Category Picture Books

Rabbit Bright

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Rabbit Bright
Viola Wang
Hodder Children’s Books

You might want to have your sunglasses ready when you read Rabbit Bright with its dazzling day-glow colour palette.

Rabbit Bright has finally summoned up the courage to turn off his night light. But thinking about so doing, sets the little fellow wondering, “ … where does the light go when it’s dark?”

Instead of sleeping, it’s helmet on, panda clinging on behind and off he goes on his bicycle out into the blue-black night with this thought in mind: “If there’s dark, there must be light.”
And light there surely is; for first he sees a sky lit up by fireworks.

Then, having left his cycle, he boards an underground train with its glowing headlamps.

In the forest too he encounters light, in the form of bright-eyed nocturnal creatures.

Boarding a boat, he paddles off to a cave where the darkness is punctuated by the flashes of fireflies.

His journey of discovery continues in a sub-oceanic craft and our little explorer is almost dazzled by the sea creatures shining as they swim.

Having next, climbed a hill for a spot of star-gazing, Rabbit and panda float off into space.

Then mysteriously, that bicycle reappears, for the two to set off homewards where a cosy bed awaits. Sweet dreams Rabbit Bright; sweet dreams little panda.

If you have, or know a little one who has anxieties about the dark, then this is the perfect book to share with them. Not only is it an exciting story, beautifully and arrestingly illustrated, it should help to assuage those fearful feelings about turning off the light and being alone in the darkness.

One Banana, Two Bananas

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One Banana, Two Bananas
Adam & Charlotte Guillain and Sam Lloyd
Egmont

A yummy banana feast is in store for readers of this high octane rhyming, read aloud romp.
Without further ado let’s meet the banana crew with ‘One banana, two bananas, three bananas, four, snoozing in the garden’ (in hammocks) when their slumbers are disturbed by a ringing at the door.

There appear bananas five, six, seven and eight in party mood announcing that bedtime is postponed for a pyjama-clad shin-dig. And the eight are just in the act of inverting themselves when through the window they spy …

The llamas hailing from the Bahamas invite the fruity friends to join in their ‘llama race’. Now that’s an offer, eight PJ clad bananas just cannot resist and off they go. Oh no! They’ve been spotted by a monkey and you can guess what he has in mind as he gives chase.

Happily though something causes him to stumble-trip,

just as a couple of new bananas come speeding up – in the nick of time.

This hungry Monkey isn’t one to be deterred by a mere tumble though, certainly not when his tummy’s a-rumble.

Next thing we see is ‘Ten bananas in pyjamas’ dog-paddling – make that banana-paddling – to save their skins, pursued by the same number of pointy-toothed piranhas. Even if they manage to escape those, that Monkey is still close on their tails. But, can they manage to stay afloat long enough? That is the crucial question as we leave them bobbing up and down on the water …

Splendid silliness, both verbal (Adam & Charlotte) and visual (Sam), to tickle your taste buds and tempt you into performing this to your audience of book-hungry little ones. I wouldn’t mind betting, you’ll relish it as much as they will even if, like me, this reviewer, you don’t even like bananas.

How Colour Works

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How Colour Works
Catherine Barr and Yuliya Gwilym
Red Shed (Egmont)

Right from its arresting endpapers, this book that investigates the science of colour and how we see it, simply explodes into a rainbow of bright hues.

Perhaps you’ve wondered how our eyes work, or why some things glow in the dark.

Or maybe you’re curious about how animals see colour – do they see what we see?

and how do they use colour?

Why is grass green, blood red, the sky sometimes blue, and why does the snow look white? The answers are herein.

This surely is a visual treat – Yuliya Gwillym’s dramatic illustrations arrest the eye at every page turn; but author Catherine Barr provides plenty of facts too, facts that will likely have readers wanting to go beyond the information given to learn even more.

Successfully combining science and art to present a veritable STEAM kaleidoscope, this is a book that offers something to youngsters from nursery age upward. What about awe and wonder? Yes, it definitely fits that bill too.

Egg

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Egg
Sue Hendra and Paul Linnett
Macmillan Children’s Books

Team Hendra and Linnet (of Supertato fame) have created something delightfully different with their terrific tale of an upside down egg. And, they tell this tale with but a single 3-letter word and a sequence of delEGGtable illustrations.

Here’s what takes place. Into a group of pointy topped, bulging bottomed ‘normal’ eggs, comes our upside downer. The group members are at pains to point out how an egg ‘ought’ to look …

but undaunted, the newcomer proceeds to demonstrate its skills with some clever moves.

These seem to impress the others, so they decide to adorn it …

But this new look turns out to be merely temporary: our upside-downer has something else on its mind here and it looks like a lot of fun. Hopefully not of the shell-shattering sort, however.

Hang on though – might that mean that it’s fine to be an ‘invert’? Acceptance at last? Maybe; but that’s not quite the end of the story …

Accepting and celebrating difference are at the yolk of this Eggstraordinary book that will have you cracking up with laughter.

If you want an Easter offering that will last and last, way beyond the bank holiday, then Egg is the perfect treat. I’m certainly going to be giving a few.

Go Get ‘Em, Tiger! / As Big as the Sky

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Go Get ‘Em, Tiger!
Sabrina Moyle and Eunice Moyle
Abrams Appleseed

Believe in yourself, is the message that grins, growls, giggles and positively shines out from the Moyle sisters’ latest offering.

Throughout Sabrina’s rhythmic, rhyming text that switches between the distinctly upbeat – No matter who you choose/ to be, you’ll be/ TERRR-IFIC./ Wait and see!’ – softer spoken exhortations – ‘ be humble’ and gentle warning – ‘You’ll make mistakes./ Things will go wrong./ And when they do,/ you’ll carry on.’

The emphasis is on resilience, finding your inner strength, and focussing on the possible; on kindness, ( You will see creatures who are stuck, / feeling lost, down on their luck. / To these new friends, you’ll lend a hand … ), consideration (‘use your strength to shine a light / on what is wrong and what is RIGHT ) and thoughtfulness.

Optimism rules.
The same is true in Eunice’s bright (with fluorescent touches), exuberant scenes of little Tiger and its community: they’re expressive and an effective complement to the words.

Perhaps the characters in the next book were inspired by the advice to that Tiger

As Big as the Sky
Carolyn Rose and Elizabeth Zunon
Sterling Children’s Books

Inspired by a real life meeting of the author and Caleb’s parents and sister, this story is of two at one time inseparable siblings, Prisca and her big brother Caleb.

He carries a bucket of water when the load is too heavy for her; and when Caleb gets malaria she brings sweet tea and nsima (a Malawian cornmeal dish) to his sick bed, and makes him laugh by chastising the mosquitos. But Caleb has set his sights on a better education than the village school can provide, so he goes to live with Grandma in Chimwe, a considerable distance away.

Eager to see him but lacking the wherewithal to pay the transport fares, she begins some entrepreneurial endeavours,

creating various items that the kindly peddler, Tewa Tewa, tries to sell on her behalf but without any luck. Still though, the man always receives a warm welcome from the child. The rains come putting paid to her creations,; again there’s no chance to get to Chimwe. But then one bright, dry day Tewa Tewa returns with nothing to sell on his bike.

Prisca asks him if he could possibly carry both her mother and herself all the way to Chimwe. After a little consideration on his part, all three set off on the long bumpy road

and finally, after many hours and absolutely exhausted, the wonderful man manages to reach their destination. There a joyful sibling reunion takes place.

Carolyn Rose’s uplifting story pays homage to the resourcefulness of children who have little in the way of money, but are full of love, kindness and ingenuity. It’s also a window into some of the hardships village-living families face in parts of Africa including Malawi.

Nine Lives Newton

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Nine Lives Newton
Alice McKinley
Simon & Schuster

A dog with nine lives – now that is something different. It’s the case, so we hear, with long-eared Newton the narrator of this story. He’s just discovered the fact … so he thinks, and having shared same with his feline friend, off he goes to do all his favourite things as he lives life in the fast lane.

The moggy meanwhile (along with we readers and listeners), knows what Newton doesn’t, and sets off to pass on the information. Newton has another problem too: close attention to detail is definitely not one of his fortes and therein might lie his possible demise.

High drama aplenty is found in Alice McKinley’s debut picture book. With its wealth of lessons in visual literacy, she’s created a real winner here. Youngsters will love being in the know with the author and the moggy character when they watch Newton coming within inches of his life as he attempts to get the biggest bones; poo wherever he pleases;

select playmates freely; perfect his barking technique and more; as well as taking the occasional break for some R and R.

Now what could happen, if and when that cat succeeds in getting the crazy canine to listen? He may accept that he doesn’t after all, quite have nine lives, but Newton doesn’t look like the kind of dog to let something like that stand in his way of excitement …

Assuredly, excitement and hilarity are what you’ll get with Nine Lives Newton.

Don’t Mess With Duck! / The Monkey with a Bright Blue Bottom

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Here are two treats from Little Tiger


Don’t Mess With Duck!
Becky Davies and Emma Levey
Little Tiger

Duck is an exceedingly grumpy creature, the grumpiest in his particular pond. Rather than leaving him to enjoy some peace and quiet the other residents create a terrible row and splash infuriatingly. Consequently, case in wing, Duck ups and leaves seeking somewhere quiet.

