The Klangaroo

by Mark Bird, Chris White (illustrator)

Two baby kangaroos,

one wacky inventor,

and a gigantic robot have a day at the zoo

no one will ever forget!



With no Mummy or Daddy to teach them to hop,

the zoo's baby joeys just wobble and flop.

Dr Try builds a robot to help them bounce high,

but when things all go wrong,

will their bouncing dreams fly?

46 pages, Paperback

Published May 28, 2024

About the author

Mark Bird is a children’s poet and teacher. His debut picture book, ‘Halloween Date From Hell’ came out in October 2022 to rave reviews. His latest picture book, ‘The Klangaroo’ illustrated by Chris White is out May 2024. Mark has featured in The Caterpillar, Northern Gravy, Gill Education’s ‘Over The Moon’ series, Brian Moses’ ‘The Best Ever Book of Funny Poems’ anthology and many magazines.

Reviews

[Dash fan · Rating 5 out of 5]

5☆ A Quirky, Fun and Entertaining Children's Book.

I had the pleasure of reading and listening to the super fun and wacky children's book.... The Klangaroo.
If you love Animals, Robots and Wacky Inventions then this is the book for you!

I adore children's books and I have to say the audio book just added another dimension to this book. It bought the book to life, with all the cool sound effects and voices. Kids will love it!
Especially if they're following along with the book too!

Now for the book, it was beautifully illustrated, there was so much going on in the pages it was good fun to spot all the inventions and animals.
It made a nice change as well, to see that Dr Try was a female inventor
Throughout the story she showed that you should never give up on your ideas, dreams and creations. That hard work and determination can work.

The characters were great and I loved that it was centered around the zoo and helping two baby Joeys.
Even though the robot invention might not of worked in the beginning, something amazing came from it in the end. It was such a sweet ending.

I loved the rhyming verse and the quirky story made it a fun and entertaining read. A Perfect picture book for children aged 3-7 years.
Dr Try and her marvellous robot inventions were a joy to read about, I can't wait to read more!

A big Thank you to Hygge Book Tours and HB Publishing House, for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

[Staceywh_17 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Klangaroo, what can I say? Its bright, bouncy and a great fun read. Little ones will love it!

I loved the illustrations throughout. Such vivid colours have been used making it a hard one to miss.

It's written in rhyme format and is an enjoyable story of how the Klangaroo came to be.

🌟🌟🌟. 5

[BooksCoveredHB · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Klangaroo is a wonderful picture book from the fabulous author Mark Bird and illustrated by the brilliant Chris White. Mark and Chris have previously collaborated on a delightful picture book called Halloween Date From Hell. I was excited for Klangaroo as felt if it was anything like Halloween Date From Hell, then myself and children were sure to love. I have recently studied children’s literature in my degree and an assignment was to write a picture book. I do love picture books even though my children are getting older. The book is square and paper back, not heavy and easy to hold and the pages feel durable. The book is very well presented. This book is fun and engaging with a rhyming narrative suitable for all ages. The illustrations work in harmony with the story. The story is funny and brings in a wacky inventor, kangaroos and a zoo. The pages are clear and colourful. The layout is easy to follow myself and my children are neurodivergent and really enjoyed The Klangaroo. We all love the name too, this is certainly a book to be read over and over. As a family we very much look forward to more from the dream team of Mark and Chris.

[Rebecca Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lovely children's book about learning to accept what others may see as your flaws and embracing who you are. With no parents, the joeys at the zoo haven't been taught how to jump so they just fall over, but that doesn't make them any less cute or special if people can learn to accept them. I loved Dr Try with her wacky robots, they were very cool and fun for the kids, they'd definitely make them laugh. The illustrations are bright and colourful! Very busy but in a good way I think because there's loads of things for the kids to spot in the background, spotting all the wacky robots mentioned on the corresponding pages. Also it was set out as one page story one page picture so you weren't trying to read the story on top of the pictures, but the story pages still had bits to keep them interesting and easy to read which I liked. A great story and fun pictures with a good message for the children, I think they'll love this one!
P.S. Dr Try if you see this, if you've still got the pig available could you message me please? I know what I'm getting my mum for her birthday tomorrow!

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful children's picture book. From the start, my son was eager to read this as the cover is amazing. There's so much going on. I particularly like the use of robot parts for the lettering.

We were lucky to get to enjoy the ebook as well as the audio version. So we've listened and read separately and at the same time.

The story follows an inventor who makes unusual robot animals. She is asked to make one for the zoo, and that is how the Klangaroo comes about. All is well until the rain comes! Despite the water causing Klangaroos parts to creak and break, everyone still loves Klangaroo and wants them to be a part of the zoo still. The book sends a lovely, inclusive message to children.

The story flows well while reading or listening as it rhymes throughout. The ebook version has fabulous illustrations. Again each page is very busy, with lots happening and lots of colour. The book really comes alive with the audio version. The narrator uses different voices, and alongside the speech are music and sound effects.

It's an exciting story and has become a favourite to re-read.

[Fatguyreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Klangaroo was such a fun, quirky, entertaining book, and I read this to our 12 month old niece.

Our main character is the crazy, mad, eccentric scientist, Dr Try who makes zany animal robots from anything she finds, frying pans, forks, springs. But her one greatest creation is The Klangaroo, a huge madcap robotic Kangaroo brought to life by a lightning strike.

So all in all, this was such an amusing, delightful book and although our niece Is too young to read, she loved all the bright, colourful illustrations, an absolute essential for any good children's picture book.

The text used was clear, a good size and easy to read, and I always enjoy a rhyming story, so thus ticks all the boxes for me for what I look for in this type of book.

5 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from me.

[Tami Wylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a happy, cheerful little story! Dr. Try invents crazy robot creatures. When the joeys at the zoo need help, it’s Dr.Try to the rescue. The rhyming, child friendly text is great for young readers to read independently or enjoy as a bedtime story. The colourful, exciting illustrations are appealing and attractive, fitting the story perfectly. The kangaroo and the joeys teach everyone that being yourself is the best way to be. An absolutely brilliant little read. Loved it!

[Amy B Garratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cross between Dr Seuss and Dr Frankenstein, Dr Try (along with poetic verses) creates a robotic kangaroo for the local zoo! With funny rhymes and bright illustrations, adults and kids can enjoy these wacky creations! An ideal picture book to get kids interested in poetry and science, I found it a really enjoyable and short read for the kiddos.

[Sonja Charters · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite things to do - with or without the kids in tow - is to visit our local zoo, so when I spotted this book, I just had to grab it!

Dr Try makes crazy robots and when she saw that the zoo had a problem, she was determined to help fix it.

There was just so much I loved about this book!

I love a rhyming story. It flows perfectly and is entertaining to read aloud - for both the reader and the listener!
The story was also absolutely hilarious throughout.
I especially liked the pages that kept us in suspense as to what the next few words would be!!

Apart from being funny - the story actually had a great plot - sometimes children's books can be full of morales or lessons and that's great, but it's really nice just to have a really silly, fun story to read.
Even better - If you do want a lesson from this, then that would be that it's ok to fail? Good things can still come from things that don't always go to plan.
But I loved that this wasn't really forced into the words of the story at all, so could be read with or without being pointed out.

The illustrations were absolutely amazing!
The pages were packed with colourful images of familiar (but crazy) things.
These could prompt more discussion - but will definitely distract the eye while all the different elements are viewed.

My only complaint about this book is that nobody wanted to buy the pig!
Now come on!! Why not!?
I adore pigs - especially because they only go "oink" and are pink!!
So - I'll buy the pig!! He needs some love too! 🐷🐽💕

This will make a great addition to every bookshelf and I know that I'll be reading it over and over again!!

[Makenzy Learmouth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to read this book with my niece, Emily. We started by listening to the story first before reading it. The narrator was clear and had different voice for the character in the story, along with the story rhyming and the sound effect it made us want to read the book ourselves to see how everything looked. The illustrations were colourful, bright with plenty to talk about on each page. Dr Try with her crazy green hair invented animals with a difference. After seeing a sign that the zoo needed help for their kangaroo babies as they didn't bounce, Dr Try set making his best robot ever. Everyone was at the cafe, the gorillas, elephants, sea lions, as well as the snakes having a meal deal with RAT-Burgers. A thunder storm came with pouring rain, which made the robot zap and break, but that didn't stop the Klangaroo from being the best robot of Dr Try. Emily did ask why nobody bought the robot pig, as she would of bought it. Emily has asked if we can start making robots with things that can be recycled.

[Lauren Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with my 5 year old son, Elliot. When I asked him what he thought about the book, he said:

“I really liked the bit where he met the kangaroos cause I like kangaroos. Dr Try makes good robots. I didn’t know that a baby kangaroo is called a joey. The pictures were good I liked the picture of them cuddling with love hearts.”

As a parent, reading this book with my son - I really liked how bright, colourful and fun the pages were, the illustrations were fantastic! Elliot was engrossed looking at all the details on each page. The story was very unique and fun and it is definitely one we will can read over and over again! I will also take this one into my work to read to the children at the nursery as I’m sure they will all love this one too!

[LK · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliantly funny children's book. Comedy throughout from the words to the illustrations.
Loud and colourful illustrations with immense detail are on point and perfectly fits in with the story.
Love the font used and the animation of it. The rhyming is great and would engage children, and I'm sure they would find the narrative hilarious to envision.
I absolutely love that the character of the inventor is a 'she'....which is very unexpected as usually it's the male who is seen as an inventor in the majority of, if not all, other books.
Kudos to the author!

In all, this is an utterly absurd book in the most fantastic way and I believe all children would enjoy it thoroughly.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reviewing this as part of a tour with Hygge Book Tours.

The zoo has two new baby kangaroos with no parents to take care of them. Dr Try designs a robot called the Klangaroo, to help them learn how to jump and bounce.

