Daniel Lalic

IDEAL for waiting rooms of any description, inventive and full of fun, the Where's...? genre of picture books has greatly enlivened the visual culture of the past two decades.

In 1987 Where's Wally? became an international phenomenon — rather like the smash-hit Disney-animated films that were being released at much the same time. Martin Handford followed the first Where's Wally? with further Wally books of surpassing excellence, but other artists climbed onto his bandwagon, and we have had Where's Charles and Di? (back in the days…), Where's Willy? (for the adult market) and, most recently, Where's Bin Laden?

For those who love illustrated books, Where's Bin Laden? is a must-buy, an essential addition to the collection. But my advice to fellow addicts is rather to pay full price for Handford's latest, Where's Wally and the Great Picture Hunt, and wait for the sales or visit shops that sell remaindered books to buy Daniel Lalic's Bin Laden, because sooner or later that's where it will end up.

Make no mistake; this book is very entertaining and has a wide appeal, because it is not designed to appeal only to children: teens and adults will appreciate the popular cultural icons and the references to contemporary political and economic events.

With a checklist of people to look for, older readers will have their egos stroked when they recognise “Kylie Minogue with gay fan base” in Australia, “Pamela Anderson failing lifeguard duties” in Canada, and “Madonna upset over Posh's media attention” in England. While the book is never pornographic, preteens are unlikely to identify “Hugh Grant paying off another prostitute” or “gays in bondage”.

Lalic's people are drawn as cartoon characters, stocky, non-blue Smurfs with jug ears and large, globular noses: this should make Bin Laden, with his hawkish eyes and hooked nose, easy to identify — but it doesn't.

Baby Bin visits 11 cities before returning to an al-Qaeda pyjama party in Afghanistan: as he travels, he is increasingly disgusted by western decadence — and Lalic depicts our culture in a way that it should disgust readers too.

Cartoon caricatures add to the perversion as we peruse the dietary habits of the French (heavy on snails and frog's legs); examine the English elite at Buckingham Palace (Prince Harry in a Nazi uniform), or explore Amsterdam, full of dope smokers, pimps, prostitutes and beer.

In 30 years’ time, one suspects, even the name Osama bin Laden will have faded into obscurity, while many of the contemporary celebrities who populate these pages (Shania Twain, Celine Dion and Alanis Morissette competing for attention in Canada) will be completely forgotten.

While Where's Bin Laden? may not stand the test of time, it makes for good reading.

Bin Baby was no match for my eagle eye. Except in Paris, where for the life of me I couldn't spot him — can anyone help?… (meer)