Author jillrbennett

The Great Fire of London

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The Great Fire of London
Emma Adams and James Weston Lewis
Wayland Books
Spectacular illustrations by James Weston Lewis at every turn of the page and a topic that’s certain to become even more popular in schools later this year with the 350th anniversary of London’s Great Fire: a recipe for success if ever there was one. But this book also has a narrative that draws readers in right from the start and keeps them gripped throughout the account of the disaster from first sparks falling from that Pudding Lane bakery oven, to unstoppable, all-consuming nightmare that lasted for more than three days.
Emma Adams, sets the scene for the fire’s outbreak by detailing a filthy, busy 1666, end of summer, London city with its closely packed wood, straw and pitch houses, made even more dusty and dry by lack of rain; and relying on fire and candles for cooking and light – a disaster waiting to happen.

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The account of the spreading fire itself …

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includes extracts from Pepys’ diary, details of the Mayor’s reluctance to demolish buildings, the destruction of the old St Paul’s Cathedral, as well as the eventual demolition organisation by the King that helped slow the fire’s progress.

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Even then though, Londoners were a resilient lot: rich and poor alike set up huts and tents to the north of the city and over the next thirty years London city was rebuilt. New building laws were passed that meant safer housing and Christopher Wren designed the new St Paul’s Cathedral that was to take almost 40 years to complete.
From the ashes too came new improved fire-fighting techniques and equipment and eventually, the London Fire Brigade; mentions of all this is integrated into the narrative and visuals add further detail …

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Standing tall in commemoration of London’s Great Fire we have The Monument, just 61.5 metres so we are told, from where the fire broke out.

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The three final spreads are given to People – the three significant figures being King Charles 11, the inadequate mayor, Sir Thomas Bludworth and Samuel Pepys; Places – St Paul’s Cathedral, London Bridge, the Old Bailey and Guildhall; and a map.

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This really does bring home the extent of the fire and would make an excellent starting point for a visit to seek out evidence of its legacy.
All in all, this is an exciting resource book for primary schools and any child interested in this chapter of London’s history.

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Nixie Splashy Summer Swim

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Nixie Splashy Summer Swim
Cas Lester illustrated by Ali Pye
Oxford University Press
Already famous for her ability to manipulate the truth is Nixie the mischievous fairy who is, once again, up to all kinds of frolics – by the pond mostly herein; and when a story begins ‘BOING! BOUNCE! SPLAT! “Bumblebees’ bottoms! I can’t do it!” (bottom-sits on the cobweb trampoline) newly independent readers will surely be unable to resist. With an ‘accidental watering of the too-good-to-be- true, Adorabella (and it’s VERY cold water) as she lies peacefully reading; a float that (with just a small flick of Nixie’s wonky wand) turns into a real frog and hops away;

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and a burst lilo – the snazzy new one belonging to the Fairy Godmother who is supposed to be having a relaxing day off, it seems the day is set fair for fiascos. Of course, they are only some of the things that Nixie gets up to. There’s also this …

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plus a spot of fin building – that’s for Willow who’s more than a little scared of the water; and of course, there’s the inevitable water bomb battle. And to round off the day, courtesy of the long-suffering Fairy Godmother, there are fab. ice-creams, not all of which are quite as delicious as anticipated …
There is however an ‘Ice cream sundae generator’ after the story so readers can discover which of the fairies shares their taste in the confection.
What are as delicious as anticipated however, are those wonderful Ali Pye illustrations liberally sprinkled throughout this sparkling book. The Lester/Pye combination works that special brand of magic once more. Don’t miss this one if you’re a ‘just flying solo’ reader or know one.

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Let’s Hear it for Dads

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Baking With Dad
Aurora Cacciapuoti
Child’s Play
When a little girl (the narrator) and her dad, oh, and there’s a moggy assisting too, spend the day baking, magic happens. But this isn’t any old baking day – it’s a special day for someone.
Let’s go back to the start though: first task (having donned chef’s hats) is to select the ingredients …

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Then it’s time to get them into the mixing bowl, starting with the eggs …

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followed by the sugar and a bit of mixing and shaking. Next comes the flour – a rather large quantity

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and butter and milk, plus fruit to finish the whole thing off.

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Now let the baking magic commence.
But why are the cooks now bustling around with bunting, crayons and more? To find out, you’ll just have to get hold of this sparkling story to see for yourself.
Aurora Cacciapuoti’s illustrations, in combination with her brief text, have made for a gigglesome delight to share around Father’s Day. But it’s way too much fun to restrict to then: this one’s a winner any day and in addition to a read aloud, it’s ideal for those beginning to read for themselves.

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Amazing Daddy
Rachel Bright
Orchard Books
I’ve come across very few children who don’t think their particular dad is THE best and so it is with the little panda narrator of this wonderfully warm story. Of course, like most dads, Daddy Panda has to go to work but before that there’s usually time for a snuggle up together …

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and maybe even a shared breakfast.

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At weekends Daddy might be busy in his shed, working on important projects …

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but other days are spent just playing and even when little panda misbehaves, his dad remains cool and calm.
For all these reasons and many more – best of all being the shared bedtime stories – there’s no other dad that can come close to the amazing superhero daddy whose virtues this little panda extols.
A smashing celebration of the relationship between father and child: Rachel Bright’s illustrations are full of tenderness and sufficient gentle humour to please the adults who share this with young children.

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Your Baby’s First Word Will be Dada
Jimmy Fallon and Miguel Ordóñez
Hodder Children’s Books
Two dads, one a relation, the other a friend have said to me in the last couple of weeks that their offspring have started talking and guess what the first word said in both instances was: “Dada”. So too here – or rather that’s the intention of the various animal fathers – in this hoot of a book. However paternal coaching doesn’t yield the desired results as we are shown – most merely proffer the characteristic sound of their species …

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though there is the odd exception …

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Maybe a more regimented group effort will bring on the all-important D word.

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That’s better, proud fathers all round … Well, almost: there’s always one …
Comedian and actor, Fallon has combined forces with Spanish illustrator, Ordóñez and it’s the artist who really makes this extended joke work.

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I Love My Daddy
Jonathan Litton and Fhiona Galloway
Little Tiger Kids
Dads come in all shapes and sizes and, according to their offspring in this board book celebration of father figures be they Lion, Penguin, Cheetah, Hippo …

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Goat or Dog, deserve rewarding in one way or another.
Attractive illustrations with a die-cut star on each spread that is part and parcel of a special gift from child to dad, are a key feature here; and the combination of Litton’s rhyming text and Fhiona Galloway’s bright scenes make for a jolly book for very littles to share with their special Dad figures around father’s day or any time.

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Bear Washing and Bed Bouncing

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DSCN7467Do Not Wash This Bear
Sam Hay and Nick East
Egmont Publishing
The particular Dad in this story – so the child narrator tells us – is a disaster area when it comes to doing the washing; titchy T-shirts, pink vests and disappearing socks being examples of the consequences. So, there is a kind of inevitability of mishap when he decides his son’s somewhat stinky ted is in need of a wash. “DO NOT WASH THIS BEAR’ states the label but Dad pays no heed and soon …

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What happens when the cycle finishes and Bear emerges is NOT good. Seemingly the creature has undergone something of a personality change. First there’s this:

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raspberry blowing Bear

And before long there are bubbles all over the bathroom and the bedroom’s full of snow.
Then, when Dad coming upstairs meets Bear bounding down, this is the result …

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Back comes Mum and, having stated the obvious, hangs the errant Bear on the line, which does the trick where mischief making is concerned.
Bear may be back to normal (albeit much cleaner), but …

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The crazy capers herein are sure to be appreciated by the young but equally this one will make the many adults who have had washing disasters, smile too. Nick East’s spirited illustrations capture the shenanigans beautifully and his characters – Bear and human – are charmers.

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There’s a Bison Bouncing on the Bed!
Paul Bright and Chris Chatterton
Little Tiger Press
There’s a big brown bison bouncing on the bed and its great fun, so much so that Aardvark, Chipmunk and Beetle join him. OOPS! All that bumping and thumping …

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will surely lead to one thing – and it does…

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Recriminations follow but oh my goodness! Seems there was someone else in that bed all along – that, or it’s moving on it’s own. Out comes Grizzly Bear and he certainly hasn’t got a smile on his face as he orders immediate repairs.

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But repairs are not the only things about which he issues instructions: there’s something else he wants the bouncers to do – once they’ve fixed the bed of course …
The combination of jaunty rhyming text and giggle-inducing scenes are certain to delight young bed bouncers especially (and that’s pretty much all young children.) My listeners were quick to join in with the rhyme and demanded an immediate re-read. Adult readers aloud – perhaps bedtime isn’t the best time to share this very lively story.

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Circle and Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

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Circle
Jeannie Baker
Walker Books
This moving story begins even before the title page with its narrator lying on his bed wishing, “Ahhhh – I wish I could fly!” When next we meet him he’s on the edge of the beach of a nature reserve watching the ascent of a flock of birds …

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They’re shorebirds – godwits embarking on their long journey north. (In an author’s note at the end of the book we are told this species makes the longest unbroken journey of any animal in the world migrating 11,000 kilometres from Alaska to their southern home in Australia – where Jeannie Baker has lived for many years and where this book begins – and New Zealand.)
It’s a journey that will continue for six days and nights ‘until they know they need to stop,’ with each bird taking a turn as leader of the flock. Increasingly their familiar safe resting places have been replaced with high rise buildings …

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so their search for food has become more and more difficult but eventually they find a place to stop and refuel, eating as much as possible from the rich mud at low tide. The focus is on the godwit with white patches on its wings and finally he flies solo on to the place he remembers. There he makes a nest, attracts a mate and a brood of four chicks duly hatch …

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of which only one survives the ravages of a fox.
After many weeks, the chick is fully grown and again it’s time to move on, feed themselves up in preparation for when an icy wind heralds departure time for the godwit family and a returning flock, that now undertake the awesome nine day flight which takes them full circle back south ‘Following an ancient invisible pathway high above the clouds’ … to the other side of the world where a welcome awaits …

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I learned a great deal from this beautiful book. Its lyrical text and stunning collage illustrations make for a memorable account of godwit migration and thought-provoking glimpses of the child narrator whose personal ‘flight’ is left to readers to interpret: seemingly he too has undergone a transformation.

There’s an altogether different journey in:

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Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
Dr Seuss
Harper Collins Children’s Books
From starting at playgroup or in a nursery class, this book, with its weird and wonderful landscapes

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and some strange and on occasion alarming encounters …

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can accompany you or your child through life’s journey with all its highs and lows, uncertainties and unpredictability. It’ll help you take risks, persevere against the odds, take adversity in your stride – (‘I’m sorry to say so/ but, sadly, it’s true/ that Bang-ups/ and Hang-ups/ can happen to you.’); because as Seuss, the rhymer extraordinaire asserts:
‘So be sure when you step,/ Step with care and great tact/ and remember that Life’s/ a Great Balancing Act. … And will you succeed?/ Yes! You will, indeed!/ (98 and 3/4 per cent guaranteed.) KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!’
Empowering? Yes. Thought provoking? Ditto!

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The Bumblebear

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The Bumblebear
Nadia Shireen
Jonathan Cape
The pupils at Bee School have more than a little surprise when a newcomer arrives on the scene. It’s none other than Norman, a honey-loving creature with a plan to satisfy his constant desire for the sticky stuff …

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Norman loves his lessons but there’s one particular bee, Amelia, who has her suspicions about him right from the start. After a bit of investigation, it looks like she’s on to him …

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but the other bees are unconvinced.
Determined to prove her point and unmask Norman once and for all, Amelia sets a trap, one that Norman finds irresistible and pretty soon he’s well and truly rumbled …

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Poor Norman is immediately expelled from Bee School, which rapidly becomes a much quieter, less fun place for the other pupils.
Come night-time, another animal arrives on the scene, one that terrifies the bees and sends them tumbling and bumbling out of the hive in a panic. This creature is not to be moved though, no matter how hard the bees try …

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but then, out of the forest comes a huge buzzing creature …
Guess who is a hero now?
Nadia Shireen has created some wonderful characters and now she’s added the adorable Bumblebear to their number. (the real bees are pretty darn cute too). With plenty of suspense and expressions such as “What the jiggins?” this yummily funny story is great to read aloud and has been very well received by all I’ve shared it with.

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Finding a Way

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Don’t Wake Up Tiger!
Britta Teckentrup
Nosy Crow
Author/audience complicity is crucial to making this delightful story work: right from the opening ‘Shhh! Tiger is asleep and we mustn’t wake her up.’ youngsters are drawn into the plot: a plot that entails getting Frog, Fox, Tortoise, Mouse and Stork plus a bunch of balloons past Tiger without waking her.

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The balloons play a vital role: Frog uses one to float him right over, but we have to play our part with a bit of nose stroking to make sure Tiger stays asleep. Fox certainly needs our help too or he’ll land right on the sleeper …

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Phew! That’s two past and Tortoise goes next: gentle tummy stroking is required for his safe passage across a nearly waking Tiger; and Mouse’s crossing needs the assistance of a lullaby and a spot of rocking – not the boat – but the book or more accurately, Tiger. She’s safely over but her balloon is adrift. Last comes long-legged Stork but OH! NO! Mouse’s drifting balloon is dangerously close to her beak … Breath-holding anticipation by audience before …

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One very startled, wide-awake Tiger. What’s next? Surprise! For Tiger perhaps though maybe not listeners; think balloons, think sing along for a very special day …
Great fun to share – for both children and adult readers aloud.

