The Kiss That Missed

written and illustrated by David Melling

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The Kiss That Missed is one of my favorite types of children's books - the type that makes the child expand their thinking. Not only is the book fun and creative, but the pictures are wonderful.

The Kiss That Missed is about a good-night kiss from a king to his son, that "misses" - the kiss goes on quite the adventure. The king sends his royal knight off to collect the kiss. Eventually, the kiss is brought back home to the prince.

There are a couple of things that I really enjoy about this book. First, as I mentioned before, the pictures are great. There is so much to see on each page. For example, when the knight climbs upon the back of his horse, he splits his pants and his jousting stick breaks the borders of the pictures. These little things add so much.

The facial expressions are fabulous. From the nervous knight (and his horse) to the dragon, and (my personal favorite) the lion on the knight's shield, their faces tell all. Just by looking at them you get a "feel" for what they are thinking.

I also love the kiss. It is demonstrated by a gold fluttering line as it makes its way through the pages. The way it is pictured gives it texture and you can almost feel the kiss yourself.

Finally, I love the way the author holds you in suspense from one page to the next. For example, the knight comes to a forest, "It was dark. It was smelly. It was" - then you have to turn the page to see what "it was". I will leave you in suspense. The author does this on several pages - and it can be very entertaining.

The Kiss That Missed is "well worth owning".