His search yields several promising ponds but each proves unsatisfactory in one way or anther so he goes to the city where he’s equally unsuccessful,

so too is the cave.

Finally though, he comes upon just what he’s looking for, except that all of a sudden he hears another voice and finds himself face to face with a grumpy frog that’s as cross about seeing Duck as Duck is to discover another occupant. “Clear off!’ they both order.

A brief argument ensues followed by a truce when each agrees to keep out of the other’s way. Peace at last.

But then after a few days a loud cry disturbs this peace.
Are Duck and Frog now ready to accept that perhaps friendship is more important that seclusion? …

Themes of acceptance, inclusion and friendship are at the heart of Becky Davies’ funny tale of self-exploration and compromise. Plenty to think about there, for sure and with Emma Levey’s superbly expressive animal illustrations (I certainly wouldn’t dream of messing with that duck), this is a smashing book to share and discuss with youngsters either in school or at home.

The Monkey with a Bright Blue Bottom
Steve Smallman and Nick Schon
Little Tiger

Just when we, certainly I, am feeling in need of a bit of brightness in what feels like especially grey times, this book with its brand new dazzling, celebratory ‘becoming a teenager’ cover arrives in my post.

It’s a neo pourquoi tale delivered in jaunty rhyme that certainly packs a punch. It tells how long ago a monkey, inspired by the rainbow colours of the birds, takes up the paintbox he happens upon beside the stream, along with a couple of brushes, and feeling an upsurge in his creative juices, sets to work to make his world a brighter place.

Waiting until the animals are having their early afternoon snooze, he gets busy daubing some reptiles and then decides to give the leopard a bright yellow coat. In so doing however, he causes it to stir. Monkey dashes up a tree and splodges of black paint rain down upon the creature.

Impressed with what he sees, Monkey lets his artistry loose upon a giraffe, a zebra, a lemur and a skunk. Bear receives a pair of white specs. but he’s roused from his slumbers and demands to know what Monkey is up to.

Then instead of venting his wrath upon the fearful primate, Bear takes up the paintbrush and it’s payback time … and the rest as you know is natural history …

I’m certain author Steve and artist Nick Schon had as much fun creating this book as Monkey did creating all those animal designs. It’s terrific fun, reads aloud superbly and will have young audiences laughing their heads off as well as wriggling on their ‘not blue’ bottoms in glee.

The Paper Bag Princess

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The Paper Bag Princess
Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko
Annick Press

I remember my excitement on discovering this feminist fairy tale in my early days of teaching and became even more excited whenever I shared and discussed it with classes. This will become a classic I thought and so it has.

Now Annick Press celebrates its 40th anniversary with a new edition for which Chelsea Clinton has written an introductory note. There’s also a piece entitled Stand Up to Dragons from writer Francesca Segal in which she says, “it was the most important book I ever read.” Wow! It definitely was one I read to and talked about with every single class of 4s to 11s.

Just in case you don’t know the story, it tells of an about to be married, princess Elizabeth, whose dream wedding is sabotaged when a dragon attacks the kingdom, smashes down her castle, burns all her fine clothes and carries off Prince Ronald.

Elizabeth dons a large paper bag and goes off in pursuit of the dragon.

Now the dragon might claim to be the smartest of his kind in the world, but the princess is even smarter. She tracks him down, persists in getting him to pay attention to what she has to say and well and truly outwits the creature. Talk about flattering to deceive.

She then proceeds to save the prince but his reaction quickly demonstrates that, despite his princely appearance he’s no prince;

as she says, “you are a real bum.” No nuptials after all!

The times of my enthusiastic sharing of the story predate the #MeToo aware world. Now, this new anniversary ‘refreshed’ edition is all the more pertinent for both girls and boys.

Emmanuelle (7) seized on my copy eagerly saying, “Oh this is such a great book,” and proceeded to read it laughing at the prince getting his come-uppance, and commenting, “Just what he deserved, to be called a bum!’ She then went on to create her own Paperbag Princess.

All Around Bustletown: Summer / All Around Bustletown: Autumn

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All Around Bustletown: Summer
All Around Bustletown: Autumn
Rotraut Susanne Berner
Prestel Publishing

Completing the seasonal visits to Bustletown are these two seek-and-find books from Hans Christian Andersen award winner, Rotraut Susanne Berner.

The only words in the books apart from the plethora of signs, shop names etc. in the seven scenes of each, are found on the back cover. Nevertheless children will enjoy look, look, looking, over and over, inventing their own tales about the characters they meet on the pages; or instead, taking one particular scene and making up a story about what’s happening thereon.

For instance, there is a woman who is celebrating her birthday and has invited all her friends to a party in the park. Or why not follow Martha the penguin-loving nun who delightedly adds a penguin balloon to the fan she’s carrying only to have it blown away in a sudden squally downpour? Does she manage to retrieve it? You can find out on the final party spread.

Then there’s bookseller Wyatt, another party invitee: I’m sure Cara will be happy with his surprise gifts, not to mention the love element between the red-helmeted guy and the woman in checked-cut-off trousers. Do they make it to the party or head off elsewhere?

Oh! There’s also a mouse hiding in plain sight on every spread too: he needs to watch out for Tom the cat.

Autumn is the time when Bustletown holds a special festival and everyone is busy preparing. There’s an abundance of pumpkins large and small ready to be carved in the competition and the kindergarten we saw being built in the Summer book is now celebrating its opening with a lantern parade: so look out for children carrying all kinds of wonderful lanterns on every spread.

Martha the nun is there with her penguin too as well as, when she reaches the café on the final page, a funky ladybird lantern.

Oh my goodness: George and Anne’s huge pumpkin looks so heavy they can hardly manage to lift it up the steps and into the cultural centre where the carving is to take place.

Once again, there’s an absolute wealth of stories told and more waiting for readers to invent: just so many ways youngsters to let their imaginations soar here. The sturdy board book build of these two means that they should stand up to the enthusiastic use I envisage they’ll get if you add them to your collection.

What’s in the Egg? & Funny Birds / In the Butterfly Garden

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What’s in the Egg?
Maike Biederstädt
Prestel Publishing

Taking readers to a variety of locations – the branches of a tree, the South Pole, a sandy beach, a coral reef, a tropical riverbank and finally, a milkweed plant, a paragraph of text explores the titular question.

Thus, we see life emerging into view as in turn, a hungry blackbird chick breaks out of its shell; baby penguins emerge from their eggs; tiny newly hatched turtles start their journey from eggshell to sea as dusk falls; a male clownfish keeps watch over babies in their transparent eggs; using her gaping mouth, a mother crocodile carries her newborn baby crocodiles to the river

and on the last spread the entire life-cycle of a monarch butterfly is shown.

The elaborate paper-engineering that Maike Biederstädt uses to make her boldy hued, detailed scenes explode into life is amazing.

Youngsters will learn some interesting facts about each of the animals and their habitats as they enjoy the superb visuals. For instance they’ll be fascinated to discover that a father penguin carries an egg on his feet and uses his feathers to keep it warm.

More superb paper-engineering is the essence of these two books also from Prestel that I missed when they were first published:

Funny Birds / In the Butterfly Garden
Philippe Ug

Philippe’s incredible cut-out illustrations carry most of the story as we follow, in the first title, a group of exotic ‘funny birds’ and the hatching of their new babies. High up in a tree, a nest holds eggs safely hidden from view until the fledglings are ready to emerge and explore their external environment on that first day.
Using rich colours Ug has created eight awesomely intricate 3D scenes of birds of various shapes and sizes

for us to feast our eyes upon.

In the Butterfly Garden little ones can follow the story of a caterpillar’s metamorphosis into chrysalis from whence emerges a beautiful butterfly.

There are other tiny insects hiding in the garden’s foliage too, including ladybirds, ants, a dragonfly; there’s even a praying mantis just poised ready to snatch a snack. Then as day gives way to night, it’s time for the moth to take to the wing.

Again in Ug’s eight scenes there’s considerable attention to detail and a rich colour palette.

Tiny T. Rex and the Very Dark Dark

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Tiny T. Rex and the Very Very Dark
Jonathan Stutzman and Jay Fleck
Chronicle Books

Tiny T. Rex and his buddy Pointy are spending their very first night under the stars, and the adorable dinosaur narrator, all the while clutching tight his squishy bear Bob, regales us with their nocturnal experiences. When outside, we hear, ‘the dark is VERY dark’ and with no ‘nighty-lights to turn on’ there may very well be Grumbles and Nom-bies at large.

Mum assures her little one that even in the dark, there will always be a light shining somewhere. He though is far from convinced. He and Pointy however, have a secret being brave plan. This means building a hiding fort

to contain snacks and themselves but even then, feeling hidden isn’t what happens. So, brain-protecting helmets are necessary although a proper fit is a requisite

as are the lamps from indoors and the strings of coloured lights with which they deck the trees and their tent. At last everything is ready; now let those Crawly creeps and Nom-bies come …

That brightness however, lasts only briefly for a fuse blows and they’re plunged into total ‘very dark dark’ blackness.

Now what can they do: everyone is scared but can they summon up all their courage, open their eyes and look hard – very, very hard …

There’s plenty to see and delight in here in this reassuring tale, not least what those Grumbles and Nom-bies actually are.

