full of humour. The first novel follows Archie as he stumbles upon a gift-wrapped pizza in the forest and wonders who would possibly leave a perfectly good treat just lying around? So he does the only sensible thing and buries it so he can dig it up later for dinner! But with tummy rumbling, Archie discovers Reddie is trying to solve a mystery. It seems she’s found a pile of dirt and wants to get to the bottom of it! Will Archie attempt to derail her investigation? You bet!

The second novel brings the same fun and wackiness as the first. When Reddie comes over to Archie’s house excited to go to the big Hat Day party, she is surprised to learn that he can’t make it. He has lost his favourite hat! Luckily, when it comes to finding things (and hats), two heads are always better than one! So Archie and Reddie set about trying to locate it. The only problem is Archie’s home is a little messy. And Reddie has no idea what this hat looks like. And, oh, Archie also has dozens and dozens of them to sort through! Will they ever find Archie’s favourite hat, or are they going to have to miss the party? It’s quite the conundrum, but you can read to find out!

There are many things that make this series great. A particular standout for me was how Archie constantly breaks the fourth wall in both novels and poses questions to the readers. This gave the novels a great interactive aspect and is perfect for reading out loud to kids. Both Archie and Reddie had me laughing with their silly antics. They’re an absolutely hilarious pair, and after getting into some sticky situations, you can always expect them to make up and forgive each other.

Full of laughter, fun, and a great start for kids interested in graphic novels, Archie and Reddie is a fantastic new series from writing duo Candy James. I can’t wait to read more! Perfect for ages 4+.

Buy a copy of Archie & Reddie #1: I Really Dig Pizza here.

Buy a copy of Archie & Reddie #2: We Will Find Your Hat! here.