Big Red Dragon: Play Rhymes Through the Year
Jane Newberry and Carolina Rabei
Otter-Barry Books

From dinosaurs to diggers and rattle snakes to robins, this lively collection of fifteen playful action rhymes will soon have young children, be they at home or in an early years setting, eagerly participating in both actions and words.

The festival related rhymes are arranged through the year starting with the titular Big Red Dragon for Chinese New Year, then the Easter Bunny, Halloween Fun and Happy Diwali and Naughty Reindeer.
Each rhyme has a ‘Let’s Play’ suggestion set into the illustration giving ideas for ways little ones can join in, although some rhymes themselves will suggest movements and sounds, for instance toddlers might like to emulate the dragon’s paws and wings ‘clap clapping’, and ‘flap flapping’ with possible shouts of “Boing!’ as accompaniment.

Carolina Rabei’s playful illustrations are an ideal match for Jane Newberry’s rhymes;

her visual images are vibrantly coloured, textured, perfectly in tune with the words and sure to appeal to young children.

Definitely worth adding to foundation stage collections: I envisage it being used in lots of story time sessions when it will unobtrusively help develop children’s verbal and visual learning.