What’s needed for dark-fearful little ones is a super story bedtime tale such as this one, then a big hug, followed by lights out and imaginations temporarily switched off. Most definitely, it’s another winner from the Stutzman and Fleck team.

Dear Earth

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Dear Earth
Isabel Otter and Clara Anganuzzi
Caterpillar Books

A little girl and her Grandpa pay homage to the Earth in this beautiful book that highlights the fragility of our planet’s precious natural places and their wild life.

As the two walk together on the beach Grandpa regales the child with his adventures and the wondrous sights he’s seen as an explorer. So vivid are his descriptions that Tessa can see pictures in her mind.

Inspired, with the sound of the sea roaring in the distance, she decides to write a special letter to the Earth, letting her imagination flow as Grandpa suggests.

She writes of becoming an explorer, addressing first the water, then the lands. Those parts whereon animals stampede with their thundering hooves;

the places where dwell creatures both great and small; the meadowlands where butterflies flit. She mentions floating in lagoons and splashing beneath waterfalls – what joy that is.
Cold, icy regions, some with mountains and other parts too such as the rainforest canopy are addressed.

Finally Tessa’s mind travels bring her back to reality with thoughts of Earth’s desperate need for love and care from humans, not least those who have already caused damage.

Having signed off ‘Love from Tessa’, she takes her Grandpa’s hand and together they head back to the beach discussing how realisation might bring people to keep safe all that we treasure on our planet. “Perhaps if enough of us share the message, we can still save our dear Earth.” Grandpa’s concluding remark is an incentive to us all, young and not so young to do all within our power to do just that.

Successfully combining exploration and the wonders of nature with a crucial message about environmental issues, this beautifully illustrated book with Clara Anganuzzi’s fine, detailed and sometimes dramatic, scenes of the natural world shown from a variety of viewpoints as well as the different landscapes, is a must for families and primary classrooms.

The Seedling that didn’t want to grow

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The Seedling that didn’t want to grow
Britta Teckentrup
Prestel

The riches of spring are all around us now so there’s no better time to enjoy Britta Teckentrup’s story of a seedling that grows in its own time eventually flourishing into a wonderful plant.

Through her softly spoken text and gorgeous collage-style illustrations we follow along with her characters Ant and Ladybird, the reluctant to germinate seed, as it eventually shows signs of life, growing from a delicate, fragile little seedling in the meadow, and creeping through the undergrowth towards the sun.

Under the watchful supervision of the two insects, together with other friends – Cricket to guard her roots, Mouse to search for the most suitable paths, Butterfly accompanying Ladybird flying above to locate the perfect spot – it gradually changes as it weaves and twines through dense foliage to emerge at last to feel the warmth of the summer sun’s rays on her leaves.

The perfect location to continue her life story.

Now in the hot sunshine she is ‘the happiest plant there could be’ as all manner of creatures live in her foliage so she is ‘full of love and life.’

With the coming of autumn and shorter days comes further changes as the plant ‘s leaves turn a golden colour, eventually wilting as she sets seed ready for the wind to liberate a host of white fluffy parachutes scattering them far and wide before the winter comes and the plant is ready to die away.

That though isn’t the end, for with the melting of the snow, those seeds will start to flourish as the cycle of life begins anew.

This is one of my favourites to date of Britta’s books: her richly textured, detailed art reflects in her choice of colour palette, the changing seasons; while thanks to her changing depth of focus, we are made truly to appreciate the beauty of the incredibly diverse natural world. We appreciate too that just as diversity is key in the natural world, so it is with humans: each of us is unique and with careful nurturing, can find and fulfil our own path in life.

Supermouse and the Big Cheese Robbery

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Supermouse and the Big Cheese Robbery
M.N. Tahl and Mark Chambers
Little Tiger

If you want a book whiffing over with exceedingly cheesily pungent puns and other word plays, not to mention a number of wheyward characters, gratinate or otherwise, then this will certainly be to your taste.

Without further odour let’s head over to Mouseopolis where everyone is eagerly anticipating the grand unveiling of the city’s ‘most magnificent morsel’, the Big Cheese.

Disaster is revealed as soon as the mayor pulls back the curtain. All that’s on view is a holey communication from the dastardly thief.

News of the robbery has everyone puzzling and a list of suspects is published in the Daily Mouse, along with an article on the possible cheese saviour.

Before you can say Stilton, Supermouse aka Peter Parmesan, is on the trail searching out every suspicious pong be it high or low.

Little does he know however, that a trap has been set by the roguish robbing rodents. Perhaps all is not lost though for the ground whereon their cutter stands, starts to shake.

Here’s what then ensues …

but can Supermouse manage to caerphilly secure that scrumptious delicacy he seeks, enable justice to be served and return a hero?

Despite the occasional challenge to my vegan sensibilities, this reviewer positively relished this morsel of literary madness cooked up by cheese-loving author M.N. Tahl and scrumptiously layered with Mark Chambers’ tongue-tingling illustrative treats, liberally peppered with speech bubbles, logos and signs. With its flaps, peep-through and sometimes unfolding, pages, not to mention the action-packed plot, adventure-loving audiences will devour this and demand seconds.

I Am Brown

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I Am Brown
Ashok Banker and Sandhya Prabhat
Lantana Publishing

Internationally acclaimed author but debuting as picture book writer Ashok Banker, and illustrator/animator Sandhya Prabhat have together created a wonderful celebration of loving the skin you’re in – brown skin, that is.

Merely reading the title of their book took me back to a time when I was visiting the Ranakpur Jain Temple in Rajasthan. Standing at the bottom of the steps leading up to it I was stopped by three young women wanting to take photos. One put her arm against mine and commented “You are so beautiful with your light skin and fair hair.” I was extremely embarrassed when another of them said, “Yes white skin beautiful, brown skin not beautiful.” She then invited me to her wedding soon to be celebrated. I hastened to say to these stunning girls that they were beautiful but I felt I hadn’t convinced them when we parted. If only somebody had given them a book that turns the whole skin colour question on its head like I Am Brown  when they were younger.

After its terrific front endpaper, the book begins with one lively child announcing ‘I am brown / I am beautiful / I am perfect’, then showing herself as the epitome of love, friendship and happiness.

We see a wide variety of occupations from astronaut to actor, writer to doctor and more, as well as …

The question of diversity is addressed in a multitude of ways – country of origin by a group of children around a globe with continents named (every one except Antarctica); that nineteen different languages are spoken – several Indian ones as well as Urdu, Turkish, German, English, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, Swahili and Japanese. We see a wide variety of clothing,

food – tacos, noodles, vindaloo, places where ‘I pray’ including everywhere and nowhere.

Fizzing high spirits and happiness prevail in a book that makes readers feel good about themselves, concluding ‘I am brown / I am amazing/ I am YOU’.

What better way to end this thoroughly uplifting, cover to cover, ode – verbal and visual – to being brown, of being you, and of being whatever you want to be.

An absolute MUST for early years setting and classrooms everywhere.

That’s Good, That’s Bad

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That’s Good, That’s Bad
Joan M. Lexau and Aliki
Prestel

Prestel have brought back a vintage classic published first in 1963 with splendid reproductions of Aliki’s superb illustrations. Here’s what happens:

A boy sitting on a rock in the jungle is confronted by a tiger. The tiger politely tells the lad to run away. “… I will run after you. And I will catch you. And I will eat you, Boy, so run from me” it says.

Boy however is too tired, Tiger asks why and hoping to avoid his fate, the boy begins to tell the tiger his tale.

It’s a thrilling one with frights, falls, fun and a bit of flight that involves encounters with a rhino

and a crocodile

that’s sure to enthral youngsters, just as it does the hungry tiger. I know though, that it’s the former who will end up having a jolly good laugh at the satisfying ending.

There’s a lot to like about this book: the way the boy character demonstrates the power of storytelling; Joan Lexau’s own skill at telling what is essentially a tale-within –a-tale – and a real page turner it is too.

Then there’s Aliki’s visual storytelling: I love the way she places the story-telling Boy and Tiger on opposing pages as though viewing the action from the sidelines, with Boy’s own narrative unfolding on the verso and Tiger’s comments “That’s good”,

“That’s bad” or variations of same, being made on the recto each time. The subtle changes to the facial expressions of these characters are wonderful, really bringing to life the double drama.

Clever and deliciously droll.

A Little Bit Worried

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A Little Bit Worried
Ciara Gavin and Tim Warnes
Little Tiger

Do you embrace the challenges life throws at you or shut yourself away, fearful of what might happen? Here’s a story that offers a look at life from both viewpoints, through the eyes of Weasel – he’s the fearful one, and Mole, the upbeat character.

It’s the changes in the weather that cause Weasel concern: first a sudden downpour, followed by hail and strong winds. So much so that he builds a safe place and shuts himself away inside.

Time passes and he’s just getting used to his solitary state when up pops Mole demanding to know where he is. Weasel says it’s a fortress and invites Mole to help him guard it. Mole however, is having none of it, insisting it’s a home and making himself comfortable. He then proceeds to act his upbeat self,

countering every one of Weasel’s downbeat remarks about the storm raging outside with fun alternative suggestions, insisting that storms can provide opportunities to build a snowman, make you feel ticklishly joyful,

or create the perfect puddles for a good splash-about with some wonderfully warming soup.