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A Puppy’s Tale
Alan Windram and Chloë Holwill-Hunter
Little Door Books
Georgie is a small puppy with a lively interest in things around her. So much so that one day while out walking she strays from the path in pursuit of a bouncing frog. Her attempts at jumping like the frog are unsuccessful and suddenly, the frog jumps off home.

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The same thing happens when she encounters a hopping rabbit and a scuttling red squirrel; she cannot hop like the rabbit, or run fast like the squirrel. None of the animals stay to play with Georgie. Tired and lost, she sits and cries, watched from above by a kindly blackbird. After hearing of Georgie’s failed attempts to emulate the other animals, the blackbird offers to help her find the way back to her own home …

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With its patterned text and action words to join in with, this gentle tale of friendship is a good one to offer those just starting to read for themselves, as well as to share with early years groups who will enjoy the opportunity to jump, hop and scuttle like the animals Georgie meets and Chloë Holwill-Hunter amusingly portrays.

 

A Bounty of Board Books

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Clive and his Art/Clive and his Babies
Jessica Spanyol
Child’s Play
Preschooler Clive, as portrayed by Jessica Spanyol, is a total delight. In the first book he shares his love of being creative, something that takes many forms including printing, drawing, constructing and collage making. He also loves looking at other people’s art and sharing his own, especially with his cat, Moshi.

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Clive has a particular penchant for googly eyes (don’t most youngsters of his age) and loves to adorn his works with all things glittery and sparkly (ditto).
In the second book we meet Clive with his two ‘babies’. These certainly do get the full range of experiences: play …

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feeding, potty training, baths (with the help of friend Asif) rides, stories – very important, hugs and plenty of TLC.

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I love the slightly oblique, almost child-like views of Clive that Jessica often gives us. Her straightforward present tense narrative is such that beginning readers can also enjoy Clive and his world when they share these enchanting books with their younger siblings.

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Littleland Around the World
Marion Billet
Nosy Crow
The animal friends from Littleland pack their bags and set off to explore the world. First stop is London and they finish up in New York City – in Central Park to be precise. There are five other European destinations, then they head to Egypt and the pyramids followed by a safari in Kenya (that’s Africa taken care of). Next port of call is India and the Taj Mahal in Agra – a very hot place indeed so we are told, not always so in my experience though. From there it’s to China for a dragon festival , Tokyo at night …

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Australia to visit the outback and sunny Brazil for a spot of beach fun and games.
Running below every spread is a “Can you see …?‘ strip with nine labeled items (the national flag, animals, foods and more) for lap-tourists to spot. Yes there is the odd bit of mild stereotyping: ‘In Italy, people often eat pizza for their lunch.’ but the illustrations are cute, there’s so much to discuss, and toddlers will love to play I-Spy on this whistle-stop global tour.

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My First Book of Opposites
Alain Grée
Button Books
Ten spreads playfully illustrate basic opposites such as big/small, short/tall, up/down, fast/slow
Most of the concepts are either mathematical or scientific – hot/cold, day/night with the exception of one relating to feelings – happy/sad. We know that children acquire concepts through life experiences but books such as this board book can help in the reinforcement of same, and provide a talking point for adult and child together.

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Bizzy Bear DIY Day
Benji Davies
Nosy Crow
Bizzy Bear is having a DIY day. He’s busy measuring, sawing, drilling; but what are he and his pals making?

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TADAAH! Somewhere they can all have fun together …
Toddlers can enjoy the surprise ending and hone their fine motor skills as they push and slide the tabs to assist Bizzy as he wields his tools.
Bizzy Bear already has many fans among the very youngest; this one could win him even more.

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Animal Babies in the River/Animal Babies on the Mountain
Julia Groves
Child’s Play
Adult animals and their offspring from two different habitats – the river and mountains – are presented in life-like, collage style illustrations. The half dozen river animals portrayed are swan/cygnets, crocodile/hatchlings …

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otter and her pups, frog/tadpoles, salmon/fry and duck/ducklings.
The mountain dwellers include the alpaca/cria, lynx/kittens, eagle/eaglets and wolf/cubs.

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Julia Groves really does capture the essence of each species in her portrayals; her graphic style certainly doesn’t dumb down her illustrations: she clearly believes that the very youngest children deserve quality artwork and this is what she provides here.

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Elmer and the Race

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Elmer and the Race
David McKee
Andersen Press
The young elephants have become racing enthusiasts so Elmer and Wilbur decide to organise a special race and give the youngsters a week to practise. On race day everyone gathers to watch the nine contestants, each of which is decorated a different colour …

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and all listen to Elmer’s reminder: “Remember it’s not just who is fastest or slowest, but how you run the race” issued before the off.
Elmer and Wilbur then head off to the first vantage point to view the proceedings as Brown takes the lead. An eventful race ensues with monkey tricks sending some contestants off course; cheating leading to an injury …

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a disqualification and finally a winner – that’s Blue. He’s not the only medal recipient however: there’s an award for second place, fastest starter, bravest, kindest, unluckiest contestant as well as two for funniest and finally one for sorriest (also the naughtiest) so every one is happy – one way or another.
I had to read this one three times to a group of 4s to 9s, one of whom said she knew the story already but quickly realised she didn’t; it was the original Elmer book she was familiar with. Clearly Elmer still wields his magic after more than a quarter of a century. Long live Elmer the Patchwork Elephant.

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Timely Rescues for Mortimer & Monkey

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Mortimer’s Picnic
Nick Ward
Troika Books
Mortimer is eagerly anticipating the picnic he’s been planning to share with best pal Oggy when he hears that the whole thing’s off – Oggy has an awful cold. Or maybe not. “I know – I’ll take the picnic to his house!” decides Mortimer. So having packed the picnic food, a get well soon card, medicine and a storybook, off he goes to his friend’s house. Almost immediately down comes the rain and up goes Mortimer’s brolly; but suddenly, WHOOSH! up goes Mortimer too and down he comes into the middle of a river – and he can’t swim. In this particular river is a resident croc. who’s only too happy to give Mortimer a lift across in exchange for his sausages.

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Deal done and off goes a decidedly damp rabbit into the ‘dark and scary forest’, followed unbeknown to him, by the still hungry crocodile.
Before long there appears another hungry animal demanding more of the contents of the picnic basket …

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Fearing for his life, Mortimer complies with the wolf’s wishes and is duly led out of the forest, albeit now feeling decidedly snuffly and with yet another pursuer. He’s not out of the woods entirely even now though: more of that picnic is handed over – in return for a safe bridge crossing this time – and a chase ensues …

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before the tale takes a decidedly unexpected turn.
I won’t reveal what happens or how the tale ends: suffice it to say it’s an altogether satisfying finale for listeners, although perhaps not quite so satisfying for some of the characters of this action-packed saga of thrills, misadventures and friendship.
Observant readers will have noticed that before the story starts, Mortimer sits reading …

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and it’s that particular book he chooses to take along with him to visit Oggy – food for thought?

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Doodle Girl and the Monkey Mystery
Suzanne Smith & Lindsay Taylor, illustrated by Marnie Maurri
Simon & Schuster Children’s Books
Doodle Girl’s place of residence is a magical sketchbook; she wields a magic doodling pencil and has several special friends including Mr Whizzy, Miss Ladybird and the Small Squeakies – there are two of them. The adventure we join them on starts with a pointy shape, which, with a few deft dashes and squiggles, Doodle Girl rapidly transforms into …

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Off they all fly, across an ocean and eventually come to land on a tropical island. It’s there that, by wielding her magic pencil in similar fashion to Anthony Browne’s Bear she manages to pull off the rescue of a little monkey from the snapping jaws of a pair of hungry crocs,

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as well as supplying all concerned with a tasty treat.
I’m all for anything that opens up the imagination and encourages creativity in young children. With the current tick box mentality that is all too prevalent in schools today, I see fewer and fewer opportunities being given in the classroom and even in nurseries for children to follow their own imaginative ideas. All power to Doodle Girl and her flights of fancy …

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The Wolves of Currumpaw

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The Wolves of Currumpaw
William Grill
Flying Eye Books
William Grill’s award winning Shackleton’s Journey was an amazing book; but he’s now done something even more sublime with this story which is in part a retelling of a tale from New Mexico – Ernest Thompson Seton’s Lobo, King of Currumpaw – and part research about Ernest Seton.
I’ve long been a huge fan of Michelle Paver’s Chronicles of Ancient Darkness and in particular Wolf Brother, a fantasy story of a boy and a wolf. Now I’m a fan of another wolf tale too. Here though we have a story of a real wolf, but this is no ordinary wolf; and William Grill welds together fiction and fact, dividing his narrative into six parts starting in 1862 with the impact of the arrival of European settlers in the Old West, and bringing us right up to present time with a mention of David Attenborough and Douglas W.Smith.
Essentially, we learn the story of one particular wolf pack and Lobo its leader and of Seton, their hunter who, after his destructive encounters with the wolves, especially Blanca, Lobo’s mate and Lobo himself, undergoes a redemptive metamorphosis from killer to wild-life protector and conservationist. I have to admit, I shed a tear or two as I read of the placing of Lobo’s dead body beside Blanca’s: “There, you would come to her, now you are together again.”
Sometimes tinged with humour, sometimes with sadness, there is a dreamlike quality about Grill’s drawings, executed in colour pencils. His skill in producing deceptively simple impressionistic interpretations of the wide-open landscapes …

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and big skies of New Mexico …

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is awe-inspiring, whether employed over a double page spread or in his miniature story-telling frames.

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The chilling cruelty of the vast array of vicious iron-tooth traps and other trapping paraphernalia is somehow heightened by his minimalist technique.

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Gripping too is Grill’s narrative voice; here’s an example of his succinct text: ‘Laloche, a French Canadian, believed Lobo was not simply a wolf but a genuine “loup-garou” (werewolf), and therefore could not be caught by ordinary means. He cleverly created his own devious poisons, and used a whole array of spells, charms and incantations, each more elaborate than the last. Day in, day out, he tried and tried, but for all his tricks, Lobo eluded him.’
Seemingly, every time I write a review of a title from this particular publisher, I wax lyrical about the outstanding quality of their books; here’s another example of  production extraordinaire from Flying Eye Books.

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There is a Tribe of Kids

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There is a Tribe of Kids
Lane Smith
Two Hoots
Connectedness is a longing that we all feel and it’s this need to belong that starts Lane Smith’s child protagonist off on a journey exploring the natural world through a day and a night, as he searches for that vital connectness. He begins on a craggy mountainside where we see him in the swirling snow, almost completely concealed among the TRIBE of KIDS. The kids leave him one after the other and our protagonist moves on and soon finds himself face to face with a penguin. This penguin takes him to a COLONY of PENGUINS that lead the lad in a merry dance and more

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until he finds himself plunging beneath the ocean where he mirrors the movements of a SMACK of JELLYFISH before being rescued by a POD of WHALES, seized by an UNKINDNESS of RAVENS and left alone on a FORMATION of ROCKS. Rocks from which he tumbles into a rubbish pile and thence, by some acrobatic manoeuvring, into a jungly GROWTH of PLANTS. There he has encounters with a whole array of marchers and musicians large and small …

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until a sudden torrential downpour halts him temporarily and he comes nose to nose with a caterpillar,

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and then …

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His wanting to connect however, drives him further until at nightfall we see him standing on a moonlit shore and thereon he sleeps till morning, discovers a trail of shells that lead him at last, to the where place he knows he should stay.

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A Place where he can be and belong: and there, let the wild dance begin …
Here, in this celebration of playfulness, acceptance, belonging and sharing is Lane Smith at his creative best and the whole thing is ingeniously built around collective nouns.
I urge you to get hold of a copy of this wonderful book and look, look and look again and then keep on looking. With its puns – visual and verbal – this is most definitely one to savour.

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One Lion, One Tiger – Two Terrific Tales

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A Hungry Lion
Lucy Ruth Cummins
Simon & Schuster Children’s Books
Wow! Subtitled ‘a dwindling assortment of animals’ this one’s a humdinger: droll, dark – very dark, and a real twister of a tale.
‘Once upon a time there was a hungry lion, a penguin, a turtle, a little calico kitten, a brown mouse, a bunny with floppy ears and a bunny with un-floppy ears, a frog, a bat, a pig, a slightly bigger pig, a woolly sheep, a koala, and also a hen.’ Here they all are looking happy enough …

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(I’d count them if I were you.)
Turn over a couple of times and things seem to have changed somewhat : that line up doesn’t look at all like it did … Hmm!

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After a third ‘Once upon a time’ it’s dwindled to a turtle, a pig (the regular- sized one) and the floppy-eared rabbit. One more page turn leaves just A HUNGRY LION and er, that turtle. Oh, oops! It’s just the lion now and he’s about to exit stage right. But on goes our valiant narrator as we’re plunged into darkness followed pretty quickly by …

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Don’t speak too soon though – didn’t I just see that lion with one paw on the light-pull again: then omg …

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That however, is not quite the end or rather, there is an alternative way to finish this meta-tale of mischief and surprises…
Wonderfully and sharply witty, Cummins’ subtle, slow burning, dead-pan narrative voice(s) cry out to be read over and over and … and her mixed media illustrations are equally, to be savoured. In combination, they’re pretty near perfect.
This reviewer’s certainly hungry for more, as are all those – young and not so young – I’ve shared this tasty treat with.

