AGENT LLAMA

A deceptive doppelgänger can’t stop the fun!

Charlie Palmer, aka Agent Llama, is back for another mission, and the stakes are even higher! Charlie is fresh off a successful assignment rescuing a pair of underpants in Agent Llama (2021), and this sophomore title ups the danger as the world is threatened with carb overload. The evil Noodle Doom Machine—think a sinister version of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs—has been compromised, and the world is threatened with a cascade of extreme spaghetti, barricades of grated cheese, and waves of marinara sauce. More alarmingly, the vile villain responsible looks exactly like Charlie! With HQ out of commission, there’s no time to lose as Agent Llama prepares to take on this terrorist twin alone—with her assortment of zany spy gadgets. Spy fans will have a (thunder)ball with the over-the-top storyline, and storytellers who lean into the melodrama will have fun sharing the tale, too. The meter flows well for reading aloud, and the colorful, delightfully busy illustrations pay homage to classic spy thrillers while still feeling modern and fresh. Trivia-loving caregivers and educators could use this to discuss the differences between llamas and alpacas, but readers who are just here for the adventure will get a kick out of the story alone. Like many spy adventures—including the earlier installment—the book emphasizes the action over logic, but the thrills more than compensate. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Readers will have a view to a kill-er book!