All Pigs Are Beautiful; Caterpillar, Caterpillar; Think of an Eel

'And now for something completely different' was a description for once justified when Walker first produced their 'Read and Wonder' titles. Here were books that stood out from the crowd, each one real and individual in its own right and the whole lot as different from most other series non-fiction as Tasty Lancashire is from processed cheddar or Old Peculiar is from keg lager. And they were virtually unclassifiable - Fiction? Poetry? Biography? Information? Picturebook? - in different ways each was all of these. They won lots of critical acclaim (not least from us at BfK) and Think of an Eel went on to win lots of prizes too - my saxophone teacher said it was 'as good as Willian Mayne'.

So the news that Walker are bringing out the whole lot in paperback between now and next Christmas is glad tidings indeed. It means that if you missed them the first time round, or you just believe you can't have too much of a good thing, then, as Plum MacDuff would say, it's stocking up time.