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Augustus and His Smile
Catherine Rayner
Little Tiger Press
There seems to have been something of a richness of tiger picture books this year but nobody captures the tigerishness of tigers better than Catherine Rayner: nothing is more quintessentially TIGER than her paintings of Augustus. The landscapes – grasslands, mountains,

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oceans and deserts
– through which Augustus moves in search of his lost smile are beautifully suggested rather than detailed, leaving space for children’s imaginations to work, and so it is with her carefully chosen words. Words such as ‘He pranced and paraded through the largest desert, making shadow shapes in the sun.’

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The message in this lovely book is one that everyone needs reminding of from time to time: wherever you are, open your eyes to nature’s beauty and you will surely find something to bring on a smile.
I can hardly believe it’s a decade since this beauty first appeared: it’s certainly lost none of its appeal.

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Nara and the Island & Squish Squash Squeeze

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Nara and the Island
Dan Ungureanu
Andersen Press
The small girl narrator of this story lives with her dad on a tiny island, ‘so small, you can’t lose anything’ is what he tells her. Across the water some way away is another island and sometimes the child sits looking at it from her special secret hiding place. As she sits staring she imagines getting across …

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but then one day her dad discovers her hiding place and with repaired boat, the two embark on an adventure. Dad’s quest is to find the legendary Big Fish, his daughter’s mission to explore the shores of the other island.

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Once ashore though, the girl feels overwhelmed by the strange sights and sounds around her but then she meets a boy, Aran.

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The two compare their respective homes – hers so small and quiet, his so wild and noisy – and find they share the need for a hideaway of their own. Aran then offers to share his with his new friend.
The lightened colours of Ungureanu’s scenes have a subtle other-worldly quality that add a touch of magic to the whole undertaking and the final “I think I’d like that.” comment of the girl narrator

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opens the way for readers’ imaginations to take over.

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Squish Squash Squeeze
Tracey Corderoy and Jane Chapman
Little Tiger Press
When Mouse arrives at his new home it looks nigh on perfect for his needs, there’s even a piano. But suddenly there appears a large and very growly bear who is not at all keen on sharing the space, indeed claiming …”there’s NO ROOM HERE, not even for a mouse!” Undaunted, Mouse continues unpacking his belongings and inviting the bear to help. Off he goes, skipping upstairs, only to find himself confronting another enormous creature occupying the bathroom …

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But he’s not the final surprise: as Mouse continues finding places for his belongings, another animal makes an appearance.
Seemingly there is only one thing to do and that’s share a cuppa …

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albeit with a bit of a wiggling and jiggling. But then from under the floorboards, there comes a RUMBLE-THRUMBLE-THUMP! followed shortly by a tumble, tumble BUMP! (that’s Mouse) and a satisfying surprise that seemingly solves everyone’s space problem once and for all.
With a repeat refrain for listeners to join in with and some opportunities for roaring and snapping too, there’s plenty to entertain early years audiences, not least the satisfying fold-out finale, though every one of Jane Chapman’s spreads provides plenty of gigglesome details.

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Flora and the Peacocks

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Flora and the Peacocks
Molly Idle
Chronicle Books
Flora, so I believe, has already starred in two previous picture books though this is my first encounter with the diminutive dancing delight. Herein she encounters a pair of preening peacocks who proceed to use their gloriously coloured tails in tandem with her fan, mirroring her every move until one, the rather more curious of the pair, crosses the gutter and approaches the girl. Thereafter we have a paired dance on the verso and on the recto, something of a solo drama. Eventually however, we have this …

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After which Flora reaches out (here readers can lift the tails or lower them as the fancy takes them).

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What then follows is a tug of war over her fan,

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orchestrated by readers moving an arched page (we know threesomes can be problematic where friendship is concerned) until the delicate fan becomes two pieces and Flora flounces off-stage in despair

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leaving the birds to work out a solution – which they duly do – with an amazing fold-out finale that more than makes up for the disaster and places a smiling Flora centre stage in a dazzling display of iridescent beauty and bewitchment.
Beautifully choreographed by Molly Idle, this breath-taking, wordless pas de trois is a real virtuoso performance, both on stage and off, that will have readers transfixed and wanting encore after encore. And don’t you just love the way those wispy willow fronds form a kind of proscenium arch for the whole show.

Those who particularly enjoy wordless picture books may also like:

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Dog on a Train
Kate Prendergast
Old Barn Books
This wordless debut picture book begins with a boy dashing downstairs and dropping his hat in his haste to leave the house. His dog spots said hat and chases off down the road after the boy, all the way to the tube station.

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‘Dogs must be carried’ says the sign at the turnstile and as luck would have it, a girl comes along and takes Dog down the escalator onto the platform.

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Dog then boards an underground train, makes the journey, is jostled by crowds, almost loses the hat and finally catches up with the boy and gives him the hat.
Kate Prendergast’s detailed drawings are beautifully executed in soft pencil, with just the red and white stripes of the boy’s hat and red and white details on his trainers standing out, giving a splash of colour on every spread and drawing the eye to the main characters. The pacing of the story is cleverly managed by the use of whole page, double spread, split page and comic strip images.

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A warm story about friendship and determination: wonderful for developing visual literacy.

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Take Off and Fly with Fletcher & Zenobia and Rita

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Fletcher and Zenobia
Victoria Chess and Edward Gorey
The New York Review Children’s Collection
Wonderfully wry but then it is Gory, although he didn’t illustrate this one; that was Victoria Chess and a delightfully whimsical job she’s done of it too. It tells of a burgeoning friendship between two unlikely characters, Fletcher a tubby cat who, for reasons known best to himself, resides in a tall tree, and Zenobia, a doll who hatches from a large papier-mâché egg. Oh, I should have mentioned the trunk – that’s also up in the tree and contains an assortment of things including a hat collection and, once Fletcher discovers it, that egg.
Having been released from her eggy prison, Zenobia is eager to learn about her new surroundings but is even more eager to work out a way to descend.
In the meantime, the two agree to have a party, a party that includes a multi-layered lemon cake, peach ice-cream and fruit punch, a fair number of balloons and those hats – of course, the hats …

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and dancing. The latter is interrupted by a new arrival, one that appears to be an ace dancer with an enormous capacity for ice-cream and cake. And it’s this, or more precisely, the resulting increase in the moth’s size that enables Fletcher and Zenobia to finally bid farewell to the tree and take off into the great wide world of beyond …

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So good to see this one available again: a lovely book to share but equally, a good one to offer newly independent readers.

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Rita Rides Again
Rita on the River
Hilda Offen
Troika Books
I remember Rita the Rescuer, youngest member of the Potter family, from my early teaching days when this smart young miss delighted many of my ‘just becoming independent’ readers. Now she’s back with some new adventures to entertain a new generation of children. In the first story, the Potter children accompany Grandad to the castle where he’s a guide and it’s not long before Rita is required to transform herself into rescuing mode and save a valuable vase from destruction. That’s not the only thing she deals with though; there’s a ghost to see off, not to mention a whole flock of furious peacocks and a monster in the lake.

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But there’s still more excitement and rescuing of the Rita kind too, in this book and you can be assured that all the time the young heroine is making good use of her thinking skills.
The same is true in the second story. Herein her superhero tactics are called into play almost immediately on a picnic expedition when she’s left sitting on the riverbank while Grandpa and the older children take to the water in boats. It’s not her family members who need rescuing straightaway however, but a puppy. Before long though Grandpa is up the river without a paddle or rather, up the pole without the punt …

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and there’s only one person fast enough to pull off that particular rescue. But Rita’s work is far from done: people seem to end up in all manner of life-threatening situations on the river, so it’s just as well, she took her special outfit along on this expedition. There’s an Eddie and Jim crocodile encounter and a dramatic waterfall snatch to perform before the whole family finally sits down to share that picnic. And the best thing is – and it’s something readers revel in – that none of the rescued knows the identity of the Rescuer.

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Pets and Problems

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Lottie Potter Wants an Otter
Jeanne Willis and Leonie Lord
Harper Collins Children’s Books
An otter certainly isn’t the most likely of animals for a child to want but it’s the pet of choice for young Lottie Potter. So off she goes with a hop and a skip into town.

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Mr Trotter has a wide range of otters available – spotty, potty, snotty, swotty, tie in a knotty, or hot from Lanzarote. Seemingly there’s something for all tastes here.

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Somewhat overwhelmed, Lottie turns to the shop-keeper for expert advice. He duly selects, a purchase is made and off goes Lottie with her otter. However, said animal isn’t quite the perfect pet she’d anticipated; it’s an absolute rotter through and through, even having the audacity to bite her bot. …

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Who could possibly blame her for taking it right back to the shop and demanding a refund? Well, that may have been her plan but it’s one that’s well and truly thwarted causing Lottie to rid herself of the unwanted animal elsewhere,

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and go seeking an altogether more suitable creature for her next pet. Err …
The jaunty rhyming extravaganza is illustrated with zestful scenes of otters cavorting, climbing and carousing, and Lottie’s one in particular, causing chaos. Leonie Lord’s otters are guaranteed to make you and your audience giggle as much as Jeanne Willis’ otterly dotty words.

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Hiccups!
Holly Sterling
Frances Lincoln Children’s Book
Hiccups seem to come on all too easily, but getting rid of them, well that’s another matter. And that’s the problem facing young Ruby but the hiccups aren’t hers; it’s her dog Oscar that’s Hic! Hic! Hiccuping …
Ruby however is full of ideas and it’s as well she’s not one to give up easily. They try dancey-dancing,

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jumpity-jumping, slurpity-slurping …

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not to mention twirly-twirling and hoppity- hopping all to no avail. Not even munchy-munching or wielding a magic wand halt the hics. But Ruby has one more idea up her sleeve – one that involves a complete change of garb and this time … silence from Oscar. But maybe hiccups are catching after all err …
Great potential for audience participation herein – let’s hope the hiccups are simulated not real though or you might find yourself having to try out some of Ruby’s remedies. Ruby and Oscar are both thoroughly engaging characters – cute but also spirited, and their relationship is beautifully captured in Holly Sterlings’ scenes large and small.

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This is the story of Alison Hubble

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This is the story of Alison Hubble
Allan Ahlberg and Bruce Ingman
Puffin Books
Imagine a world overrun with smallish identical girls. Not possible? Well, after reading this brilliantly bizarre book you may have cause to change your mind.
‘This is the story of Alison Hubble who went to bed single and woke up double.’ So begins this crazy tale of multiplication of the mayhem making kind by the terrific Ahlberg/Ingman team.
Young Alison gets the surprise of her life when she wakes up one morning beside herself – literally. Her parents too are more than a little perplexed at the prospect of a pair.
The girls are duly dispatched to school with an explanatory note for the class teacher, but of course Alison’s pals are faced with a conundrum: “Which one’s really you?” they demand to know.

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Things don’t stop there however. Come games time and the doubling happens again – no question who will be in goal for the footie game …

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Next day Mr H. is sent to do a headcount (maths isn’t Mrs H.’s forte) and lo and behold there’s been another doubling…

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Even the press have got wind of the mathematical mayhem by now: a reporter’s awaiting the girls at the school gate. But by the end of another day at school – one that’s necessitated some requisitioning of extra furniture – Alison goes home to discover a whole TV crew wanting to do a news feature. But the young miss is having none of it and stomps off for some alone time.
I’ll leave you to imagine what happens thereafter (assuredly there’s a whole lot of interest in the phenomenon); and to wonder if this doubling will ever stop.

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In addition to being a hilarious read aloud this is an absolute gift for any teacher about to teach a maths lesson on doubles.

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Bee-&-Me

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Bee-&-Me
Alison Jay
Old Barn Books
Currently living just outside Stroud, Britain’s ‘First Bee Friendly town’ I knew straightway I wanted to review this wonderful wordless book. Wordless it may be but every spread, nay every single picture speaks for itself. The story’s set in a city, a very busy one where, in an apartment block, resides a little girl. Now, like me you probably dislike being buzzed at by bees, let alone stung, so I suspect the girl would have had your sympathies, had she whacked the bee that bothers her. But something stops her. Instead she does this …

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followed by …

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and some time later, she carefully releases the creature, thinking, one imagines, that’s that.
But along comes a rainstorm and what should reappear at the window looking bedraggled and in need of some T.L.C. but Bee.
And that is the start of a burgeoning friendship …

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full of adventures that take the two far afield and back again. Back with some of nature’s bounties

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that will ultimately yield not only benefits, but beauty and joy to those residing in the city, be they human or bee.

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There is gentle humour running throughout this uplifting tale or rather tales, for this is a multi-layered, multi-faceted telling. One facet shows another unfolding friendship – one between the girl and the boy living above in the same block of flats. And there is a multitude of incidental stories to conjure up through the glimpses of other people’s lives shown through the windows of the neighbouring apartments.
Pictures are such a powerful means of storying: in the right hands, as eloquent as words and just as thought-provoking, as Alison Jay so adroitly demonstrates here. Is it the floral curtains that draw Bee to the girl’s apartment? The passage of time is conveyed through Bee’s growth, and the coming of autumn by the leaves blowing through the city street and the pumpkins outside the florist’s shop –

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Words do have their place though – after the story’s end. With a final ‘BEE AWARE!’ information page, giving facts and helpful hints on bee requirements and preferences, readers themselves can take up the vital role of BEE-ing friendly.

