Digby O'Day Up, Up, and Away

Digby O'Day #3

by Shirley Hughes, Clara Vulliamy (Illustrator)

The sky’s the limit in the third Digby O’Day adventure from the talented mother-daughter pair of author Shirley Hughes and illustrator Clara Vulliamy.

Digby O’Day and his best friend, Percy, are headed to the air show to see gliders, helicopters, and hot-air balloons. Ariel, the new pet parrot of insufferable neighbor Lou Ella, sneaks out to tag along. But when the friends get to the air show, they notice that Lou Ella has followed them. They hide, but unfortunately, they’re crouched in the basket of a hot-air balloon, and one big gust of wind sets the balloon flying. Between Digby’s fear of heights and Percy’s hungry tummy, they’ve got problems—and then a big storm rumbles in. Can the trio find a way to land the balloon safely? And if they do, will Ariel have to return to his perch at Lou Ella’s house, or is there a better option? Daring readers will love soaring into the wild blue yonder with these clever characters, and when they’ve finished reading, they can engage in the included games and activities featuring Digby and his friends.

Genres: Childrens

136 pages, Hardcover

First published March 26, 2015

About the author

Shirley Hughes is the illustrator of more than two hundred children’s books and has won many prestigious awards, including the Kate Greenaway Medal twice. She is the author-illustrator of DON'T WANT TO GO! and OLLY AND ME 1 2 3. She died at her home in London on the 25th of February, 2022.

Reviews

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Digby and Percy are adorable. But their new friend, the parrot, is an odd character with very adult-sounding dialogue. It's unclear to me if they hi-jack the balloon; they leave in it accidentally and without permission, but upon return, the balloon keeper acts like they were on a fun ride, albeit without a guide.

[Tracy Clausen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorable illustrations, challenging vocabulary (in a good way), story a little bland.

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s my third review for this series and I’ve only now just realized that Dixie’s name must have been changed to Digby in the US (to make the name fit name-gender expectations). And that’s got me thinking about the female characters (or lack thereof) in this series so far - I wish that instead of having female characters almost exclusively in the roles of baddie or starlet, Dixie or Percy or any one of the other kindly male characters could have been female. Still, lovely illustrations (the bathtub otter car was transformed into a plane!) and I liked the quirky hobbies of the parrot, Ariel (I wonder what he’s called in the US?). Violet is very excited about the rest of the series.

[Jenni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. Very short

[Nayuleska · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun story about an unsuitable pet owner who has a parrot that gets up to crazy antics. I did feel sorry for the parrot because Dixie doesn't care for it's feelings, only her own. It's quite an adventure, with a distinctive style of illustrations – I've seen several colours used in other books and think it works well. Overall it wasn't my kind of tale, hence the lower grade, but I know many will enjoy the humour and drama.

I received a copy from the publisher for review on my blog Nayu's Reading Corner http://nayusreadingcorner.blogspot.co...

[Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

another brilliant book in the DIXIE' O DAY series. this is a brilliant little read with lots of adventure, fun and chuckles. the combination of shirley Hughes' writing and Clara Vulliamy's sweet little illustations is a winning formula. the pictures have some nice little details which you can spot new things every time you read. It also has some fun interviews with both the creative tema AND the chracters as well as fun games. the next book is going to be THE HAUNTED HOUSE...can't wait :)

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

An appealing 104 page, monotone (B,W, red, pink) story in 7 chapters. Proceeded and followed by interviews, character sketches, maps, activities with characters. There are additional Digby O'Day titles, yet this easily stands alone.