After their discussion Weasel asks Mole the all-important question, “What do you do when you feel afraid to face something?”

What happens thereafter will make you smile; it certainly made both the characters of Ciara Gavin’s story do just that – for not one, but two reasons.

Perhaps there’s a little bit of Weasel and a little bit of Mole in us all; what’s important however is to understand our feelings and responses to those challenging situations. In that way can we show empathy to others who respond differently.

Tim Warnes’ gently humorous illustrations show so well the two very different characters and how it’s possible to complement one’s self-protectiveness with another’s joie de vivre.

Stars Before Bedtime / What’s in Your Mind Today?

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Stars Before Bedtime
Claire Grace & Dr Jessamy Hibberd, illustrated by Hannah Tolson
Wide Eyed Editions

As the authors of this book, Claire Grace a writer/editor and clinical psychologist and writer Dr Jessamy Hibberd remind us in their introduction, it’s not always easy to fall asleep in our world of constant stimulation and establishing a bedtime routine can help enormously.

To that end they have created a combination of bedtime story, and mind and body-calming exercises to help youngsters wind down as they bid ‘goodbye to the wriggles and the fidgets’ before dropping off into peaceful slumbers.

Brief stories about the constellations of the night sky,

inspired by mythology, together with instructions for mindfulness exercises related to the particular story form the basic elements; those and Hannah Tolson’s surrounding visuals created with a restful colour palette, which contain a mix of the starry night sky with symbolic representation of the constellations

and homely images of the related physical exercises in a detailed bedroom setting. (An appropriately coloured lavender crescent moon symbol is used to indicate the relevant text for each exercise.)

Among the activities included are yoga style poses, stretches, guided visualisations and conscious breathing.

Pages for grown-ups at the front and back offer ‘how to’ suggestions as well as ways you might use the book. (Each double spread can stand alone if you don’t want to read the entire book, so for instance you could choose to share the story of Draco the dragon and the accompanying stretching snakelike exercise and breathing.)

Wearing my teacher and yoga teacher specialising in yoga with children hats, I recommend giving this book a go. It should pay dividends if you persevere. Try out the different strategies suggested so that you establish that much desired, peaceful routine mentioned at the outset.

More mindfulness for little ones in:

What’s in Your Mind Today?
Louise Bladen and Angela Perrini
Little Steps Publishing

There’s always a way to let go all our thoughts no matter what we have in our minds, as this gentle book shows and tells using a variety of children and their thoughts.

By focussing on the simple breathing exercises in Louise Bladen’s calming verses, and Angela Perrini’s attractive, quirky illustrations of the mentioned girls and boys,

both children and adults can quell their busy minds and find a place of tranquillity.

It’s a Great Big Colourful World

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It’s a Great Big Colourful World
Tom Schamp
Prestel

Otto the cat wakes one morning wondering why everything is so grey. His chameleon friend, Leon is on hand to show him the delights of the various shades of grey and the multitude of beautiful grey things around.

Thereafter Leon takes him on a journey through the wonderful world of colour starting with grey’s components, the complementary black and white.

Moving on from those it’s a veritable riot of colours each represented by a plethora of characters and objects large and small. Yellow includes a yellow submarine, a big yellow taxi, a variety of cheeses, a butterfly and banana peel.

One orange spread is dominated by a magnificent tiger that’s found its way to Orange County and as yet, hasn’t consumed the tomato soup, clementines or orange juice on the previous spread.

There’s a wealth of transport on the red pages that also include Red Square and tulips – no not from Amsterdam but Turkey.
Flamingos strut their way across the pink spreads maintaining their colour courtesy of the pink algae and shrimps they dine upon.

Rather more restful on the eye the blues have a whale that swims through all four pages at once and the greens with dinosaurs, crocodiles, plants aplenty and the occasional caterpillar,

not forgetting Greenland.

Beer, cupcakes, tanned sunbathers, brownstone houses, a toffee even, are part of the brown spreads; and both the colour tourists Otto and Leon are hiding in plain sight on every spread, each  cleverly adapted to their surroundings. In the final pages the friends are thrilled by the coming together of all the colours for a glorious final journey through the four seasons.

However many times you look at this ingenious, intricately detailed offering from Tom Schamp, you’ll always find something new.

In addition to being a feast for the eyes, with his playful linguistic imagination and references, Schamp guarantees that this book will have a wide age appeal. No matter what you bring to it, you’ll emerge richer and wanting to dive straight back in, hungry for more.

 

Meet the Planets

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Meet the Planets
Caryl Hart and Bethan Woollvin
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Caryl Hart gives voice to the individual planets as we join a little girl aboard a rocket and zoom off on a space adventure around the solar system.

Our first encounter is with The Sun, ‘the biggest thing up in the sky. /I’m friendly but don’t get too close now / or I’ll frizzle you up to a fry.’ it warns, going on in rhyming speak to inform about its role as daytime warmth provider and light supplier for growing plants before concluding “But be careful, I’m really a /
Great ball of fire – / the HOTTEST and FIERCEST / you’ve seen!”

As the journey progresses little ones will love to join in with the rhymes and  spy all the staring-eyed planets – zippily speeding Mercury, deceptively named Venus that boasts of FIERCE spitting volcanoes, our own friendly Earth with its silvery Moon, mighty windswept Mars with its rust-coloured dust.

Then come giant gaseous ball Jupiter – the planet king; sparkly, shimmering Saturn that can’t resist drawing attention her beauty;

the windy ice ball Uranus; ‘Ice Giant’ blue-looking Neptune

and finally, relatively small Pluto accompanied by Charon.

Youngsters will undoubtedly have a total blast as they whizz through the sky, relishing every planet they meet, and even manage to rendezvous with earth once more, just in time for bed. Bethan’s illustrations are, as ever, totally out-of-this-world strikingly brilliant and such a superb complement for Caryl’s cleverly constructed rhyming text.

Splendid stuff this, for bedtimes and all other times too.

There’s an Alien In Your Book

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There’s an Alien in Your Book
Tom Fletcher and Greg Abbott
Puffin Books

Just out in paperback is the latest in the series wherein different characters invade a book and the book itself becomes part and parcel of the story-telling device.

The Fletcher/Abbott team were on to a good thing when they created that monster a couple of years back. Now in the fourth interactive extravaganza it’s the turn of a little alien and it arrives on account of its spaceship crash-landing on the first page in a cloud of smoke.

With the spacecraft appearing to be broken beyond repair, it’s up to us (adult and child together) to try and get the little creature back home where he belongs – but how?

Certainly not by pulling a scary face – that only serves to make him sob and need some TLC. Instead we can jiggle and wriggle the book in various directions

and if that isn’t successful, maybe try imagining various earth animals so our visitor knows he doesn’t belong.

Or is there perhaps an alternative solution altogether?

With bright, zany illustrations from Gregg Abbott, its themes of difference, acceptance and friendship,

this fun book is a great share with an important message that is never too early for little ones to begin to think about.

Who is in the Egg?

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Who is in the Egg?
Alexandra Milton,
Boxer Books

Kate Greenaway shortlisted artist, Alexandra Milton has created some absolutely gorgeous illustrations to answer her titular question as she explores what is going to emerge from the nest in the tree;

the bright, white egg in the sticky, muddy swamp; that mere bean-sized object which is waiting in the tunnel, underground; the almost sand-covered one on the beach.

Then what about that pear-shaped egg on a pair of feet that stand in the freezing snow and ice; or, moving to a hot sandy desert location, what could possibly come out of the simply massive egg, waiting there?

In addition to delighting in the stunning art portrayals of the infants and parents in their natural habitats, readers can learn some interesting facts in the brief paragraph that accompanies each animal featured.

The front endpapers depict a sequence of eggs from smallest to largest for readers to try and match with the illustrations on the pages, while the final endpapers show the relative size of the six  eggs from the smallest ‘platypus’ to largest ‘ostrich’, should you want to cheat, or perhaps check.

Quite simply, beautiful through and through.

Little Owl’s Bedtime / Put Your Botty on the Potty!

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Here are two fun books for your toddler bookshelves:

Little Owl’s Bedtime
Debi Gliori and Alison Brown
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

It’s lovely to see Little Owl starring in another episode. It’s ‘late o’clock’ and bedtime. Mummy Owl has shared with him a bedtime story and now it’s shut eye time. However, like many little ones, this young owl starts delaying tactics. First he requests another story and his mummy agrees on condition that it will be the last.

Story duly read and ‘sweet dreams’ wished, Little Owl is still finding reasons why he cannot go to sleep.

Patient Mummy Owl explains the reasons why dark is necessary,

even going to the trouble of providing a very tiny night lamp.

Nothing doing: the lumpy pillow persists and then cuddly, ‘Hedge’ has gone missing. Happily though she’s found pretty soon and now surely sleep will come. Not it seems quite yet though: how long before Mummy Owl’s patience is tested to its limit, one wonders.

Still the complaints come: too hot, hungry and now Little Owl needs a wee.

Then he’s excited about what tomorrow has in store. If he doesn’t drop off soon, it will be tomorrow anyway; but his Mummy ‘s promise looks as though it might finally do the trick …
Sweet dreams Little Owl, sweet dreams Hedge, sweet dreams Baby Owl and happy bath-time Mummy owl – you’ve certainly earned it.