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Lucinda Belinda Melinda McCool

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Lucinda Belinda Melinda McCool
Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
Andersen Press
Lucinda Belinda Melinda McCool is assuredly a head-turner but not a particularly pleasant character – far from it in fact. She feels duty bound to issue fault- correcting instructions to those she calls her friends, thus …

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and even resorts on occasion to actual ‘enhancement’ procedures …

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It isn’t only fellow pupils who come in for her improvement instructions though: ‘No one was safe from Lucinda’s advice./ “Grandpa!” she said. “Your moustache isn’t nice./ Sit down and don’t fidget, I’ll give it a trim./ Grandma, you’re next when I’ve finished with him.” Her teacher too gets the treatment …

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All is perfectly peachy for Miss LBMMcC until she happens upon a Monster in the woods one day – a hideous beast if ever there was one. Do you think the young miss stood terrified before this creature?

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No way! Out come the beautifying instruments (she went nowhere without those of course)

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and very soon the monster’s hair has been washed, trimmed and blown dry and he’s had a thorough make over to boot. Let the beautiful friendship now commence … errrm, not quite. Seems that makeover was only skin deep …
Willis and Ross have together concocted a cracking cautionary tale of the truly hilarious kind. Jeanne Willis’ rhyming narrative is a gift to the reader aloud (though I suggest you have a dress rehearsal first) and I guarantee you’ll have your audience in fits, not only over the words: every single one of Ross’s illustrations is an absolute beaut.
FAB-U-LOUS!

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Dragon Dos and Don’ts

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Dare to Care: Pet Dragon
M.P.Robertson and Sally Symes
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
Ever thought of keeping a dragon? It’s probably not top of your list of things to do. Nevertheless Robertson and Symes have compiled a spoofingly delicious manual on how to do just that. There are several considerations including how to dispose of the dung it will produce in profusion –

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before taking that dragon decision tying you together for life. Anatomy (you might want to skip the warty bit, ditto the ‘teeth’ bit, if you are at all squeamish), choice of breed and choice of egg come next – we’re advised that it’s best to begin with an egg and select one that your particular lifestyle most easily accommodates. And hatching can be extremely time consuming …

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Of course, once the thing finally does emerge you’ll need to know about handling, feeding and grooming. Each of these is given its own spread and I suggest reading them with great care: brussels sprouts are a definite no-no and curry’s inadvisable too. And, oh my goodness you’ll need a veritable troupe of tradespeople when it comes to grooming …

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It’s best to know about dealing with ailments in the unlikely event that your dragon falls sick, so that’s taken care of next, followed by exercise.
Now you may well have selected a dragon as companion for the aeronautical opportunities such a creature offers, so a term or two at flight school is a MUST and then, with license under your belt …

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This tongue-in-cheek treat is guaranteed to give you a good giggle, or rather, a whole lot of giggles. And, it’s the perfect picture book for those who claim to enjoy information texts rather than stories.

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Marmaduke the Very Popular Dragon
Rachel Valentine and Ed Eaves
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
In this, his second story, Marmaduke has become something of a celebrity, so much so that best friend, Meg, sees little of him. Never mind, thinks Meg, there’s the Whizz Cone Tournament coming up, the perfect thing for the best friends to do together. But then Marmaduke becomes even more elusive; surely he couldn’t have found another partner for the tournament could he? That certainly doesn’t look like Meg riding him to victory here …

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Then, come trophy presentation time, Marmaduke isn’t feeling as overjoyed as he ought to and what’s more, he can hear sobbing sounds in the distance. Off he goes to find Meg, offer his heartfelt apologies and make a promise that henceforward, he’ll never exclude her again. That’s the kind of promise best friends always try to keep …

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Fans of Marmaduke and Meg will welcome their return; and applaud Marmaduke for seeing the error of his ways and acting accordingly. Adult mediators of the story have a good starting point for a ‘what makes a good friend?’ discussion.

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Pants and Pirates

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Hooray for Knickers
Jill Lewis and Deborah Allwright
Egmont
The very mention of knickers in a picture book is likely to get children giggling and so it is with this one, although other than the title, it was some way into the story before the k word came up at all. The whole thing is based on a kind of cumulative Chinese whispers mix up that occurs when the Royal Butler incorrectly passes on King Grouchy’s order for ‘floats, deck chairs and silky slippers.’ (Items needed to impress his soon-to-arrive guest, Prince Jolly whom he’s invited for a swim at the palace.) What he tells the Royal Footman instead is: “They need boats, black bears and silly flippers.”  The message eventually reaches the ears of the Royal Maid who interprets it thus: “He needs skipping ropes? A funfair? And everyone needs frilly knickers? Oh well, if that’s what the king’s best friend in the whole wide world wants …”
It’s more than the royal servants’ lives are worth to ignore orders of King Grouchy, even if they are trying to keep out of his way, so what he says goes. Errm …
Both King and Prince are in for a surprise when they look down from the balcony at the sight that awaits …

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Fortunately both host and guest see the funny side, a friendship is forged and then it’s time to party.

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Comical scenes abound in this crazy caper.

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The Best Pirate
Sue Mongredien and Dan Taylor
Scholastic Children’s Books
Meet the pirate crew: there’s Pirate Dave – big and brave, clever Pirate Nell, Pirate Giles – ace swimmer and the diminutive Pirate Paul. Having set sail Dave, Nell and Giles are immediately busy

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but Paul (not considered a proper pirate by fellow crew members on account of his lack of stature) is deemed too tiny for a task. The same applies once they reach dry land and set off in search of treasure; Paul is left on the ship while the others explore. Will he ever get an opportunity to prove himself a worthy member of the pirate band? Maybe this is his golden opportunity: his shipmates certainly look like they need some help – and fast …

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Told in appropriately rollicking rhyme and humorously illustrated in bold tropical colours, this will appeal in particular to young landlubbers who enjoy tales of the action-packed kind. And there’s a fold-out cover flap with cut-out pirate hat and treasure.

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Bossy Jonathan Fossy
Julie Fulton and Elina Ellis
Maverick Arts Publishing
Meet Jonathan Fossy, a real bossy boots if ever there was one: he’d issue orders to his mum, his neighbours, the whole town in fact. Eventually PC Moran decides something has to be done and at dead of night a plan is hatched. Next morning as he heads off to play, Jonathan sees this …

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On reaching the beach he’s confronted by a gang of dastardly looking pirates one of whom grabs young Jonathan and having hustled him on board as a crew member, produces a rather long list of tasks the lad’s required to complete.

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Seems there’s nothing for it but to get stuck in. There’s washing, scrubbing, sail repairs, deck swabbing, polishing and much more and all the while the rest of the crew jeer at and scorn the lad, issuing threats if he appears to be slacking.
Eventually a somewhat exhausted Jonathan sees the error of his ways: “Being bossy’s not nice, I can see. /I’ve been a real pain, I won’t do it again.” he cries. And then it’s time for the rest of the crew to unmask and set sail back to Hamilton Shady with one altogether reformed character.
Jonathan Fossy is the latest addition to the series of Hamilton Shady inhabitants. The exploits of some of the other residents of the town of ‘over-the-top’ characters have been reissued with new titles and covers, so if you’ve not read their cautionary tales, there are giggles aplenty to be found therein too.

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The Big Book of Bugs/A Beetle Is Shy

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The Big Book of Bugs
Yuval Zommer and Barbara Taylor
Thames & Hudson
Now is the time of year to go in search of all things buggish and armed with inventive illustrator, Yuval Zommer’s and bug expert, Barbara Taylor’s fantastic book, you’ll be in a position to find out all about them. It’s absolutely packed full of fascinating facts and some figures relating to minibeasts of all kinds – insects, snails, spiders, centipedes and worms and indeed we are given a classification explaining how to tell what’s what …

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as well as some other general bug-related information, before moving on to look at particular species in greater detail. This, the author does by posing intriguing questions such as ‘Does a dragonfly breathe fire?’ or ‘Just how slow does a snail go?’

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as leads in to double spreads on over twenty-five topics. Most spreads look at one kind of mini creature, say spiders, where among the facts we find that spiders have 48 knees (I’ve never thought of spiders having knees before, I have to say); or Ants ‘the queen ant can live for 15 years!’

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Or, Centipedes where we discover ‘most of these creatures have around 30 legs and can have over 300.

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And, in relation to Bugs on the Move, ‘A horsefly (my most unfavourite bug) can fly faster than a car on the motorway.’ That’s as maybe, but the one that bit me and caused an infected wound on my back that grew to the size of a duck’s egg and needed daily lancing for over a month, certainly wasn’t doing that!
Each spread is beautifully illustrated by Yuval Zommer, who adds touches of humour here and there, making bug discovery and factual learning a fun activity for all. Zommer even extends his creativity and readers’ enjoyment by including a ‘search and find’ element throughout, asking on the title page, ‘Can you find exactly the same fly 15 times in this book? Watch out for imposters.’ And he’s also hidden a couple of stripey wasps on the Bees spread …

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This is exactly the kind of captivating, treasure trove of a book that will turn youngsters into bug lovers, effervescing with enthusiasm to go on a minibeast hunt. It’s a must have for all family bookshelves, primary schools and early years settings – most of the latter two include some kind of minibeast theme in the curriculum.

Also on the topic of minibeasts, focusing on one category of insects is:

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A Beetle Is Shy
Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long
Chronicle Books
This one is vibrantly illustrated in glowing watercolours by Sylvia Long, and the poetic text is provided by Diana Hutts Aston. Although originating in the US,(and so some of the species may be unfamiliar to say, UK readers) the book has plenty to offer everyone with an interest in the subject. And some species just have different names ‘Convergent Lady Beetle’ is a ladybird.
The author uses attention-catching phrases such as ‘A beetle is kaleidoscopic’ …

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or ‘A beetle is telegraphic’ …

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to introduce particular characteristics that are then further explored on the spread in text that is perfectly pitched to engage and keep readers involved and wanting to know more.
We learn of the helpful things some beetles do (ladybirds eat aphids for instance), others can be a food source (in India some people eat stag beetle chutney. I’ve never come across this despite frequent visits). But some kinds such as weevils devastate crops like cotton and lettuce.

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A good one for individual reading or for sharing – it reads aloud so well.

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A Welcome Song for Baby

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A Welcome Song for Baby
Marsha Diane Arnold and Sophie Allsopp
Tamarind
The small girl narrator of this lovely book comes up with a wonderful idea when she sees everyone else busy with welcome preparations for the new baby and wonders what she can do. “Can the baby hear us?” she asks her mum. “Yes, Emma, the baby is listening,” comes the reply. She decides to share all her own favourite sounds beginning with winter’s ‘Tinkling icicles. Whistling wind. /Slushity-slush-slush-snow. // Chattery teeth. Snowballs SPLOSH. / Sleds and skates shoosh- shooshing. // Purring kitty. Snoring dog. /Pop-pop-crackling fire./ All winter long, I share the sounds./ All the sounds, all round, all round.”
Come spring and there’s blossom blowing in the breeze, chirping sparrows, robin’s song, whirring dragonflies, clickety bikes, WHOOSHING swings, lizards skittle-scooting, rumbly thunder

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and more.
Summer brings the sounds of bees, flies, crickets, bouncing balls, skipping chants, a water sprinkler, frogs croaking, owls hooting and campfire stories told by her dad.

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Then one warm summer’s day Emma’s mum announces, … “Today is Baby’s birth day.” Not long after, it’s time to welcome the new family member face to face …

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and come autumn Emma and her new sibling have a whole lot of new sounds to enjoy together.

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This is an enormously heart-warming celebration of a new baby told with sensitivity and affection. The closeness of the whole family is beautifully conveyed in Sophie Allsopp’s richly hued and patterned illustrations.

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Zim Zam Zoom

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Zim Zam Zoom
James Carter and Nicola Colton
Otter-Barry Books
This corker of a book arrived during the holidays and I had to restrain myself from dashing out into the road, grabbing any child I could find and saying, ‘Come with me and listen.’ ‘Zappy poems to read aloud’ announces the cover by line; and every one of the sixteen included truly is a treat to do so. From fireworks to a farmyard Hullabaloo (do I detect a touch of Charley Causely here?)

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bedtime (with a teddy) to Billy Goats there’s something for all tastes; but I suspect re-reads of them all will be the order of the day. From a performance point of view, I think my favourite has to be Grump, Grump, Grump! (or … The Three Billy Goats Get Rough Rap), with verses such as this:
‘Says Goat, “Ohh, Trev – you don’t scare me-
cos my bruv’s tough, as you’ll soon see!”
So Goat number 1 trots off to the grass
As Goat number two pops up so fast.
“Yells, Oi, Goatie – off you squeal,
or I’m gonna scoff you as my meal!”
Grump, grump, grump! ‘
If you’re in the mood for something altogether quieter then try this lullaby…

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Or, for maximum audience participation of the silent kind share this …

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I also love Hey, Let’s Go, a once upon a time invitation to participate in some fairytale frolics such as ’Let’s dress up in a riding hood./ Let’s take that shortcut though the wood.// let’s race that wolf to Granny’s door./ Let’s huff and puff that house of straw.’
Assuredly, this is a book if ever there was one, to turn children on to poetry. It leads on perfectly from nursery rhymes and deserves a place in every early years setting and on every family bookshelf. So, do what James Carter suggests in his final offering and Take a Poem … 
Nicola Colton ‘s spirited illustrations allow the poems to take centre stage right where they should be – a tricky undertaking, deftly done.

