Get Real, Mallory!

Nomi draws a dog and names it Mallory, but her brother Stephen says it’s not a very good picture. The joke’s on him, though, because Mallory comes alive, and when Nomi goes to the park with Stephen, she spends all day playing with Mallory and having brilliant adventures. Maybe Nomi is quite good at drawing dogs after all?

Daisy Hirst’s picture books are always beautifully quirky, and this lovely story about a drawing come alive is no exception. This story about imagination – and longing for a pet when you live in a flat in the city – is full of Hirst’s appealing child-style illustration and delightful language (‘crisples’ is a delight). Mallory the dog himself, who looks like a gigantic orange crayoned fox by a six-year-old, is absolutely adorable.

All children who have imagined a friend or a pet will love this book, as will children that live in the city and appreciate seeing their familiar urban life in a picture book.