What a gorgeous way to end the day if you have a little one; make sure you lay down the ground rules first though, just in case s/he tries the Little Owl tactics.

Debi’s warm text and Alison’s equally warm illustrations work in perfect harmony: who wouldn’t want to snuggle down after sharing this one?

Put Your Botty on the Potty!
Sam Lloyd
Pavilion Books

Courtesy of Little Moo, here’s a fun look at potty training, monster style.

When we meet Moo, she’s nappy clad and far from happy so to be, partly one suspects because there’s new baby sister in the Monster family wearing, guess what – a nappy. Time for Moo to grow up, shed the nappy and bare the botty.

Needless to say, Mummy instructs Moo to call a halt on the monster messes that ensue. It appears though that Mummy has a clever plan, for next morning a gift-wrapped surprise arrives at the door.

Moo’s bot is a perfect fit for a sit and that’s exactly what he does … for a protracted period until eventually … (success!)

There’s more to learn though as Mummy monster talks of botty wiping, then demonstrates hand washing and drying. The monsters then head into town for some ‘grown-up’ pants purchasing; and finally smartypants Moo is ready for a celebration.

With its bold, zany art, jaunty rhyming text and flaps to explore, little ones and their adults can enjoy some fun times with the former doing some important learning.

My Friend Earth

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My Friend Earth
Patricia MacLaughlan and Francesca Sanna
Chronicle Children’s Books

The combined talents of award winning writer Patricia MacLaughlan and illustrator Francesca Sanna have created a wonderfully inspiring celebration of Mother Earth.

Through Patricia’s lyrical text, seemingly spoken by a child narrator, and Francesca’s beautiful, boldly coloured scenes with their intricate layered die-cuts, youngsters are invited to share in and savour nature and its beauty.
The message is soft-spoken yet its subtle gentleness wields a power that will definitely inspire children as they savour the changing seasons, starting with Earth waking from its winter nap roused by the sounds of spring – the farmer at work in the garden, the bird song.

Not just the sounds though, the sights – of a ‘silent seed, / the spider spinning silver, / the robin and the wrens.’;

and larger creatures too – an albatross on the wing, a tunnelling mole. She gently guides animals to their sleeping places and to their mothers.

There’s such beauty in the landscapes too, be they grassy prairies, icy arctic;

beneath the sea.

Each one is affected by the elements – the heavy rains; the fierce autumn winds; the soft, silent whispers of snow as it blankets ‘… my friend Earth’ with its flora and fauna waiting for the arrival of the sun that heralds spring once more.

There’s beauty too, and tenderness, in Patricia’s alliterations: ‘the baby black bears are born in soft darkness’

though every sentence, every phrase, is a joy to read.

Francesca’s art is a perfect complement for the text – those enticing die-cuts set into her lovingly portrayed scenes of nature, helping to create at every page turn, a time to savour the sights and sounds of the natural world.

Yes Earth is our friend but most important, we all need to be Earth’s friends – before it’s too late.

You might want to use this wonderful book to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (22nd April) with its theme of climate change. In the meantime buy it, share it, give it.

The Pirates are Coming!

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The Pirates are Coming!
John Condon and Matt Hunt
Nosy Crow

Can there be room on the shelf for yet more pirate books? It’s pretty likely as children seem to have a penchant for things piratical; and John Condon and Matt Hunt’s salty offering will definitely be a crowd pleaser.

It tells of young Tom who daily climbs the hill overlooking the sea in the hope of spying a pirate ship; and one day he does – so he thinks.

He rings a bell and all the villagers dash for cover; turns out though, that it’s a case of misidentification. Tom’s dad reminds him pirates have ‘BIG’ ships. Undaunted, Tom continues his daily watch but again and again he gets it wrong, needlessly sending the villagers into hiding.

Unsurprisingly they begin to get blasé and so the next time Tom yells “PIRATES” as he rushes down the hill,

not a single person hides – until that is, they hear the tell-tale “squawk!’ of a parrot.

Here, the tale takes a twist and the finale is a wonderful surprise. I certainly don’t want to be a story spoiler so I’ll leave the villagers in hiding and the pirates sailing silently into the harbour, gangplank at the ready …

John Condon’s story is full of drama, and superbly paced, with plenty of laughs along the way: further laughs will be induced thanks to Matt Hunt’s splendid illustrations. On every spread there’s something giggle worthy – rather, make that several things.

If you enjoy putting on a performance with your story sharing, you’ll absolutely relish reading this one with a group of youngsters and they’ll love it too.

We Catch the Bus

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We Catch the Bus
Katie Abey
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

If you have a little one with a penchant for all things vehicular, then they’ll surely love this book. What it lacks in story, it certainly more than makes up for in the bright, busy, vehicle-packed illustrations that are full of giggle-making details.

Every spread takes a different theme be it buses, planes, trucks, trains, diggers, cars, bikes,

boats, emergency vehicles, tractors or rockets; and children can make up their own stories inspired by what’s happening on any of the pages; there’s certainly plenty of action on each one.

‘We catch the Bus / Which bus would you catch?’ is the lead-in to the first spread whereon we find 10 different buses, all being driven by jolly-looking animal characters and there are plenty of other zany animal characters to spot too. One waiting at a bus stop asks “How many footballs can you count?” while the driver of the book bus inquires “What’s your favourite story?”

Every other spread has a similar relevant lead-in and an abundance of ways to involve youngsters. They could look for the fish on the airport spread or perhaps play spot the fairy tale characters/items; maybe they’ll discover that a certain big bad wolf keeps putting in an appearance.

This book surely guarantees hours of enjoyable immersion.

Money-Go-Round

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Money-Go-Round
Roger McGough and Mini Grey
Walker Books

Well-loved poet, Roger McGough has penned a witty picture book inspired by characters from Kenneth Grahame’s classic story The Wind in the Willows.

Illustrated by the award winning Mini Grey this longish tale follows transactions made with a shiny gold coin.

It begins when Mr Toad hands it over to Miss Lavender Mole in payment for a room in her Tree House Hotel.

As a result Miss Mole is able to pay Sam Stoat what she owes him for painting the hotel’s front door the week before. He in turn can thus pay his debt to Basil Badger who is thus in a position to pay young Walter Water Rat for the boat trip he took the badger’s family on the previous weekend.

Walter hastens off to pay the rest of what he owed the otters

and so it goes on until finally … that golden coin comes full circle right back where it started.

But that isn’t quite the end of this exceedingly clever story as we discover by reading the lead article in the local rag – The Wild Wood Bugle –  the latest edition of which the final pages of the book comprise.

Mini Grey does the author’s tale proud with her superb art. Both her bordered and unbordered pictures are an absolute delight: full of humour and wonderful details to feast upon.

Felix After the Rain

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Felix After the Rain
Dunja Jogan (translsated by Olivia Hellewell)
Tiny Owl

Felix is full of sorrow; in fact the boy appears to be carrying the weight of the world’s sorrows on his shoulders or rather in the huge suitcase he hauls around with him everywhere he goes. Each time something upsetting has occurred in his life, it causes his suitcase to increase in weight; so much so that it’s become almost impossible to move.

One day when it feels as though his sadness has become completely overwhelming, desperately in need of a rest, Felix stops and falls asleep beneath the shade of a tree.

A small boy playing close by sees the case, opens it and all the pent-up feelings are released into the sky causing a tumultuous storm.

Very soon though, the storm abates leaving Felix feeling calm, light and happy. A total transformation has occurred

and with a joyful heart he goes back home mightily relieved and ready to share his happy feelings with everyone around.

With its themes of the power of the importance of friendship, and of letting go of baggage we carry and being able to move forward, this is a very powerful book that speaks to both children and adults.

Dunja Jogan’s storytelling illustrations are enormously potent too, and her colour palette is exquisite.

Families, school classrooms, early years settings, in fact anywhere that children might spend time – should have a copy of this.

Everybody Has A Body

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Everybody Has a Body
Jon Burgerman
Oxford University Press

In his characteristic playfully daft style, Jon Burgerman takes a look at bodies.
We all have one after all, and no matter its shape, size or colour, our body is something we should be proud of.

He presents us with zany illustrations of big bodies and small bodies, wide ones and tall ones; bodies weak and strong,

narrow and looooooooong.

Then of course, there are hairy bodies as well as the smooth variety.

Some bodies might make us clumsy while others make us groove.

Either a soft body or a rough one is a possibility, as is one bendy or tough.

There’s also the thorny question of age, since a body may be old or new.

The one thing that is certain though, is this:

What a lot of bodies – has Jon captured yours in his zany art and rhyming words?

A fun read aloud with lots to think about and talk about; equally, with its brief text and fun art, this is great for those starting to read to try for themselves, and SO much more interesting than a dull scheme book.

Not An Alphabet Book: The Case of the Missing Cake

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Not an Alphabet Book: The Case of the Missing Cake
Eoin McLaughlin and Marc Boutavant
Walker Books

If ever there was a book that immediately snares the attention it’s this one.

A serious crime has been committed, so the bear narrator of this intended ABC would have us believe on page 1: the enormously tempting creamy, lavishly sprinkled chocolaty cake meant to represent the letter C on page 5 has been stolen. Poor bear is beside himself and entreats readers to assist in tracking down the perpetrator of the act whose hiding place is somewhere between the covers of the book.