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Fairy Tales Anew

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Very Little Sleeping Beauty
Teresa Heapy and Sue Heap,
Picture Corgi
Sleeping Beauty – albeit of the Very Little kind – she may be, but our diminutive heroine certainly knows all the delaying tactics where bedtime is concerned. On this particular bedtime – the eve of her birthday – she has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger. Even after a proper sing-song, several stories, tickles, dancing and bed bouncing she’s still not ready to settle down.

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Demands for her Bear, blanket and a drink in her “special-est cup” are issued and fulfilled; well not the cup, which seems to have gone missing. And that’s when the trouble starts. Waiting is not one of Very Little Sleeping Beauty’s strong points and after what seems to her an inordinately long wait, she’s off round the castle in search of her parents and her Aunty Fairy.

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It’s her Aunty that she duly discovers behind the door and what’s more, there’s a large and ‘special’ present there too. Needless to say the young miss cannot contain herself and off comes the wrapping paper to reveal …

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Despite Aunty’s warnings our almost birthday girl is determined to use it for her own purposes: “I do driving!” she enthuses, “BRRMM BRRRRMMMMM! Beep beeeep!”. But, guess what – she drives it to destruction and Aunty Fairy is not impressed at all. Shouting ensues – that’s the Aunty; and tears – that’s Very Little Sleeping Beauty – both loud enough to bring Daddy running in.

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Apologies all round come next; and all this weeping and wailing has at last worn out the tiny princess, so much so that she falls fast asleep (it’s now almost sunrise) and the birthday girl’s slumbers last right through until evening time on her special day, whereupon she wakes saying, “I have party!” and, of course, ‘party’ she has …

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This is another enchanting addition to the Heapy/Heap Very Little series and the maps on the inside front and back covers suggest more to come: I hope so. Reading these books aloud is a delight and I can’t wait for my first opportunity to grab some suitably small children and share this one with them.

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Cinderella and her Very Bossy Sisters
Mark Sperring and Barbara Bongini
Scholastic Children’s Books
In this upbeat, rather chatty style rendering of the traditional story, Cinderella certainly is at the beck and call of her extremely bossy sisters, Greta and Gerta, who like to issue all their orders in rhyme – to Cinders at least. And in addition to all the housework, Cinders can turn her hand to maintenance of another kind too …

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When the invitation from the palace arrives inviting them all to the ball, Cinders’ sisters are quick to tell her she can’t go. They start issuing their orders forthwith … “Squeeze the pimples on our chins,/ pluck that hair out from our noses,” (no way hosay) “Drench us both in perfume, /till we smell … SWEET AS ROSES!” (that I’d doubt) but orders are orders.
Duty duly done and sisters departed, who should drop in but a certain Fairy Godmother who soon has Cinders bedecked in finery, glass-slipper shod and with suitable vehicle to convey her to the palace. Having been warned about the midnight undoing of the spell, off she goes, has the time of her life at the ball and does the expected midnight dash leaving a slipper and a distraught prince behind.
Said prince does the rounds of the neighbourhood next day, eventually identifies the slipper’s owner and weds her …

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leaving the awful sisters to sulk and serve themselves. Apart from on Sundays that is, when they choose to inflict their company upon the happily married couple, one of whom has a rather rewarding and slightly rude way of dealing with the visitors should their bossiness become unbearable (which it often did).

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Barbara Bongini has made the ugly sisters a pair of outlandishly frilly-frocked madams, Cinders’ fairy godmother a diminutive, rather rotund, bespectacled being …

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and Cinderella herself a multi-talented, trouser-wearing miss, all of which contributes to making this an amusing take on the original; oh and there’s a ginger and white moggy that seems to find its way into pretty much every scene too.

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Celebrating Friendship: Albert’s Tree & Dear Bunny

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Albert’s Tree
Jenni Desmond
Walker Books
Even before I started reading this I knew I was in for a treat – the endpapers are beautiful. Essentially it’s a tale of friendship – an unusual friendship between a bear and his beloved tree. A tree that’s ‘Not too hard, or too soft, or too slippery, or too prickly.’ Oh! And there’s a spot of mistaken identity involved too.
When Albert bear wakes from his long sleep to a forest world of thawing snow and trickling water, he straightway heads for his tree – his favourite thing in the world. But something isn’t quite right; it’s not the perfect peaceful place of before: Albert’s tree is crying. Unable to stop it himself, a bemused Albert seeks the assistance of fellow woodland animals, first Rabbit and then Caribou. Both offer personal suggestions but what makes a rabbit or a caribou happy …

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doesn’t seem to work for the tree.

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Finally, alone again – the others have left on account of the continual wailing – Albert has one more try; he talks to the tree, gently asking what is wrong. What happens next gives him something of a surprise. But ultimately it’s a surprise that will make his tree doubly perfect and the friendship twice as special …

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This is a funny, wonderfully warm tale with a huggable main character, gorgeous, richly coloured mixed media illustrations; and a text that cries out for audience participation of the “WAA WAAAA” kind and with some delicious dialogue, is a delight to read aloud. It’s perfect for sharing either one to one or with a large group.

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Dear Bunny
Katie Cotton and Blanca Gómez
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
A little girl writes a ‘Dear Bunny’ letter in response to the question her toy rabbit has asked her: “What’s your favourite thing in the world?” She tells him of all the things that make him so special; things like finding her favourite socks and cooling her porridge.
Whatever the weather, child and Bunny play together and share happy times …

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sometimes just sitting and being together is all that’s needed.

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There are places they visit together and sometimes Bunny helps his friend feel brave like him but sometimes instead of laughing together, they share moments of sadness.
The little girl loves to look at the stars: “Someday we will count them all!” she tells Bunny – maybe that’s her favourite thing or perhaps it’s story time (Bunny’s stories bring good dreams).

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Really though, there’s no doubt “my favourite thing in the world is YOU!” she concludes.
A gentle celebration of the way young children delight being in the moment, enjoying the everyday things of the world, and even more so when you have a special friend to share in them. The beautifully patterned, collage style illustrations have a simple charm to them too and I love the subtle colour palette. A lovely book to share with one child or a small group who might be moved to write their own ‘Dear Bunny’ style letters.

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Environmental Concerns

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The Tree
Neal Layton
Walker Books
There stands a tree – tall and proud – a conifer that’s home to fledglings in a nest, a squirrel family, an owl one and amidst its roots, a family of rabbits. Beside the tree stands a FOR SALE board.
Then come a man and woman, also intent on making a home. The work begins …

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and halts suddenly –

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Tears are shed. Then, it’s back to the drawing board …

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and after a whole lot of measuring, hefting, hammering and painting, the result is …

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Like the humans in this seemingly simple book, Neal Layton’s fable wields a lot of power. In just fifty words and a sequence of gently humorous illustrations, he delivers a vital message about the importance of humans and animals living together and sharing.
This one delivers on so many levels: In addition to sharing it with young (and not so young listeners), I suggest giving a copy to those developers who pay scant regard to the destruction of natural habitats when drawing up and executing their plans.
In addition, it’s a perfect learning to read book that blows mindlessly boring reading schemes right out of the water.

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Where’s the Starfish?
Barroux
Egmont
See the whale – an enormous one and the brightly coloured fish – a whole multitude of them; then there’s the Starfish, the Jellyfish and the Clownfish.

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Can you spot them? Keep turning the pages and you’ll notice something else starting to appear, something undesirable and alien to the ocean. The fish appear somewhat puzzled but turn over again; the rubbish pile has grown and Starfish, Jellyfish and Clownfish are slightly easier to spy.
On the next few spreads larger rubbish items appear – car parts, washing machines, a fridge, TVs, microwaves– all evidence of our thoughtless, throwaway society; but the fish numbers have declined significantly and it’s easier still to spot our three friends.

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Finally whale cannot take it any longer and taking matters into his own hands – or rather – snout – he takes revenge in an altogether satisfying manner.

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Work out for your self – or better, get the book and see for yourself – what happens hereafter …
This, like Where’s the Elephant? is a an enormously effective and affecting lesson on how we harm our precious natural environment: the conservation message is the same though the setting of the story is entirely different.

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Supermarket Gremlins

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Supermarket Gremlins
Adam & Charlotte Guillain and Chris Chatterton
Egmont Publishing
Be warned! You are about to enter the hitherto unknown world of supermarket gremlins and a pretty wacky one it is too. Seemingly, pretty much wherever you look as you wander the aisles in search of your favourite items, you’ll find evidence of their activities – misplaced bananas for example …

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and in many instances lifting the flaps will confirm your suspicions …

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Much of what they get up to is extremely mischievous and certain to give you a good giggle; but be sure to watch out for flying muffins if you venture into the bread section and unwittingly disturb the snoozers …
And what’s that nestling among those kiwi fruits? Oh! and there’s another in the apples …

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Just make sure that when you finally reach the checkout that none of the little varmints has stowed away in your bags – something they have a habit of doing and seemingly on this particular occasion, they seem to have a rather bigger plan afoot …

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Zany rhyming fun and madcap action-packed (not to mention gremlin-packed) spreads combine to ensure that this one will eventually be read to destruction (and that’ll take some doing). And that next time you visit the supermarket you’ll be constantly on the lookout not only for bargains but dare I say it, spaghetti wrapped around your trolley wheels courtesy of those GREMLINS …

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The Hole Story

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The Hole Story
Paul Bright and Bruce Ingman
Andersen Press
There are even holes through the front cover of this stylish, albeit brilliantly bonkers book.
Holes are not usually well-received: who wants to discover a hole has appeared in the toe of a sock, a bag, a pair of knickers, a bicycle tyre or a boat? But after reading the story of Hamish and Hermione Hole as so wonderfully documented by Bright, you might just start to look more favourably on them. The whole fabulous tale begins with our two holes residing in a chunk of Swiss cheese – royal Swiss cheese no less. But then along comes a family of mice that proceed to eat the two Hs out of house and home, so to speak. Off go Hamish and Hermione is search of a new home wherein they can usefully dwell. Now this is no easy task: the King certainly doesn’t want his hairy leg made visible through a hole in his sock; and a hole in knickers belonging to the Queen, well it’s quite unthinkable.

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In fact, try as they might, the two holes just can’t find anywhere good for holes to be. They compare notes, or rather hole opportunities …

 

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and then decide to seek a dark spot to sleep.
Next morning the royal carpenter comes upon our holey pair on the very piece of wood whereon they’d slept and that’s when everything starts to look a (w)hole lot better …

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With its palace setting and royal cast of characters, there is something of a neo-fairy tale feel about this super story. I’ve shared it with several groups of children all of whom have been enormously enthusiastic and one reading led to a long list of possible places wherein the two holes might find a welcome.
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And the endpapers – well they’re a another story – or several …

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Shiny Red Objects – Misidentifications

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Toad and I
Louise Yates
Jonathan Cape
I’ve loved all Louise Yates’ Dog Loves … books so couldn’t wait to read this one. It’s altogether different; Dog is nowhere in sight but we meet some congenial new characters.
Herein we meet young Kitty who, by dint of searching for her lost ball, comes upon the resident of a large tree – a Toad no less; not the kind that on receipt of a kiss becomes a handsome prince, but one that is eager to invite Kitty into his hole of residence aka his treehouse.

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And it’s one that has all mod cons as Toad is only too happy to point out …

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but while he’s so doing, the pair are interrupted by the arrival of Squirrel who announces an injured owl without. Having hastily donned suitable gear, they hurry out to repair the damage so to speak and in so doing, they discover its cause: “A meteorite,” said Owl. “It knocked me off my branch.”

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Next stop is back inside – the observatory in case of further meteorite fall. In comes Shrew with another announcement, concerning his house this time. There follows further investigations of a somewhat crazy kind …

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until finally, Kitty takes matters into her own hands, unearths the root of all the trouble and guess what: it’s that small, once spherical object that she’d been playing with at the start; and it had set in motion a whole catastrophic concatenation of Owl displacing, house squashing and hedgehog hitting. Fortunately nobody really minded and even more fortunately Toad and Kitty are able to repair all the damage …

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in time for a game before teatime.
With a lovely final twist – or should that be bounce, we leave the friends to their farewells and promises of further meetings …
What a delicious cast of characters Louise Yates has conjured up here: I hope she brings them back for further adventures.

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The Mouse Who Reached the Sky
Petr Horâček
Walker Books
Co-operation is key in this gorgeous follow-up to The Mouse Who Ate the Moon. Herein Little Mouse spies a shiny red ‘marble’ hanging in a tree, wants it and tries unsuccessfully to reach it.

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Determined to get it however, she enlists the help of Mole who decides it’s a balloon but is equally unsuccessful in reaching the object so they ask Rabbit, who assures them it’s a ball. But can they come up with a plan that will enable them to reach the spherical object, bring it down and finally, identify the thing? Maybe – so long as they work as a team …

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They try their best but despite all their stretching they can’t quite get there … “Oh no!” – “Whoops!” … CRASH! But all is not lost – definitely not, for down it comes together with hundreds more and at last identification done, let the feast commence …

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With a cut-out page and a fold-out, the bright, richly textured, collaged mixed-media illustrations are enormously tactile, appealing to both children and adults. The former will delight in peering down Mole’s hole …

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and then out when the page is turned; and opening the vertical gatefold to reveal the teetering trio.
A beauty from start to thoroughly satisfying finish.

