Ten Delicious Teachers
Ross Montgomery and Sarah Warburton
Walker Books

In all my time as a teacher I’ve heard teachers called many thing but never ‘delicious’. Get hold of this yummy counting down rhyme though and you’ll immediately see the reason for the adjective.

Many youngsters have recently bid farewell to their teachers but here you’ll not see a single child for as the book begins what we have is those ten teachers, tired and weary coming out en masse only to discover that they’ve missed the last bus home: no cars parked in a car park- what a ‘green’ lot they are.

Maybe though, I should use green in another way, for following Mr Smith’s suggestion to take the shortcut, they head off into the Dark Forest wherein lurks a hungry horde of hirsute beasties of all shapes, sizes and hues, ready and waiting for that next tidbit.

One by one, the easily distracted teachers are gulped down by the waiting monsters

until just one, Miss Hunter the nursery teacher remains.

Then comes a brilliant twist to Ross’s jaunty rhyming tale: who will have the last laugh though? Surely that will be the youngsters who savour this number narrative so dramatically illustrated by Sarah Warburton whose mock-scary monsters are hilarious. I love all her witty details too.