Enchanting, timeless and surprising – this extraordinary novel will touch the hearts (and ears) of children and adults alike.

Enchanting, timeless and surprising – this extraordinary novel will touch the hearts (and ears) of children and adults alike.

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?

Lisa Nicol is a writer and documentary-maker. Her feature documentary Wide Open Sky, about a children’s choir in outback NSW, won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2015 Sydney Film Festival. Her first children’s book The Ballad of Dexi Lee was illustrated by artist Lucy Culliton. Her second children’s book Dr Boogaloo and the Girl Who Lost Her Laughter is currently being adapted as a musical for the stage. Lisa lives on the east coast of Australia with her three children and a dog who totally stinks.