Book Review: The Sparkly Waistcoat by Sue Wickstead

I am so pleased to be welcoming Sue Wickstead back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, The Sparkly Waistcoat. 

In this delightfully illustrated picture book, Nanny tells Alexander the story of her waistcoat. A waistcoat so sparkly that all the children in her class love it.

But then, one day…

…it’s not there!

Where is it? Nanny looks everywhere. The children look everywhere. They even put up ‘LOST’ posters in the local shops. But will they ever find it?

Find out in this suspense-filled story for young readers.

“The perfect book for a cosy night in with mum or dad. Highly recommended.” The Wishing Shelf.

*****

The Sparkly Waistcoat tells the story of Alexander. He loves stories. He adores sitting down with his nanny, reading stories and acting them out. 

She tells him a story of her sparkly waistcoat. How it went missing and what happened next. 

Having previously reviewed The Christmas Play Rehearsal, I was looking forward to reviewing Sue Wickstead’s latest children’s book, The Sparkly Waistcoat. 

The story is such a sweet narrative with lots of warmth and charm. You can tell that the author very passionate. A lot of love has gone into this book. 

I am certainly not this book’s target audience, but I still got something from it. I can also relate to the acting out stories. My brother and I did our share of this when we were kids. Core memories for sure. 

There is a beautiful and positive message attached – one of love yes, but it also reminds us about loss. acceptance, hope, the importance of working together and to find colour and joy in every moment. 

The illustrations are enchanting and bring this story to life. 

Overall, it’s an engaging, magical gem of a book that is perfect for young children. With Christmas coming up, it would be a wonderful addition to any bundle of presents for under the Christmas tree. 

About Sue Wickstead –

My name is Sue Wickstead, and I live in Crawley, West Sussex.

I write children’s picture books.

My stories are inspired by both my experience as a teacher and my adventures in play work with a Playbus.

The Playbus was a real double-decker bus filled with toys and arts and crafts. It brought fun to young children and gave them a welcoming place to play. As a mobile project, it travelled to children wherever they were.

I first wrote a photographic social history of the project, and that led me into storytelling and writing.

When I’m not writing, I enjoy building Lego models, especially for my grandson and granddaughter. I also love spending time with my young grandchildren, creating stories together, and acting out our adventures when they visit.

My grandson appears in the book ‘Barty Barton; the bear that was loved too much’, which was published in 2020.

My grandchildren also help me create our own rhymes, which we love to sing together.

Many of my books have been entered into and shortlisted for ‘The Wishing Shelf Book Awards’, and ‘A Spooky Tale’ won a silver medal in 2019. I wrote the story with my class at school.

‘The Sparkly Waistcoat’, a story about dressing up and role-play.

Connect with Sue on Facebook, Linkedin, X and Instagram. Click to follow JayJayBus on Instagram. You can also say hi over on Goodreads and her website. 

The Sparkly Waistcoat was released on 29th August 2026. Click to buy on Amazon UK, Foyles and Waterstones. 

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by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.