Dr Boogaloo and the girl who lost her laughter by Lisa Nicol

Random House Australia, 2017. ISBN 9780143782599
(Age: 8+) Dr Boogaloo was no ordinary doctor. Not at all like the one you might visit if you had a sore tummy. No, Dr Boogaloo was a very different type of doctor. He treated folks who suffered from rather unusual complaints. And how did he treat them? Why, with the most powerful medicine known to mankind... Music!
Blue was no ordinary girl. For starters, her name was Blue. But what was truly extraordinary about Blue was the fact that she hadn't laughed for 712 days. Not a hee hee, a ho ho or even a tiny tee hee.
According to Dr Boogaloo, music can cure anything. (Of course, you need the right dose of the right music. No point listening to a jive if you're in need of some boogie-woogie, and you can't just substitute a toot for a blow!) But no laughter was definitely a case for alarm.
Can Dr Boogaloo compose a cure before Blue loses her laughter forever?
This was certainly a different book to any that I have ever read. I thought to begin with it may be quirky, along the lines of some Roald Dahl books. But as the book unfolded it began to develop its own little personality. It is indeed a quirky tale that dabbles in the world of nonsense. It is an enchanting tale that describes the dramas Blue encounters as she desperately tries to get her laughter back. Simple humour is intertwined with a sense of positivity as we are all encouraged to rise to challenges presented to us and persist even though it may be difficult. This book would appeal to children who are 8 years and up.
Kathryn Schumacher