Off we go then, to interrogate potential suspects; first stop the letter A where the response is ‘no comment’.

Even at this early stage, if you’re sharing this story with little ones, the clues are evident and they’ll be relishing their inside knowledge.

Okay, on we go again, whizzing past Bear’s B page – uh-huh! – and we know C won’t yield anything helpful so the next stopping point is D where fearful Dog has an alibi, so we see.

We move on and there’s a wonderful cross-questioning of a couple of traditional tale characters to relish on F and G.

Bear’s narrative is superb, as tongue-in-cheek, he thinks aloud rather than quizzing H, I, and J before receiving a lightning blow on the next page and down he plunges for a spot of restorative TLC from the character representing N.

Octopus however is far less tender-hearted, indeed it’s downright suspicious but Bear hastens on to P where there’s a wrongful arrest of an unsuspecting porcine creature …

all of which takes us onwards letter by letter to V and W where a certain character is almost, but not quite, rumbled and we might leave him basking in his own glory but that is not quite the end of the story …

What an absolutely tongue-tingling, delightfully delicious book author Eoin McLaughlin and illustrator Marc Boutavant have conjured up between them. Everything about their delectable detective daftness is brilliantly done and I’ll guarantee any audience you share it with will immediately demand second or even third helpings.

Dandelion’s Dream

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Dandelion’s Dream
Yoko Tanaka
Walker Books

Let me say at the outset, this dreamlike wordless story is an absolute beauty.

It begins one night in a field with a dandelion bud that unfolds into a flower upon which appears a lion’s face: indeed the entire plant morphs into a lion with a corolla of a mane and limbs where once were leaves. A veritable transformation has taken place.

Full of joy, the creature sets out to see the world.

Dashing across the field he leaps onto the funnel of a passing train,

then after a sudden bend in the line, is pitched off again. He lands safely, hitching a ride on the back of a sheep that’s heading for the harbour.

There the lion boards a ship whereon he receives shelter from a rainstorm ‘neath a gull’s wing. The craft is bound for a skyscraper city where he’s dwarfed by the sheer size of both humans and buildings.

Seeking some respite from the overwhelmingness of the big city, our adventurer enters a cinema.

The events of the film sweep him away and in his imagination he becomes pilot of one of the toy planes being flown by a child character.

From up high above what look like fluffy clouds, but are fluffy balls of white seeds, he looks down –

and here reality returns – as he heads towards his very own dandelion field now full of mature seed heads.

There he too sets seed and almost immediately his plethora of parachute seeds are blown skywards, coalescing along with those of his fellow plants, into

Cinematic in feel, this story is superbly paced by the clever use of panelling on some of Yoko Tanaka’s spreads. The graininess and greyness of her illustrations add to the dreamlike quality of ‘dandy-lion’s’ joyful adventure, underlying which is the life-cycle of a dandelion plant.

Out of this world incredible this utterly enchanting book surely is. It’s absolutely amazing where imagination can take you, be you author, illustrator, story character or reader.

Lenny Makes a Wish

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Lenny Makes a Wish
Paula Metcalf
Oxford University Press

I wonder how far into this heartwarming story it will be before youngsters guess the identity of the ‘fish’ Lenny rabbit comes upon while out picking flowers for his mum one spring day.

Needing a little rest from his activity, Lenny sits down beneath a tree and spots a ‘funny little fish / as black as black an be’

That the little creature is all alone makes the young rabbit feel sad and he inquires about the whereabouts of the fish’s parents. What he learns is that a storm has separated her from her family.

Having pondered upon what to do, Lenny offers himself as a friend but then realises that a fish out of water is unable to breathe. Back into the water goes Fishy rapidly followed by Lenny but what is immediately evident is 

Happily his mum arrives in the nick of time to rescue her little one and give him a warning. Then it’s a very sad Lenny that bids farewell to his fishy friend and so she doesn’t forget him, he presents her with his blue scarf.

Time passes; Fishy appreciates her gift but suddenly tears start  welling up.

Lenny meanwhile also misses Fishy and one bright, clear night he makes a wish upon the biggest star in the sky.

The sunny summer days come around and all of a sudden while Lenny and Mum are having their lunch,

they receive a surprise visitor wearing a blue scarf.

Has Lenny’s wish perhaps been granted?

The combination of Paula Metcalf’s rhythmic, rhyming text and gently humorous illustrations with their wealth of of wonderful details, makes for a great read aloud. It’s a lovely celebration of kindness, and friendship against the odds as well as offering an unobtrusive lesson in natural history.

The Last Tree

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The Last Tree
Emily Haworth-Booth
Pavilion Books

Trees are one of our planet’s greatest assets in the fight against climate change, so why oh why are the grownups in The Last Tree so careless in their use of this precious resource?

We first meet them when they’re searching for a suitable place to live and they spy their first tree; it’s part of a forest. They enjoy the summer living among the trees and sleeping outdoors.

Come winter they start cutting down a few branches for firewood but this leaves space for the rain to come through and extinguish their fire.

With each new season the loss of the trees creates further problems provoking yet more trees to be lost culminating with the construction of …

Now only one spindly specimen remains.

Inevitably with no view except their wall, the villagers become inward, self-obsessed and thoroughly disenchanted. Instead of a happy community they distrust one another and the adults in every family covet that single remaining tree sending their children to harvest it.

With axes in hand the children creep beyond the wall but in the joy of seeing one another they quickly forget their purpose. Rather than cutting down that tree they care for it, watching it thrive and grow, bringing instead planks to their parents who use them for barricading themselves in their homes.

Even so the wind comes blowing down the fences and out rush the adults to discover …

In the bright daylight they recall the good times and understand their foolishness.
Time to make a fresh start: and so it is that the last tree becomes the first of a brand new forest.

A timely parable of the destruction of the natural world and its effect on our planet’s climate, made all the more effective by Emily’s hugely potent graphics rendered in shades of green and grey.

As in our ‘extinction rebellion’ times, here too it’s children who have the imagination to become the agents of change.

Talking Is Not My Thing

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Talking Is Not My Thing
Rose Robbins
Scallywag Press

Having a neurodiverse member of the family can be challenging for everyone as Rose Robbins, the author/illustrator of this, her second book knows so well for she has a brother on the autism spectrum and she also teaches young people who have autism.

Much of this story is conveyed through the female narrator’s thought bubbles; the rest through her brother’s words in speech bubbles and Rose’s dramatic illustrations. The narrator’s opening thought is ‘I don’t speak. But my brother finds it easy.’

Having followed her brother’s call to come indoors as dinner is almost ready, we learn how she does sometimes attempt to speak using her voice but the words come out wrong. Furthermore as the narrator is sound sensitive the noises of dinnertime cause her some distress, but she likes to feel included.

She also on occasion needs to convey how she feels or what she needs by means of one of her flashcards ( PECS symbol cards perhaps),

It’s great that brother and sister are able to play games together and that sometimes little sister acts as teacher.

Clearly understanding is not a problem, for shared story sessions with her brother reading aloud from a book, give his sister much pleasure.

At other times, such as when things go missing, mutual assistance is enormously beneficial. First a beloved soft toy bunny is located

and then once his sister is safely in bed, she finds her brother’s lost car. A highly satisfactory ending to their shared day.

Once again, Rose has created an enormously empathetic story that she conveys with subtle humour and a sense of respect for the siblings she portrays in Talking Is Not My Thing.

That sense of respect and understanding is what I saw yet again very recently while walking in the grounds of Ruskin Mill College, a specialist education establishment near my home that caters for neurodiverse students of between 16 and 25. A fairly newly admitted boy whom I’ve never seen stand still before, stood transfixed watching a heron that had perched atop a tree in the grounds. At least three members of staff stood fairly close keeping a watch on his wellbeing, allowing the boy to take as long as he wanted to observe, what was for all of us an awe-inspiring sight.

Lion Lessons

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Lion Lessons
Jon Agee
Scallywag Press

When the boy narrator protagonist of this story decides to take lion lessons, he quickly discovers that despite the ‘7 easy steps’ claim in the window of the teaching establishment, the diploma course is a steep learning curve.

The teacher is an actual lion with a degree awarded by the Harvard School of Claw and before starting on the ‘steps’, the learner must first engage in some yoga stretches.

Thereafter though, things rapidly go downhill. The teacher is less than impressed at his pupil’s efforts at appearing fierce. Roaring, selecting stomach-filling fare, prowling,

sprinting and pouncing are equally far from promising. In fact the lad’s scores are well below par.

Then comes the seventh step: Looking Out for Your Friends. Could this be the game changer perhaps …

Maybe, just maybe our small student can grow in stature and discover his inner lion sufficiently to surpass our expectations and become the proud owner of that graduation Lion Diploma after all …

What an artful fusion of words and pictures. With its deliciously droll, punchy narrative and littering of splendidly comic details on every spread, Lion Lessons will keep listeners on the edge of their seats right up to its deadpan final twist.

A simply stupendous, superbly paced read aloud say I; Jon Agee does it again.

Elsie

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Elsie
Nadine Robert and Maja Kastelic
Abrams Books for Young Readers

On fine sunny Sundays the seven Filpot rabbit children go fishing. Six are enthusiastic; divergent thinking, Elsie (with her head in a book), is not.