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I Will Not Wear Pink

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I Will Not Wear Pink
Joyce Dunbar and Polly Dunbar
Otter-Barry Books
When Plunkett the pig receives an invitation to a pink themed party his reaction is one of more than a little peturbation …

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What him? No way. The one who’s called “Plunkett the plonker. Plunkett the oinker. The hooter, the honker. The toff who shows off, stands out in a crowd.”
There follows a veritable litany of further protestatory outpourings from our porky pal before he states the obvious: “…there is one sort of pink so divine, so sublime, and the best of it is that it’s already mine, from the tip of my tail to the snoot of my snout, pink is the shade of the skin that I’m in. Pink’s where I end and where I begin.” Thereafter he scoots off to state his case for being in the buff to his waiting host, Priscilla …

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and having done so, he proceeds to deliver an exhortation to her other guests to throw caution to the wind and join them in a glorious strip off and plunge party of the wallowing kind.

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Then seemingly, a terrific time is had by one and all.
One gets the impression that both Joyce and Polly Dunbar had an equally terrific time creating this gloriously dotty, thoroughly upbeat celebration of being yourself – au naturel – so to speak. Joyce’s – or should that be Plunkett’s narrative – is pure pleasure to read aloud, especially to those who, like this reviewer, enjoy the opportunity to put on a story-telling performance. Young audiences

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are certain to revel in the hilarious antics of Plunkett and Priscilla as portrayed by Polly in her effervescent scenes.
Altogether a bravura performance by both mother and daughter.

Another lovely picture book with themes of being yourself and friendship is re-issued with a brand new look:

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The Star-Faced Crocodile
David Melling
Hodder Children’s Books
This one tells of a developing bond between a banjo-strumming bear and the crocodile of the title, who is not actually star-faced at all but is frightened to reveal his ordinariness to the bear.

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The bear however is perfectly happy in the knowledge that the croc. is just a plain, snippy-snappy creature, but goes to great lengths to transform his new friend into a twinkling animal nonetheless.
Melling’s humorous watercolour scenes are sheer delight.

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Adventures at Bedtime

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Mr Moon Wakes Up
Jemima Sharpe
Child’s Play
I’m not sure what kind of creature Mr Moon is but that’s part of the beauty of this magical book – it leaves spaces for children to step into. What is certain though is that he has a tendency to nap at all the wrong times – for the child narrator at any rate …

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One night however, summoned seemingly by birdsong, he springs from the bed and climbs into the wallpaper on the stairs …

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Intrigued, the child follows and together they enter an altogether different, mysterious place. Here Mr Moon is wide-awake and the two play games …

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frolic in the maze, go adventuring, and boating …

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Then there’s a wonderful picnic tea party with Mr Moon’s friends …

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On this occasion though, it’s not Mr Moon that starts to feel sleepy and think about bed …
The gorgeous dreamlike quality of Jemima Sharpe’s illustrations draws children into a parallel reality that reminds me at once of Sendak (The Moon Jumpers) and Alice’s wonderland. The voice of the brief telling is unobtrusive allowing the reflective, almost meditative scenes to be pondered over at leisure.

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Kangaroo Kisses
Nandana Dev Sen and Pippa Curnick
Otter-Barry Books
Headstanding (not a good idea for one so young thinks the yoga teacher in me), flying, hippo cuddling …

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whale’s tail nuzzling, alligator racing, giraffe tickling and dancing with rhinos are all proffered as bedtime delaying tactics by the little girl to her patient mum in this gently rhyming picture book, the text being presented as exchanges between mother and daughter.
And even when she’s eventually got her pyjamas on, the very mention of a toothbrush sets her off again. There’s elephant’s tooth flossing and bear’s fur brushing to attend to, and more. Then the clock chimes and despite her yawns, the young miss must still give her pup a hug – oh and that kangaroo needs kissing …  Will she ever snuggle down for the night? … Yes, finally …

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Sweet dreams.
The blend of fantasy and reality works well here. It’s as well that this little girl didn’t have any more animal theme toys or other paraphernalia in her home …

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or she might be letting her imagination run wild even now …
Pippa Curnick beautifully captures that childhood joie de vivre spirit and the mother’s determination to remain calm and in control in her bold, bright scenes.

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Kings of the Castle

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DSCN7237 (800x600)Kings of the Castle
Victoria Turnbull
Templar Publishing
Victoria Turnbull set the bar astoundingly high with her debut picture book The Sea Tiger; but oh my goodness, she’s more than cleared it with this, her second book, which if possible, is even more enchantingly beautiful.
Once again, the sea features large in many of the scenes but this time, it’s seen from the shore. A night-time shore on which we meet George, a little monster with a whole lot of determination, when it comes to sandcastle building that is: he wants to build a sandcastle ‘that would turn any monster green eyed with envy …’ Boris, his friend is doggedly unhelpful …

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so much so that George is on the verge of abandoning his castle building when from the moonlit waves emerges this strange-looking creature …

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Introductions are something of a failure but thanks to Boris and a stick, the two begin to forge a friendship;

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and slowly and surely an amazing edifice is fashioned under the twinkling stars …

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It’s one- a veritable kingdom really – over which the friends reign supreme till dawn when the tide comes in, and as the sun rises, slowly subsides into the sea.
What now will be the fate of the friendship?
Brilliantly imagined and equally brilliantly executed, this night to day tale is truly heart-warming.

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The whole thing unfolds in a slow, gentle manner that is entirely in harmony with the gently rolling waves forming the backdrop; and one cannot help wishing that like the George/Nepo friendship, it could last forever. Victoria Turnbull’s paintings are rendered in a gorgeous colour palette that so perfectly captures the blues and greens of the moonlit sea, and gradually gives way to the glowing golden hues of the dawning day. Equally perfect is the way in which every turn of the page brings fresh delight, from expansive spreads to small comic strip style squares …

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and everything in between.  Awesome. Ahhhh!

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To Share or Not to Share

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Dave’s Cave
Frann Preston-Gannon
Nosy Crow
Here stand Dave. Dave have cave. Cave perfect. Animal friends like cave. Dave not happy. Want new cave. Dave go search. Three caves not good – too small, too big, too much noise …

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Two caves nice but Dave no share. Jon no share …

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Dave no happy.
Nice cave?

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It’s definitely a case of east, west, home’s best in this deliciously droll story told in clipped caveman speak and wonderful visuals that say so much more than the spare text Every turn of the page is guaranteed to bring laughs of delight if my audiences are anything to go by, not to mention a whole lot of staccato style speech by way of appreciation.
In addition to being a delight to read aloud, this book is a great one to offer those in the early stages of learning to read. Put this alongside those dull reading schemes – there’s just no competition …

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I Have an Orange Juicy Drink
Andrew Sanders
Fat Fox
A small boy has a delicious juicy drink – a yummy, orangey, tasty one – orange squash one suspects. But when an alien, an elephant and a dinosaur …

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attempt to seize said drink its owner decides to teach the would-be takers a lesson of the squishing kind. Now it may seem that this is somewhat extreme particularly as he uses a garden shed …

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an ocean liner and – wait for it – the moon as squashers or rather, squishers. It does mean however, that our young narrator still has hold of his drink when along comes his brother (plus constant companion of the feathered kind) eager for a share of the juice. And moreover, the fellow knows how to ask properly.

 

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So, three things happen: one – he gets a some of the drink, two – he gets a hug and three – a lesson is learned …

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Squishing, it appears, is rather less damaging than squashing.
Simplicity and sheer ridiculousness are what make this book such fun. With a limited colour palette and minimal text, Andrew Sanders delivers a deliciously neat lesson in manners that will appeal to young and not so young alike. I’m still pondering on how the lesson-giver managed not to choke himself in some of the positions he adopted to partake of that juicy drink.

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A Little Guide to Gardening

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A Little Guide to Gardening
Jo Elworthy and Eleanor Taylor
Eden Project
For this, the third ‘Little Guide to’ we have a new artist in Eleanor Taylor.
The chatty narrative opens with an introductory invitation ‘Imagine a special piece of earth where you can sow, plant and grow anything you like.‘ I can envisage some youngsters reading this and wanting to plant enormous exotic jungly gardens and others thinking of a patch of wild flowers, both of which are possible for the narration continues ‘A garden can be very big. A garden can be very small. A garden can be up high. A garden can be just for you. Or somewhere to share … You can make your garden here, there or anywhere. You don’t even need a flowerpot!’ Then, after a brief introduction to plants in general, Jo Elworthy takes readers through the seasons from spring to winter, talking about the changes through the year , listing jobs to do and suggesting activities. These are taken up in more detail later in the book when Eleanor Taylor’s delicate, winsome illustrations animate the step-by-step instructions and the wealth of other horticultural information …

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There’s much more besides though, including pages on some of the garden visitors – butterflies,

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birds and soil-dwelling creatures – all beautifully illustrated and each one a mini work of art in itself. So much to inspire young, potential gardeners: who wouldn’t want to make a den like this one?

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Or this one among the peas and beans?

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There are some delicious historical snippets such as ‘ROSEMARY Rosmarinus officinalis: Victorians put rosemary in the handles of their walking sticks. They used to sniff them thinking they kept diseases away.’

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And Dill – It was called ‘meeting house seed’ by the settlers in North America as children chewed it in sermons to stop them from feeling hungry. Goodness knows how long the sermons were then!

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Readers are also provided with blank pages at the back of the book to keep a seasonal record (I’d be hesitant to write in such a lovely book but that’s down to lucky owners to decide for themselves.) And there’s a tick list for recording plants grown.
The previous Little Guides – Little Guide to Trees and The Little Guide to Wild Flowers were illustrated by Charlotte Voake and this one maintains the high standard she set therein; indeed I notice the font used here is the one devised by Charlotte.
This is definitely one for the family bookshelf.

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Messy Molly

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Messy Molly
Jo Williamson
Scholastic Children’s Books
Molly and mess are almost synonymous: no matter that she starts each day clean and tidy, things go downhill however hard she might try. And try she certainly does during one particular week when she’s due to sing in the school show on the Saturday. The weather doesn’t help poor Molly: it’s a case of water-filled wellies on Monday; and she’s a muddy mess by the time she reaches school on Tuesday, despite having scooted all the way …

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Wednesday’s cake baking inevitably ends in mucky disaster and on Thursday, her mum should have known better than to buy Molly a large portion of her favourite ice cream …

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Friday is best not mentioned other than to say, this is what she looked like by the time she went home …

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So, when Saturday dawns, Molly is determined to look her best for the show: it’s no walks in the park with Pip first, no scooting to school, no stopping at the ice-cream van, a careful avoidance of puddles and PHEW! That was a close one …

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Here’s Molly on stage, looking decidedly pristine in her best dress. Hmm …

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Molly is a child after the hearts of most youngsters (and a whole lot of adults I suspect) and Pip too, is a charmer. I love the way the story switches between straightforward narrative to Molly’s utterances throughout the book; and the understated humour in Jo Williamson’s text is wonderful.
The illustrations too are wonderfully entertaining: seemingly scribbled and splodged using a limited colour palette, every one is sure to make you smile. They certainly did this reviewer.

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Board Books Briefing

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I Wish I Were a Pirate
Smriti Prasadam-Halls and Sarah Ward
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
In a jolly rhyming narrative, a small boy entertains the possibilities of a piratical life sailing the seas, capturing a baddie of two …

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and of course, searching for buried treasure.
Small fingers will have lots of fun working the various sliders …

 

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and there’s plenty to amuse in Sarah Ward’s jolly nautical scenes, not least the activities of the stowaway mice.

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Cars Go
Steve Light
Chronicle Books
Bright watercolour illustrations accompany the irresistible onomatopoeic outpourings of the eight vehicles featured in this wide format board book.
With an old jalopy that goes CHITTYCHITTY CHITTYCHITTY KKKKTTT SHHPPPTTT SHHPPPTTT, a Monster Truck that goes KR-KR-KR KR-KR-KR- KRRUUUNCH and this beauty …

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You’re guaranteed a wonderfully noisy story session when you share this with early years children; and think of all that inbuilt sound/symbol awareness potential herein.
And, don’t you just love the playful finale …

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Listen to the Jungle
Listen to the Things that Go
Marion Billet
Nosy Crow
This pair of interactive board books with lots of noise making opportunities and amusing animal pictures should provide hours of fun for the very youngest. Lions, a hippo, monkeys, an elephant, pandas and parrots …

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plus a sprinkling of minibeasts and other birds inhabit the landscapes of the former, each being introduced with a single sentence such as ‘Listen to the hippo in the water.’
Each spread has a strategically placed button, which when pressed, makes the animal’s sound.
The Things that Go are cars, a lorry, a bike …

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a train, a boat and a tram and all the drivers, riders and passengers are animals.  
Both books, when shared with an adult, offer plenty of potential for talk about each spread. (And you can discretely turn the sound switch inside the back cover to the off position if you want to.)

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Mog and Me and other stories
Judith Kerr
Harper Collins Children’s Books
For a delightful introduction to the world of Mog for the very youngest, this is just the thing and, with its easy to read text, it’s ideal for beginning readers to share with their toddler siblings.

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Here in four brief stories, we meet not only the forgetful cat herself, but also members of her extended family.

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The Hueys in It Wasn’t Me
Oliver Jeffers
Harper Collins Children’s Books
The Hueys – usually a peaceable group of characters are having an argument when along comes Gillespie and dares to ask, “What are you fighting for?” but they’re too busy deciding who started it, so he tries again …

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Err …
The humour in this story of escalating conflict is subtle and quite sophisticated. It works well with 4s to 6s but one wonders whether it might go right over the heads of toddlers – the usual board book audience.

