posted on 20 May 2024

Molly, Olive & Dexter: You Can’t Catch Me! by Catherine Rayner

I was delighted to receive a review copy of the third book in this series about an unlikely group of friends who manage to happily co-exist living under the oak tree at the bottom of an idyllic-looking garden. As with the previous stories, these characters spend their days doing nothing in particular other than chasing about, hiding and having fun in the quiet sunshine.

This time the cover shows them racing through the long grass across the page with Molly the hare looking determinedly ahead, followed close behind by a smiling Dexter the fox. Olive the owl is flying above and looking down at the pair of friends in her trademark protective fashion. 

The distinctively subtle watercolour illustrations using a gentle colour palette once again encourage close looking from the youngest reader. As the three friends scoot energetically across the pages there is a real sense of speed as they are set against a more static landscape of leaves and grasses. I like the way that they twist and turn about, spinning round the tree until the inevitable happens when Molly and Dexter crash together. The illustrations become smaller as the frustrated and exhausted fox finds himself unable to keep up. There is plenty of opportunity for discussion here about different individual skills and strengths:

‘He doesn’t have wings like an owl. He doesn’t have big strong feet like a hare’ 

Children will be keen to guess at what fox can do well and then to share the anticipation of Olive and Molly as they try to seek him out.  The overall message is that physical prowess is great, but that there are other skills that should be highly valued. The three friends admit that they are all winners and eventually settle back down ‘under the oak tree at the bottom of the garden for a nice long nap.’  A perfect happy ending yet again to a story that should inspire some interesting artwork.     

I strongly recommend this beautiful picture book published by Walker Books which should be available from your local independent bookshop – who will be happy to order it for you if they don’t have it on their shelves.

Karen Argent

May 2024