However she does go along following her own creekside path and when it comes to bait, despite her siblings’ advice, Elsie insists she’s going to put a buttercup on her hook.

Why not, after all, surely thinking for oneself and having innovative ideas is the right way to go: and so it is here, for Elsie’s is the rod that twitches and she’s the one with a successful haul.

Now is the time for her six siblings to listen to her point of view.

The combination of Maja Kastelic’s retro feel, vibrantly hued, detailed illustrations rendered in tempera and watercolour, and Nadine Roberts’ lively text mostly in the form of dialogue (with some judicious use of capital letters), result in a book that is thought-provoking, and hints at the notion of neurodiversity

All in all, a sweet story with important messages about being true to yourself and showing respect to those with different ways of relating to the world.

King Mouse

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King Mouse
Cary Fagan and Dena Seiferling
Walker Books

As softly spoken as this fable is, its message is powerful, its theme highly pertinent.

The story begins with a wordless spread rendered in soft silvery graphite to which has been added very gentle digital colour.

Turning the page reveals a just woken hungry mouse discovering not food but a tiny crown in the grass.

The mouse dons the crown; it fits perfectly and very soon a bear comes along. “Are you a king?” he asks. The mouse considers briefly before replying in the affirmative. “Hail to the king!” comes the bear’s response.

Before long a crow and a tortoise have come along and they all set about collecting food for the ‘king’.

Up comes a fox suggesting they create a dramatic offering to alleviate the mouse’s boredom and the mouse voices his approval.

In the meantime a snake too discovers another crown in the grass and puts it on her head. The other animals decide she’s a queen and show due respect, all but mouse; he’s less than pleased.

Then it’s the fox’s turn to discover a crown – that’s two queens and before you can say ‘ruler’ the other animals all declare themselves either a king or a queen.

All that is except the bear and off he goes in search of a crown. Unsuccessful, the bear is downcast as he watches the others prancing round showing off their regality and then he shambles away.

The mouse notices his absence and seeks bear out. Then the little creature fashions a special gift for the bear

and together the two share and savour what is really important.

Who is the real leader here and what makes him/her so? These are questions you could invite the children you share this poignant book with to consider and talk about.

The thoroughly engaging story of inclusion and friendship ends with a beautiful balance  created by a final wordless page …

Throughout, Dena Seiferling’s illustrations provide additional visual interest with details you need to search for, as well as in the form of tiny playful vignettes on many of the pages of text.

I DIdn’t Do It!

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I Didn’t Do It!
Michael Foreman
Andersen Press

In his haste to see the finish of the Big Cycle Race would-be champion bike racer and proud owner of a new bicycle, Milo,

precipitates a concatenation of escalating chaos through the town, shouting “I didn’t do it” at every consequence of his determined haste to arrive before the competitors take the flag.

He does so, reaching the finish line just as the participants are about to make their final sprint,

and just in time to set off in hot pursuit after the thief as he makes off with the prize trophy.

Will Milo succeed in apprehending the dastardly cup snatcher?

What will happen to the baby that’s hurtling through the air and who will secure the prize trophy?

In this story Michael Foreman lets his wonderful watercolour illustrations do most of the talking, keeping the text to a minimum.

As a result, not only is this superb piece of slapstick a terrific read aloud book, but, with its speech bubbles and noises that orchestrate Milo’s journey, it’s also great for children in the early stages of their journey as readers. Make sure you read it to them first though.

Wild Wolf

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Wild Wolf
Fiona French
Otter Barry Books

The inspiration for Greenaway medal winner, Fiona French’s Wild Wolf story was an Algonquin folktale called ‘Moowis’. However, a sighting in the Rocky Mountains of a single black wolf by the author some ten years back inspired her to write a different ending from the original folktale’s sad conclusion.

It’s a story of pride and its consequences for Proud Girl and Bravest Warrior. There’s rejection, anger, revenge,

love,

remorse, forgiveness and the life saving action of the wise guardian spirit narrator Wild Wolf.

Finally though, it’s love that wins out.

The bright artwork executed in oil crayons, with added graphite and coloured pencil detail, is arresting and stunningly beautiful. Fiona’s illustrations are inspirited by First Nation costume, quillwork, embroidery and beadwork of the Algonquin people of Canada and North West USA. Every single spread is a visual feast; what a wise choice of the publishers to use matt paper for the pages. (Make sure you check out the gorgeous patterned endpapers.)

This wonderful book is rich in potential for classroom use and I have no doubt many readers, either at home or in school, will be reaching for oil pastels/crayons to experiment with their own designs after studying the art herein.

(A donation from sales of the book will go to the Katarokwi Grandmothers’ Council of Kingston, Ontario.)

I Am NOT An Elephant

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I Am NOT An Elephant
Karl Newson and Ross Collins
Macmillan Children’s Books

Hurrah! Team Karl/Ross have created a splendid sequel to their I am a Tiger with star of the show, Mouse, returning in all his naysaying glory, as he struggles against the odds to convince various beasties “I am NOT an elephant.” The odds being in turn, a lizard – who starts the concatenation of pachyderm positive ID-ing, followed by porcupine.

This sets our little rodent off doing some noisy acrobatics as evidence.

It’s of little use though, for up rocks a third creature going on about poor Mouse’s pong.

This leads him to make a shall we say, unwise claim, which almost ends in disaster; but our quick thinking Mouse tries another tack that includes some rather creative thinking,

culminating in a flying leap into unknown territory.

But hey! What’s this? If you’ve been observant from the outset, you’ll have noticed that Mouse reclining against a large subungulate foot nibbling a tasty fruit, and by now he’s rather anxious to finish dining so long as he’s not put off by any unexpected malodourous whiffs … after which it’s probably time to do away with his final claim and break into rhyme.

That way leaves the stage wide open for a third glorious episode of hilarity courtesy of Karl and Ross. They’ll be hard pressed to get Mouse to out-perform his show-stopping theatrics in this superb piece of silliness though.

Little Lost Fox

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Little Lost Fox
Carolina Rabei
Egmont

Despite the lack of other children in the vicinity of her country home, Kate is never lonely. Her friends and playmates are her toys; there’s story-loving Miss Bunny, Mr Ted, with a penchant for picnics and her favourite Ruby the Fox.

Imagine Kate’s distress when she notices Ruby has gone missing.

She searches everywhere and then spies a trail of pawprints that she follows until she discovers a real fox cub.

Kate implores the cub to return Ruby but the little creature only howls.

The little girl understands that the cub is lonely and decides that a cuddle from a parent will make everything feel all right.

Off they go together on a find Ruby’s mummy adventure that takes them first to a hollow tree wherein they see not a fox but a squirrel mummy. By the waterside there’s a mummy water vole but no mummy fox

and on the hillside a rabbit mummy appears.

Eventually Kate discovers more pawprints of the same shape as the cub’s, leading into a wood, a wood full of strange sounds. Suddenly a pair of green eyes stare out of the bushes and the cub heads straight for …

Now the hour is getting late and with the foxes reunited, Kate must head for home. It’s a long way; how will she find her way back safely? Perhaps with a bit of assistance from her new-found friends. Friends that will keep returning to spend more time with her …

This warm story of caring, determination and friendship is a delight. Carolina Rabei’s richly hued, detailed illustrations show so well the main characters’ changing feelings as well as the beautiful rural landscape setting.

Pug Hug

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Pug Hug
Zehra Hicks
Hodder Children’s Books

We first see Pug standing at the window looking out as his young owner departs for school.

Seemingly the dog is desperate for a hug. The trouble is no matter which animal he approaches, not a single one wants to hug.

Cat doesn’t like hugs, Hamster is too difficult to catch, Rabbit is busy chomping,

hugging a goldfish doesn’t really work. Maybe a parrot will oblige; but no, all he receives to his request is amusement at his efforts to please.

Lots of the potential huggers are fast asleep and it appears as though our hug seeker is about to give up in despair. But then he gets an offer, he definitely CAN refuse – and fast …

Will Pug ever have that elusive huggy moment he so much desires, and if so from what source?

Zahra’s smudgy, superbly expressive illustrations showing in particular, Pug’s entreaties, are enough to make any human – even those like this reviewer who isn’t a dog fan – feel like embracing him as he keeps on getting rebuffed.

The text takes the form of Pug’s requests and the responses from the animals along with a sequence of encouraging suggestions and comments from an external narrator.

The result is picture book harmony of words and pictures creating a story that is both funny and satisfying.

Boundless Sky

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Boundless Sky
Amanda Addison and Manuela Adreani
Lantana Publishing

It’s almost impossible to imagine how a bird tiny enough to fit into your hand could undertake a flight halfway round the world and back. One cool September morning however, as Alfie stands in his garden a little bird pays a brief visit before flying off over the fields towards the sea.

A mother on board one of the fishing boats comments to her son, “Off they go, flying south for the wintertime!”

The journey continues over snowy mountains where village children spy the home seeking flock. Then as Bird undertakes the hardest part of the journey over the desert, a little girl Leila calls, “Bird! Welcome to my home” offering a welcome drink to the visitor.

Having flown above the jungle to the river, over the plains and grasslands, Bird finally has a view of an African lake. Home at last.