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A Princess Tale and A Fairy One

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You Can’t Scare a Princess
Gillian Rogerson and Sarah McIntyre
Scholastic
Don’t be beguiled by the candyfloss pink shiny cover on this one: young Princess Spaghetti, despite her mass of blond curls and her fussy, frilly pink attire, is far from the shy retiring damsel in distress, kind of princess. Oh no: this young miss is one gutsy girl who shows no fear when her father, King Cupcake, gets himself captured by the meanest, baddest pirates in the whole wide world, led by none other than Captain Waffle.

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Now Captain Waffle might boast about being the terror of the high seas, but he may well have more than met his match in our young princess. She certainly leads the whole pirate crew a merry dance as she has them tunnelling deep down underground before they discover their search has been in vain; whereupon they are reduced to wailing wrecks …

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Bright and bold, she might be; but our young heroine is also fun loving and forgiving and generous, all of which attributes she calls into play in the final scenes as she serves up some playful offerings

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to the pirate crew – a motely bunch whose hard exteriors aren’t quite all they’re cracked up to be.
On the subject of those pirates, Sarah McIntyre’s portrayals of same are a treat: take that super cool lady pirate; isn’t she just brilliant …

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And the moles in her digging scene are delightfully dotty …

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You might want to follow the antics of the palace cat and the pirates’ parrot too: the endpapers are specially devoted to that pair.
Exuberant and decidedly silly, spring instantly to mind when it comes to this one: It’s likely to appeal to all youngsters who have a sense of fun and adventure, particularly those who like a tale where things aren’t quite as one might expect.

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Fairy Felicity’s Moonlight Adventure
Alison Murray
Nosy Crow
Fairy Felicity discovers a letter left at her door one summer’s night, a letter instructing her to ‘Follow the silvery snail. You’ll find a surprise at the end of the trail!’ And follow it she does as it weaves and zigzags across the foliage, around a spider’s web, between the moonlit paving stones …

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through a greenhouse, past the beehives in the orchard …

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across the lilypads until, at the end of the garden, she and the various minibeasts Felicity has encountered on the way, arrive at a door in the wall. It’s a door with a gap through which the snail instructs her to enter and then, there before her, is the promised surprise.

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Young children – mostly girls I suspect – will delight in tracing the sparkly tactile trail as it meanders over the pages of this gentle rhyming story and having done so will want to retrace their steps to explore the details in Alison Murray’s nocturnal world.

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Rain / What Will Danny Do Today?

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Rain
Sam Usher
Templar Publishing
The small boy narrator from Snow and his Grandad are back to regale us with another wondrous weathery delight. The youngster cannot wait to get outside and catch raindrops, splash in puddles and look at reflections; but Grandad has other ideas, or rather one idea – “…wait for the rain to stop.” So they wait and wait, and it rains and rains.

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Grandad busies himself with paperwork: the boy reads and imagines …
He imagines voyaging with sea monsters, floating cities with carnivals and musical boatmen …

 

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Then at last, and co-incidentally, Grandad finishes his writing and the rain stops. Time to sally forth, suitably attired, for that voyage …

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until down comes the rain once more, but no matter: there are raindrops to catch, entertainers to watch and an important letter to post.

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After that, it’s a return to dry land with its reward of hot chocolate, warm socks and cosy togetherness.
A splendid lesson in delayed gratification if ever there was one; and another beautiful portrayal of childhood’s exuberance and delight in the great outdoors come rain or shine. Sam Usher’s paintings brilliantly capture the watery world of a rainy day, the boy’s energy, and the loving relationship between child and grandparent: and the way he plays with space on the page is superb.

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More of Sam Usher’s marvellous scenes in:

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What Will Danny Do Today?
Pippa Goodheart and Sam Usher
Egmont
Following on from her You Choose series with Nick Sharratt, Pippa Goodheart joins forces with Sam Usher for another decision-making book only this time the decisions are made on behalf of young Danny.
From the moment he wakes up, Danny is faced with making choices: what kind of clothes to wear, what to have for breakfast,

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how to get to school …

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what lessons he’ll have and who will teach him. Then there are PE activities to decide upon …

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how he’ll spend his playtime and a whole range of art and craft possibilities with which to fill the afternoon: ‘What will Danny make?’ is the question.
Danny’s dad is there to meet him from school and he’s fairly easy to spot as, we are told, he wears a green jacket. Moreover, he’s willing to allow Danny an after school treat and here too it’s for us to decide whether that will be rowing, watching a film or skating. Finally, there’s the matter of bedtime reading and it appears that Danny has made his own choice this time.
This is a great book for getting talk going be it with one child, a small group, or – if you can stand it – a whole class, the majority of whom will doubtless be eager to offer their ideas on Danny’s day.

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Gorgeous detail from the endpapers

Every one of Sam Usher’s scenarios is crammed full of wonderful details and interesting characters, and is sure to generate a great deal of discussion.

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Petunia Paris’s Parrot

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Petunia Paris’s Parrot
Katie Howarth and Jo Williamson
Templar Publishing
Petunia is one indulged infant: she has everything she could possibly want – a swimming pool, countless toys, a thousand dresses, her own library (well maybe that’s not spoiling) and even a bike with chauffeur …

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It ‘s no surprise then that when her parents ask what she’d like for her 5th birthday, the young miss cannot really come up with anything. “… a parrot, please …” she replies, that being the first thing that came to mind.
Come her birthday a lavish party is duly organised and the parrot presented –

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a Peruvian scarlet macaw.
Once the final guest has departed, young Petunia sets about teaching the bird to talk, a task she finds a whole lot more difficult than she’d anticipated. Fancy foods, pertinent conversation topics, piano playing and outlandish outfits are all resounding failures: “Squarrk!” being the parrot’s only response. After months of failure Petunia finally loses it, stamping, stomping and yelling …

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Silence from the parrot: a suggestion from the butler. “Suppose you try asking him nicely, Miss Paris?” Miss Paris does and receives the following response:
“I DO NOT WANT a perfectly presented pile of prawns. I DO NOT WANT a pleasantly played piano. I DO NOT WANT to ponder parrot philosophy. I DO NOT WANT to wear a pink parrot poncho. I DO NOT WANT ANY of it, Petunia Paris!”
Well that certainly told her but she asks one final question and learns the parrot’s softly spoken, heartfelt wish, “I want to go home.”
One year later Petunia’s parents ask her the usual ‘what would you like for your birthday?’ question and this time, Petunia has an answer at the ready …
With its plethora of alliterative ‘p’ words, the predominantly deadpan text is a real delight to read aloud. The alliteration is even picked up playfully by Jo Williamson in one of her delectable retro style illustrations …

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For the most part she restricts herself to a limited colour palette with just splashes of blue or pink (apart from the parrot) but breaks into glorious technicolour in the final fold-out spread of the Peruvian parrot paradise, of which I’ll say no more for fear of being a story spoiler. This is definitely one not to be missed.

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Colourful Considerations

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What’s Your Favourite Colour, Pascal?
Magali Le Huche
Twirl Books
Spring has arrived and Pascal Platypus wants to bring some seasonal cheer to his nautical themed room with a fresh coat of paint and when he enlists the help of his friends in choosing a colour, every one of them is ready to help.
Cardigan suggests orange: “Trust me, it will be delicious!” he states but once the colour has been applied, Fancy the Turtle announces that the room looks like a giant carrot.

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He thinks green would be a whole lot better and off they go again but once more, on completion, there’s a dissenter. It’s Zelda Frog and pink is her suggestion but now Ringo Dog isn’t happy. “All the colours!” is his idea and there follows a SPLOOSH! SPLAT! colour-splatter battle …

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and now Pascal has had enough. It’s not new paint he needs but a whole new home and off he goes to create one. No prizes for guessing what colour predominates …

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Deliciously detailed and full of droll humour. Children will enjoy opening the multitude of flaps to peep inside the various cupboards, drawers, the bathtub and even the pictures adorning Pascal’s walls. They’ll also have fun watching the antics of those other residents of Pascal’s home – the tiny mice.

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The Colour Monster
Anna Llenas
Templar Publishing
Meet the monster of the title and the little girl who helps him sort himself out, or his mixed up feelings at least …

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Her means of so doing is separation – into glass jars: each emotion being linked to a colour. Happiness is yellow ‘You feel bright and light. You laugh, you jump, you dance. You want to share that feeling with everyone.’

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Blue represents sadness ‘gentle like a blue rainy day.’ Anger is red – no surprises there- it’s ablaze like fire, making you want to stomp and …

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Fear is black, lurking among shadows: you feel alone, diminished.
In stark contrast, calm is green ‘quiet like the trees and soft like their leaves.’ It’s slow, deep breaths … I love this near yogic saravasana …

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And that’s pretty much it – fait accompli.
Hold on though, there’s been a change of hue in Colour Monster himself: he now looks like this …

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maybe this particular emotion just cannot be contained.
What a monstrously good way to introduce ideas about feelings and emotions to young children: the whole thing is a delight.
The child-like collage illustrations built up from cut out card and paper, painted, scribbled or daubed are immediately engaging and the characters instantly endearing.

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A Rainbow in My Pocket

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A Rainbow in My Pocket
Ali Seidabadi and Hoda Haddadi
Tiny Owl Publishing
How can you put a rainbow in your pocket? Seemingly the little child in this book has an answer to what sounds like a riddle and it’s one she shares with readers in her poetic outpourings – her musings, preoccupations and daydreams.
‘Excuse me, /Little ant,/Could you tell me/Which school this is,/Where you queue in such a neat line?’ she asks one day as she concerns herself with the minutiae of life…

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Those of us who work as teachers of young children are from our observations, well aware of that state of being transfixed by the moment, being in the here and now – the kind of contemplative state that the child in this book appears to be in as she observes that line of tiny ants at her feet.
On another day she has this to offer: ‘I wish people/Would talk using only nice words – / Poetry,/ Songs,/ Not harsh words/ That prod/ And poke you.’

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Possibly here her thoughts have taken on a self-transcendent or universal outlook; or has she herself perhaps been upset by somebody? But then she continues ‘I think of the sparrow in the tree/ And the fish in the river.’ indicating a possible return to the here and now. This particular stanza certainly demonstrates how quickly one thought comes and another goes when a child’s mind runs free, untrammelled by adults requiring them to ‘do this, that or the other… ‘
The enigmatic and introspective nature of the book is such that it seems to raise more questions than answers. It’s not in my opinion a whole class ‘storytime’ book but one for small group discussion or personal contemplation.
Hoda Haddadi appears to use often translucent, tissue, rag and fibre papers

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to compose her collages, which decorate the white pages with simple, delicate images that have a child-like quality in tune with the narrative voice.

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Wild Animals of the North

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Wild Animals of the North
Dieter Braun
Flying Eye Books
Magnificent art takes the forefront in an awe-inspiring introduction to an array of creatures great and small, all of which are native to the northern hemisphere. The book is divided into three regions: North America, Europe and Asia and, starting with North America, Dieter Braun takes readers on an exploration of animals of the land, sea and air: his stunning illustrations are a wonder to behold and seem to encapsulate the very essence, spirit and being of the animals portrayed. I was reminded of elements of primitive cave paintings in his rendering of the Bison …

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of Dürer in his American Lobster …

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and Cubism in for instance, his Polar Bear…

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Moving on to Europe that glorious Grey Heron …

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brought American ornithologist and painter Audubon’s work to mind and Braun’s beautiful Roe Deer illustration seems inspired by Art Deco.

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Some pictures are left to speak for themselves with just the animal’s common and scientific names given, others have a paragraph of factual information. I found myself ‘googling’ some of the less familiar creatures – the Asian, Manul for instance -where I found the photographs of the particular animal somehow less alive than Braun’s image on the page.

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Several of my favourite portraits are among those from Asia. There’s the Red Panda …

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now an endangered species;
Black Bear, which in this gorgeous scene …

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closely resembles the large soft toy replica I once bought from the Norbulingka Institute near Dharamsala in northern India and the beautiful crested Mandarin Duck …

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familiar to me from frequent visits to Bushy Park – a favourite haunt on mine.
Children and adults alike will get great pleasure turning the pages of this large, sumptuous volume and it will surely be the inspiration to find out more about some of the eighty odd animals presented herein. However, it is not a book for those interested in things zoological only; there is much to interest art lovers as well.
Top quality is something one now almost takes for granted from Flying Eye Books: here is yet another example of how attention to detail in design ensures that their high standard is once more maintained: I cannot wait to see the companion volume Wild Animals of the South soon to be published.

Those who have an interest in birds (no matter from where) and in creating art will likely enjoy:

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Kerry Lemon’s Birds of Paradise
Kerry Lemon
Pictura
This concertina-style book takes us on a trip to the rainforests of New Guinea wherein live the stunningly coloured birds of the title. In addition to the colouring in possibilities, the author includes some basic information on the birds featured and lots of helpful tips on art in general, and how this particular book might be used.

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Will & Nill / Donkey Donkey

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Will & Nill
Farhad Hasanzadeh and Atieh Markazi
Tiny Owl Publishing
Will and Nill are two alley cats, both very hungry. That’s about their only similarity though, for while Will is up and about at cock-crow, Nill yawns and continues to doze. Having tried unsuccessfully to persuade his friend to join him, off goes Will alone. Not to forage first though, for he accepts the invitation to play hide-and-seek with a passing sparrow –

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at least it provides a distraction from an empty tummy. Not only that but he is eventually rewarded by a half-eaten fish he discovers poking out from the top of the sparrow’s third hiding place.

