I read this book in Dutch but will be writing my review in English!

What would you do if you find a little angel in your breastpocket?

I was quite exciting to spot this book at my library, I just adore Alex T. Smith’s art, and one of David Almond’s earlier books: The Boy Who Swam With Piranhas, was terrific, so I wanted to see what would happen in this one. Would he write yet another magical story? How would the illustrations fit? What would happen to the angel (as there was lots of foreshadowing in the blurb on the back)?

So when Bert (a bit of a grumpy busdriver) meets our little angel, he first thinks he has a heart-attack (as he gets dizzy and feels his boob tickle), but then he finds out there is a little boy in his pocket. A boy with wings!

And thus the story begins! And I just couldn’t stop reading. I just flew through this book. I didn’t want to stop. Thankfully, I am still not 100% better, so I got enough time to relax and read a book. I am pretty sure I would otherwise have gotten grumpy if I hadn’t had the chance to continue reading this book in one go. 😛

Angelino, as the angel is named, is a cute little guy who lets out some terrible farts (which had me in stitches, an angel so adorable and then he farts all the time). I just adored the little guy from the start, and I was so happy to see how comfortable he was going with either Bert or Betty when they went to their work. How eager he was to learn, and how happy he was to make friends with everyone around him, how sweet he was to Bert and Betty (yes, he made their life so much more happier, though he also made them remember someone from the past). It was fun to see what happened when he got happier, when he learned, when he got nommy food (fruit hearts and other sweet stuff). It was also interesting to see another side to him later in the book (sometimes indeed you just have to be fierce).

Bert, at first I didn’t like him, because he is oh so grumpy, but then later we do learn some things about the past, and I just wanted to give him a hug. I can imagine that he may not have been the happiest person after that happened. Thanks to Angelino he is able to find the happiness he lost and also give the love he wanted to give to that person to Angelino, to have someone to care for again, to have someone to help grow up.

Betty, I loved that woman from the start. She was just so much the sweet grandma-type. The one who will do anything for anyone, who is willing to forgive people for their faults and then also help them find the right way. I can imagine that she is loved by so many people, kids and adults. But as with Bert, I just felt so sorry for her when we learned of what she lost. I am happy that she is getting another chance with Angelino.

I loved Bert and Betty, those are truly goals I hope to achieve with my boyfriend, that, when we are the age those two are (60-ish) we are still acting like we just met, we just fell in love, that the love is still in so much abundance. sighs happily

The what is going on and will the villains get Angelino parts were pretty exciting to read, I just needed to know what would happen. Would they catch Angelino? What would they do with him?

The villains? Gee, I just couldn’t dislike them, especially as we see them together and we learn more about both of them. I do hope that things will turn out for the better for both of them, they deserve a second chance at life. I am sure both of them can do some amazing things if they want.

I loved the kids, especially Nancy (and then even more so later at a certain part, I am sure those who read it know which part I mean). It was just so much fun how sweet they were with Angelino, how they involved him in everything they did, how they protected him, and then that later part and what they did there.

The ending, and given what we know from Bert/Betty? I just teared up and cried. It was perfect. It was beautiful. That is what I will say, before I accidentally spoil things.

There was just one thing I didn’t like. And that is the school and how it handled things, with kids, with lessons, with everything. Especially the later on inconclusive plan that was made. I guess given the ending we will never find out if that was put into reality or if it was aborted from quite early on. 😐

The book is also full of fun illustrations that just fit the book perfectly, Alex T. Smith has done it again! All the characters were just spot on, the mysterious parts were perfectly mysterious. Yep, I loved the illustrations!

Phew, I think I could go on about the book a bit more, but I do want to keep parts a surprise and I worry I may just blab the secrets. 😛 So I will keep it at this, and just say that I would recommend this book to everyone in need for a beautiful, sweet story with silly villains, an angel, and lots of fun. I will definitely add this book to my bookshelves when it comes out in paperback!