This fun, quirky and imaginative little story is told in rhyming sentences. I found it wonderfully funny, with bold and colourful illustrations that are eye-catching and fun to look at. I think the rhyming element of the story makes it fun and entertaining to read. This book made me chuckle, and I think children will enjoy it.

Thank you to Hygge Book Tours, and to the author and publisher, for the opportunity to read and review this.

[Cathryn Melani (cat.inspired) · Rating 5 out of 5]

How cute is this cover design!

This was such a sweet, fun story and super cute illustrations. Such an adorable book.

While I don't often read kids books now as mine are all much older, it's always fun to read a book that I just know would make a cute gift for a young child.

And this is definitely that. I absolutely adored the cute, rhyming way the story is told through poetry. This would be a lovely way to introduce a younger child to poetry in a fun way.

The illustrations are just totally wacky and adorable. Perfect for keeping the kids engaged.

Engaging, fun, witty and just so darn adorable. A perfect book to have on your child's bookshelves.

Thanks to Hygee book tours and the author for my gifted book. All thoughts are my own.

[Camille Dayton Fostering.literacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its not very often that when I turn on an audiobook that my kindergartner will ask for it over and over again. But it happened with this book! The audio is just 8 minutes long, which is the perfect length to break up a car ride or pass some time during a long afternoon. The audiobook has all sorts of noises that will have the whole family giggling as they read about Dr. Try inventing a robot that will teach the kangaroos how to bounce. Full of rhyming and a fun story, this is sure to please any kids who read it.

This is a fantastic book for preschool kids and older. Thank you to the publisher for the complimentary audio copy of this book. A review was not required.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic, wonderful story of two small kangaroos who don’t know how to hop. Dr Try creates wonderful robots and when she sees the request from the zoo to help the baby joeys learn how to hop she jumps into action.

All children will love this funny, crazy book so beautifully illustrated by Chris White. There are so many colourful illustrations and pages it will be read time and time again, with new things being discovered every time

[Jade Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Klangaroo is bright, bouncy, and such a fun read to read, we have enjoyed the amazing illustrations and the story to go with. We find the words rhyme together which makes it wonderful for children to read, and or to listen to, here in the photo is my daughter's favourite part of the book with the big bright bold picture.

It's also easy to hold, and the sizing is brilliant for the child/ren to hold and to love.

[Tabby Shiflett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A loveable and quirky children's book that incorporates science, poetry, hilarious but well-timed rhymes, and funky but creative artwork. An oddly adorable tale about being true to yourself and acceptance. The illustrations are busy, but like one of those hidden images pages from Highlights, which are loads of fun.

LibraryThing Early Reviewer

[Bookish Coffee UK · Rating 5 out of 5]

💭 MY HONEST THOUGHTS 💭
This is such a wacky storyline with a lovely lesson of friendship.. the rhyming aspect is very enjoyable and

We absolutely loved the illustrations, kept my 2 year old very engaged and laughing all the way through.. pointing at the funny pictures throughout..

I feel this is great for all ages, even the adults will find this story enjoyable!

[Mary Olar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book blends humor, heart, and originality in a way that makes it appealing for both young readers and adults. Bird’s writing style is crisp and accessible, and he manages to create a story that feels whimsical while still carrying a deeper message about courage, curiosity, and discovery.

Highly Recommended

[Mystic KT · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute and endearing book with a rhyming narrative book for all ages. For me this book had a underlying story about acceptance and family. We follow a Wacky Inventor who makes a robotic mummy for two new baby kangaroos for the local zoo. Even though the Robotic Klangaroo has some flaws it is accepted by the Zoos Kangaroo's and they are now one big family.

[Veronika Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is hilarious, and like nothing I’ve ever read before. It’s all written in rhyme and the illustrations are a bit bonkers, but I mean that in a good way.

The poetry is clever and entertaining and I know children will love it – this is just the sort of wacky book that will appeal to my (somewhat wacky) nine-year-old granddaughter. I’m not sure if it’s aimed at slightly younger children, but it doesn’t really matter – they’ll love it anyway.

Poor Dr Try is ‘trying’ to help two joeys to sky-bounce without much success. So she builds a robot but unfortunately it just waddles and clangs and falls flat on its face. But the joeys don’t care, ‘You’re like us,’ they cheer,’You’re the best,’ and they love it! It’s called the Klangaroo.

This book is full of joy and fun and will become a firm favourite with children everywhere.

Many thanks to Hygge Book Tours for inviting me to be part of #Klangaroo #blogtour

[Corinne Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children’s books sometimes have some really heavy morals and topics at their center. It was refreshing to have a story that had a plot, expressed creativity and was overall such a fun, silly kind of read.

I think this would be a great addition to classrooms as a way to introduce students to mechanics and machinery in ways outside of automobiles.

I had the opportunity to listen to the audio version of this book and it was definitely something I can see kids engaging with. There were a lot of background noises and funny voices that kids can focus on. As an adult, it was a little distracting to my brain, and a smidge loud to my ears, but I guess that puts me firmly in the “adult” phase of life!

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

It will be the perfect go-to for teaching children about rhyming words that flow effortlessly with fantastic illustrations which bring a wonderful story to life.