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Then having promised another game the following day, Will sets about sating his appetite on the tasty treat that awaits him before returning to an even hungrier Nill, and a contented sleep.
This fable playfully demonstrates that making just a little effort can make a big difference. There are probably elements of both Nill and Will in all of us, but unexpected good fortune seldom comes to those who do nothing: serendipity seems to favour those that have a bit of get up and go.
The flat, almost perspectiveless renditions of both cats and cityscapes are at once arresting and wryly winsome; and despite Nill’s somnolence, Atieh Markazi really does manage to bring both characters to life in her cat portraits.

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Donkey Donkey
Roger Duvoisin
The New York Review Children’s Collection
Meet Donkey-donkey (or maybe reacquaint yourself with same, as this story was first published over sixty years ago). He has plenty of friends and a very kind master …

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and plenty of his favourite food to eat. Everything is as it should be – yes? No actually; for as having caught sight of his reflection in the stream, our Donkey becomes dissatisfied with his appearance, his long ears being the particular cause for a sudden attack of self ridicule. Off goes the tearful creature to seek advice from various other animals as to how best to sport those super-sized sound receptors of his.

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Having consulted all the farmyard animals and done his utmost to alter his appearance with some very amusing and sometimes painful results …

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Donkey-donkey eventually comes around to accepting his ears as the beautiful appendages they truly are.
Self-acceptance and appreciating our own uniqueness are oft-explored themes in picture books but, with its direct narrative and delightfully droll watercolour illustrations, this golden oldie still packs a punch.

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Story Box

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Story Box
Anne Laval
Laurence King Publishing
Open up Story Box and you will find a set of twenty double-sided jigsaw pieces – a mix of beginnings, middles and endings – that can be arranged and rearranged to tell a whole host of different stories. In her engaging illustrations, Anne Laval has provided details that allow for users to take the story in a variety of directions depending on the way their imagination works at any particular time.
You might choose to start with a king standing with a princess in a castle turret: the king is waving but to whom? And what about the young princess; she’s gazing in another direction – what are her thoughts?
Turn the piece over and there are three characters – a man, a woman (holding a hen) and a boy: are they parents and a son? Farm workers? The boy is smiling? Why might that be?
Take another piece – an inbetween one, maybe this … Ahh! Might it be an alternative version of Jack and the Beanstalk perhaps …

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or you might choose to send the boy off on his horse on a quest of some kind.

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There are all manner of fairytale characters he could encounter – a witch, dwarves (seven of them), a wolf clutching what one child thought was a shuttlecock but on closer investigation decided it’s a pepper pot (but could it be a sprinkler with something else inside?)

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Oh! and there’s this pink rabbit – large here …

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but not in other scenes: again he offers all manner of possibilities …
The witch’s house, the castle, the woods, a cave, an ice-ream van even, supply background for scenes to unfold as a story progresses.

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With such fairy tale motifs as a sword, a beanstalk, a basket of rosy apples users may want to stay close to the familiar or alternatively, let their imaginations run riot before finishing up with one of the half dozen endings available. Here are three of them …

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This is a great classroom resource that can be used across a wide age range from nursery up. Its potential depends only on the setting and of course to a certain extent, the creativity of the teacher and children using it. It is absolutely brilliant for developing speaking and listening skills, for building co-operative skills, for storytelling and writing, (maybe with an adult scribing) for drama, as starting points for art and craft in two or three dimensions – the possibilities are enormous.
If there are children learning English as an additional language in the group, an adult could tell a story pausing to ask the children to look for the appropriate card piece, gradually building a chain as the narrative progresses.
Alternatively a small group could be given several pieces each and sitting in a semi-circle, take turns to add a piece to the tale supplying the narrative to accompany it.
I could go on, but suffice it to say, the contents of this box cries out to be played with. ‘Narrative’ says Barbara Hardy, ‘is a primary act of mind’; here is a resource to get started with.

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All Aboard …

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All Aboard for the Bobo Road
Stephen Davies and Christopher Corr
Andersen Press
A riot of colour and pattern abounds in this travelling tale of a minibus as it leaves the Banfora bus station bound for Bobo station with Big Ali at the wheel and Fatima and Galo, his children aboard for the ride …

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First stop is Lake Tengréla where as hippos wallow in the water, passengers board and luggage is loaded and secured; then it’s BEEP, BEEP! and off they go again bound for Karfiguéla Falls. More passengers get on, oil and rice are loaded …

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and the journey continues towards the Domes of Fabedougou. Here, in the shadows of the old rocky domes additional travellers join them and produce is loaded. The final stop before the big city is in the forest and here livestock is added to the ever-increasing load and then at last their destination is in sight. Then comes operation unload …

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the passengers go off to do their business and, as the sun sets, it’s time for a well earned rest for Big Ali, Fatima and Galo, not to mention a tasty meal of fried fish, beans and rice.

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Before reading this picture book, I knew very little about Burkina Faso save that it is one of West Africa’s poorest countries. Thanks to its author Stephen Davies who has lived and worked there, I just had to find out more. And, thanks to Christopher Corr’s bold naïve style gouache scenes, one really gets a feeling of travelling through a vibrant cultural landscape as we board the minibus along with Big Ali’s passengers.
A lovely book to help expand the horizons of young listeners and readers of all ages.

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The Royal Baby’s Big Red Bus Tour of London
Martha Mumford and Ada Grey
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
The Royal Family are relaxing in the palace garden when there’s a ‘BEEEEEP’ trumpeting the arrival of the Big Red Bus and the driver announces “All aboard for the … Tour of London!” After a whole lot of scurrying around, everything is finally ready and ‘DING-A-LING-LING!’ off they go. First stop is The Natural History Museum where the young prince revels in being a T.Rex alarming little sis with his fearsome roars.

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From there they go on to London Zoo and thence for a picnic lunch in Regent’s Park. Then, having visited The British Museum the bus makes its way down to the Thames where the family boards a water taxi down to Greenwich …

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and then back to take a turn on the London Eye.
As the trip has to cater for all, including aunties, the next stop is the popular stores including – just for the Royal Babies – a visit to Hamleys.
On the subject of toys, however, come teatime back at the palace, a certain young Prince suddenly bursts into tears; his toy dinosaur hasn’t returned from the outing.
Off zooms the Duchess on her trusty vehicle to save the day, or rather, the night …

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Fans of the series will undoubtedly enjoy this latest instalment in the Royal Baby series and if you’re heading for London with very young children this might well be a good pre-visit starting point. Ada Grey’s scenes provide plenty to smile over and as always, those Royal corgis are very much in evidence.

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Food Favourites

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Gorilla Loves Vanilla
Chae Strathie and Nicola O’Byrne
Scholastic Children’s Books
Fancy some ice cream? Then head down to Jellybean Street and there you’ll find Sam’s Sundaes, a favourite haunt of ice cream aficionados of a rather unusual kind. And young Sam Sundae doesn’t seem fazed at all when five of them arrive at once as soon as he opens up shop.
First in the queue – and yes they do queue, no pushing and shoving here – is a little mouse and his request is for a sundae tasting of blue cheese. I said nothing fazes our Sam and straightway he presents the mouse with some cheesy ice cream. His next order is for “fish finger ice cream in a dish” – you can guess who would want such a disgusting-sounding thing.
Chicken’s favourite comes in a cone, and it’s wormy and squirmy. YUCK! Cow’s penchant is for daisy ice cream and Sam quickly obliges once again …

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And as for hippo, he doesn’t even want to eat what he orders …

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Last in line is a gorilla and his taste is rather more conservative – “Just give me a cone full of good old vanilla.” is his request. And now, judging by the way they’re staring, the others might be having second thoughts about their choices as Sam adds yummy toppings of sprinkles, chocolate chips and sticky fudge sauce to gorilla’s order …
Chae Strathie’s tasty tale bounces along in exuberant fashion and is sure to have young listeners EEEUURRGHING loudly at the thought of some of the orders and giggling as hippo makes messy use of his selection.
Nicola O’Byrne’s equally exuberant illustrations are to be relished too: just take a look at the cat and mouse tucking in together here …

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More food fun in:

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Hugless Douglas and the Great Cake Bake
David Melling
Hodder Children’s Books
A honeyless breakfast is something Douglas just cannot contemplate so having discovered his cupboard has been raided, he follows the sticky footprints (and his nose) until they lead him to …

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When the sheep tell him they’re collecting ingredients to make honey cakes, Douglas is eager to help – no surprises there! With berries, nuts, carrots and of course, honey duly assembled, and Flossie in charge, the cooks set to work …

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Having finished the task, Douglas cannot wait to try the product of their labours but has to join the line of eager cake consumers awaiting the oven’s PING! The sheep however, are less polite than Douglas and pretty soon a fight breaks out and is only halted by Flossie’s announcement “The cakes are ready!” There follows a mad scramble in the direction of the delicious aroma emanating from the oven door but do you think those crazy sheep gave Douglas a look in when it came to consuming those yummy cakes? Definitely not; but their actions do result in a partial re-education of our hugging friend’s taste buds as he samples the surplus – carrots, berries and nuts, declaring they’re “… ALMOST as good as honey,”.
With instructions on ‘How to decorate cupcake sheep’ on the final spread, this latest Hugless Douglas offering is sure to tickle the taste buds of young listeners who will delight at the humorous interplay of text and visuals –

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and be duly shocked at the sheep’s shenanigans.

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Goodnight Tiger/Little Hoot

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Goodnight Tiger
Timothy Knapman and Laura Hughes
Little Tiger Press
It’s the middle of the night and Emily is still wide awake; but what is the cause of the BELLOWING, STOMPING, TRUMPETING and GROWLING that’s stopping her from sleeping? It’s not animals out in the street escaped from the zoo, nor anything under the bed, or in amongst her clothes and toys – she’s checked those possibilities; my goodness, that commotion is actually emanating from the animals on her wallpaper. They too, so they tell Emily, are unable to sleep. So she climbs into the wallpaper and thus begins a lesson – or rather several –on getting ready for bed, as the young miss takes them through a routine of bathing themselves, having a goodnight hot chocolate drink …

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snuggling up with a cuddly bear and a lullaby rendition. But even after all this, there’s only one tired being and it certainly isn’t any of the animals. Did I just say routine though? What actually happened was tiger caused a rumpus at the water hole; the drink was truly disgusting, the bear bolted and the lullaby became a raucous chorus …

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Hold on though, what’s that Emily is clutching?

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Could this be the answer to the animals’ insomnia and finally, her own …
Well, yes and no: it certainly works for some …

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With a satisfying final twist in the tale, this book is enormous fun to share at bedtime (though maybe not if there happens to be jungly paper on your child’s bedroom walls) or indeed at any time. Emily is a delight as are the creatures whose nocturnal world she temporarily enters. I can see this one becoming a much requested, just before bedtime favourite.

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Little Hoot
Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace
Chronicle Books
Little Hoot is generally a happy little fellow. He enjoys school, loves playing with his friends and will even do the practice routines his Mama Owl asks him to. But there is one thing he absolutely hates and that is staying up late. “All my other friends get to bed so much earlier than me!” he complains. Yes, he actually said that and what’s more, decides that when he grows up he’ll let his offspring go to bed as early as they want. He’s definitely not a night bird, this one despite papa Owl’s “Rules of the roost.” But off he duly goes for one hour more play …

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and it seems to be an especially long time when it comes to the last ten minutes …

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Having done his owly duty at last, he whizzes off to bed without even waiting for a bedtime story. Now that is not so good, Little Hoot.
This enchanting story will appeal to adults as much as to the young children who will delight in the irony of Little Hoot not wanting to stay up late. The tiny day birds I shared it with also loved the bed jumping and fort building in particular. My favourite scene however was that wonderful pondering practice …

 

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Adorable.

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Oscar the Guardian Cat

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Oscar the Guardian Cat
Chiara Valentina Segré and Paolo Domeniconi
Ragged Bears
This is a story of a cat, a very special one and it’s based on the true story of Oscar the cat that lives in a Rhode Island care home. Here in this lovely book, Oscar takes the role of narrator and he describes how he carries out his many, important guardian duties visiting each and every one of the home’s residents every morning; and after his afternoon nap, he spends the evenings, keeping watch in the dining room. Oscar introduces several of the home’s residents – ‘grandparents’ Oscar calls them assigning them names according to the traits he sees in them: there’s the silent Lady Lisa and Mr Weakhead, ‘a real chatterbox’ and some of the staff – there’s the slightly scary but kind hearted head nurse, Dolores …

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and Doctor Goodhelp.
Oscar has a special ability – a kind of tacit knowing of ‘the right time’ when one of the residents is about to die. Then he jumps up onto the bed purring, comforting and signalling to the staff to contact relatives, letting them know the end is imminent.
The practicalities of death are dealt with by assigning to it a metaphorical presence, Mewt, seen only by Oscar: Mewt takes a different form for each visit. For Mr Weakhead, it is a blonde haired girl …

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who looks very like the photograph on the bedside table. Oscar stands guard watching as, hand in hand with Mewt, a smiling Mr Weakhead, rises from the bed, flies out of the window and off towards the setting sun.

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Written and illustrated with great sensitivity and the occasional touch of humour, this is a book that will offer comfort to children who have a grandparent close to the end, or has recently died. It is likely to provide a way to talk about a particular loss as well as death in general. The softly textured illustrations have both a luminescence and a three dimensional quality, the combination of which makes them powerfully affecting.

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