How do you start afresh after a runaway success? Adventures Unlimited is Andy Griffiths’ answer, his new children’s book series after the beloved 13-book Treehouse series with the illustrator and collaborator Terry Denton. The first instalment in Adventures Unlimited, The Land of Lost Things, introduces an imaginative and madcap world of adventures for newly independent readers. Characters named You and Me embark on an adventure in their homemade adventure suits – cardboard box hats, toilet rolls, uggs and utility belts for comfort and function.
The action-packed adventure, in which Me is searching for their lost lucky rabbit’s foot, sees the pair stuck in the land of lost things. With awesome inventions and fantastical vehicles, You and Me travel across the land, meeting zany characters as they go: a bull who has lost his temper and is trying to learn to control it, and a flying watch who looks at its own wrist to check the time. Naturally, before Me can find the rabbit foot, the crew become lost and are interrupted by a couple of swashbuckling villains: the smarmy Johnny Knucklehead, his twin, Jimmy Knucklehead, and the Pirate Rabbit, all of whom are out to steal treasure and stop You, Me and their growing crew from getting home.
Known for his outrageous humour and imagination, Griffiths’ latest is no different. The book reads almost like improv comedy, every unlikely mishap having an outrageous solution that will probably lead to more trouble. This recursion is perhaps a little tiring for adult readers but it will delight Griffiths’ young fans. And although this is a new series, every lovable part of his absurd imagination remains strong and his creativity knows no bounds, as the adventurers encounter the odorous Lost Foot Empawrium and pirates on the high seas.
Part of the subtle brilliance of this book is its narration, which begins with Me reminiscing about their previous adventures with You (“Remember the time we flew to the moon without a rocket?”), establishing the kind of adventures this series might cover. It has all the comfort of an older sibling or a parent sharing in imaginative play. This is harmonious with reading aloud and leaves room for the roles to be reversed, allowing the reader to grow into playing both parts and eventually pass the story on to a friend or younger sibling.
After nearly 30 years of working together, Griffiths parts ways with Terry Denton, with Bill Hope taking up the reins as Griffiths’ co-conspirator. It’s not quite a graphic novel; Hope’s dynamic illustrations enhance the wacky plot, while sometimes providing extra details to linger on a page for longer, like snarky comments from tiny insects and crustaceans witnessing the story. There isn’t a single page without illustration, which will bolster the confidence of younger readers. Occasionally a whole spread will be illuminated by Hope’s illustrations alone, which gives the artist a chance to show off his own humour, such as the dozens of buttons in the uncrashable car, including a “button button” and a “popcorn nozzle”.
The illustrations sometimes repeat the dialogue in speech bubbles, which is at times tedious, but gives young readers a moment to visualise the action and find the meaning of unfamiliar words (the language isn’t all that challenging, really, but some words might stretch younger readers).
The Land of Lost Things is a confident new era for Griffiths and the scope of You and Me’s adventures is truly unlimited. And we know they will go looking for another soon – a sequel is already confirmed for 2025.
The Land of Lost Things by Andy Griffiths and Bill Hope is out now in Australia (Pan Macmillan, $16.99) and will be published in the UK on 5 September (£12.99)