Summer passes quickly and it’s time to start the return journey but when Bird stops at Leila’s oasis home, she receives no reply from the little girl.

As she crosses the ocean once again a storm blows up

and it’s an exhausted Bird that rests in a mountain village before continuing her flight back to a garden in a town from where she started her flight, and where Spring it on its way.

A delighted reunion takes place there …

Some things are left unsaid – but readers are shown so much more – in this beautiful, moving, tenderly illustrated story of flight, searching, and finding a home; and the story’s poignant homecoming finale will really touch your heart.

Rhinocorn Rules!

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Rhinocorn Rules!
Matt Carr
Egmont

Matt Carr’s Ron is a rhinocerus after my own heart – a fun and art loving, rule subverter, full of ideas of the divergent kind.

Being grumpy, a loner and ready to charge should anything approach is not for him. Instead Ron is at heart a fun-loving, art and music enthusiast, brimming over with creativity and joy. Moreover he wants to share his joyful ideas with the other animals but none of the rule-abiding creatures is interested.

Life for Ron is pretty mundane until one sweltering afternoon at the waterhole he catches sight of his dull reflection in the water. Thinking that if only he could show himself as he really is then friendship would follow, an idea strikes him and Elmer the patchwork elephant style, Ron sets to work with his creativity …

Once he’s dried off he is transformed into a true life work of art and as you might expect, he now feels A-MA-ZING!

Time to get himself noticed and so he does: first he impresses the meerkats and before long lots of animals are eager to have fun and be friends with the transformed Ron. Happiness at last.

Happiness however is not what his fellow rhinos feel; oh dear no. Ron is a total embarrassment, so they tell him.

Fortunately though, the meerkats stand up for their new friend and point out something that hadn’t occurred to the rhinos. Realisation dawns and then there’s only one thing to do … and Ron does it in one deft move of his forelimbs.

I wonder what new rules he created in place of old ones. What three would you have chosen?

Through his droll illustrations and heartfelt words Matt has created a thoroughly inspiriting story. The message is loud and clear: be true to yourself, be proud of who you are; and if that means finding a way round, over or under the rules then so be it, and good on you.

Love the cleverly worded title and the final ‘Did you know?’ page.

Everybody Counts

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Everybody Counts
Kristin Roskifte (translated by Siän Mackie)
Wide Eyed Editions

This immersive book subtitled ‘A counting story from 0 to 7.5 billion’ is the 2019 winner of the Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize. It’s easy to see why. It’s like no other counting book, that’s for sure and what is counted is people, people from 0 (no one) to 7.5 billion – the entire world.

The people are members of groups and many belong to two or more groups and so stories evolve around the characters, starting with a boy and his family making a total of 5.

You can follow these characters through the book, seeing how their various life stories intersect and diverge.

The narrator makes brief comments about people in their settings, for example in the classroom scene, of the 20 children ‘One of them is thinking about all the people who’ve lived before us. One of them has lost the class teddy bear. One of them is dreading football training. One of them will become prime minister.’

However, much is left unsaid so there are sufficient gaps for readers to fill and likely fill differently, on each reading.

Dive in, get lost in the pages, stop; study each one thoughtfully, and move on; eventually you’ll have met 2768 people. Then perhaps move back; the ‘spotting section’ at the end will certainly encourage you to do that.

Most importantly though, whatever other interpretations readers make, the indisputable messages that emerge are, that we are all part of one enormous, interconnected world group – the human race – and that each one of us has our own unique story, for as the title says, Everybody Counts.

Just imagine how many philosophy for children sessions might evolve if you start exploring this ingenious, visual festival of a book in the classroom.

Gnome

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Gnome
Fred Blunt
Andersen Press

I was recently thinking I hadn’t seen anything new from Fred Blunt and then this cracker from Andersen Press arrived in my mail.

Mr Gnome is a naysayer if ever there was one. No matter how politely the requests made to him are proffered, his response is always in the negative.

So, it’s “No” to accompanying him on his fishing expedition

and a resounding “NO” to coming to the aid of Mr Hedgehog, even for a reward.

As for the plea from the witch who does assist Mr Hedgehog, our curmudgeonly Gnome may be about to get his comeuppance when he flatly refuses to stop fishing in her pond.

Deliciously silly, Fred Blunt’s cautionary tale will have readers and listeners spluttering in delight especially at the finale but not just that. Every spread is chuckleworthy – it’s impossible to choose a favourite – and Fred’s comic timing is spot on as it builds up to the wonderful climactic revelation.

Share it here, share it there, share it everywhere you can: I wouldn’t mind betting you’ll get the same immediate “read it again” demand (maybe with the odd ‘please’) as you close the covers as I did.

Poems Aloud

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Poems Aloud
Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Daniel Gray-Barnett
Wide Eyed Editions

Joseph Coelho is a performance poet so it’s no surprise that the nineteen poems in this book are first and foremost, intended to be read aloud or performed. Through so doing children can have lots of fun and discover the pure pleasure of spoken words.

There are poems for a range of moods and for each one, Joseph provides a helpful introductory line or so about reading it out loud.

There are some short playful alliterative Tongue Twisters to start with, including the sibilant The Slime Takeover that children will definitely delight in:
‘Slipping, shimmering, stinking slime, / sloppy cerise or shades of scarlet sublime. / It sticks and sucks and spits and spools, snaking slime slumping several school walls./ The slime swells and stretches, and starts to sprout, … ‘

They’ll also relish The Chilly Chilli with its homophones. Here’s the second verse telling how it feels since being ‘shipped to store’:
‘A little chilly chilli / feeling cold and in a knot. / Not a happy, chilly chilli. / In fact, this chilli feels quite ill / like it’s caught the flu. / It flew all this way / packed in a plane / to add heat to otherwise plain food.’
It sounds as though the poet had as much fun composing this as youngsters will when they read it, emphasising the bold words as he suggests.

As I write today the following are my favourites  (although they might well be different on another day): This Bear with its figurative language such as is used in the opening verse:
‘This lumbering bear is old / This lumbering bumbling bear / has shuffled over rugged imagined mountains. / Urged his bulk, slow and strong. / Slow as geography. / Strong as tree growth / through the forests of his mind.’
What a wonderful picture that paints in the reader’s mind even without the splendid illustration.

I love too the short Animals offerings that include Lion: ‘I am meat-licker, / bone-cruncher, / big–meower. / I cat walk with pride. / My mane is a hairdo of envy. / My roar is a rumble of mountains. / My claws, a savannah of pain.‘ Superb!

Next is the fantastically fanciful Something Wondrous, the first line of which urges:
‘Peer from your window in the deep of night.’ You might spy these, for its second verse goes thus:
‘A unicorn nibbles the gold leaf tree, / hobgoblins fist-fight in every flower. Mermaids flop from a luminescing sea. / Earth giants show-off their hidden powers.’ Joseph’s  power with poem creating is certainly not hidden and I really like the use of silhouettes in Daniel Grey-Barnett’s illustration.

The final one of today’s favourites conjures up a place whose sights, sounds and smells I’m familiar with. Even if you’ve never been On the Streets of New Delhi this poem will make readers feel that they’re experiencing the place. Here’s how it begins:
‘On the streets of New Delhi / a small brown dog yawns. / The morning light is golden / on the new streets of barking New Delhi.’
It concludes, thanks to the cumulative nature of the last line of each verse: ‘on the new streets of barking, selling, thrumming, chuckling New Delhi.’
Get hold of this cracking book to discover what causes the thrumming and chuckling referred to. Or you could cheat and look carefully at the action-capturing illustration  below;

but buy the book anyway – it’s a smasher!

River Stories

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River Stories
Timothy Knapman, Ashling Lindsay and Irene Montano
Red Shed (Egmont)

Prepare to immerse yourself in Timothy Knapman’s tales of five rivers.

Our travels begin on the African continent with a trip along the Nile, at 6,695 km. the world’s longest river. Rising in the African jungle it comprises two tributaries, the Blue Nile and the White Nile, and flows through forests, mountains, lakes and deserts before reaching the Mediterranean Sea.

However its exact source is disputed. Timothy tells readers that one explorer John Hanning Speke declared the true source to be Lake Ukerewe (now called Lake Victoria).  During the trip we learn of festivals, historic events associated with the river, view some wildlife and visit the pyramids, tombs and temples of Egypt.

The second journey is along the Mississippi that extends the entire length of the US all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. This river is home to over 1000 animal species and flows through the site, I was fascinated to learn, of Cahokia, a lost 12th C city.

We’re in Europe for the third journey that takes us from a glacier in the Swiss Alps to the Netherlands where the Rhine’s delta is located.

There are mentions of music and musicians, magic, myths and legends, and sightings of fairytale forests as well as castles, windmills and bulb fields.

High on a Tibetan plateau is where the Yangtze journey starts. We read of dragons and dolphins, glimpse pandas and if the timing is right, see the amazing Dragon Boat Festival.

The Amazon with its incredible rainforest flora and fauna is the river of the fifth trip. There’s so much to discover and I was astonished to learn of Ed Stafford’s walk along its entire length, making him the first person to do so, a journey of 6,992 km that took him 860 days – WOW! Awesome!

There’s much of interest whether yours is history ancient or modern, geography, mythology or something else Timothy includes, and illustrators Aisling Lindsay and Irene Montano show in the engrossing, vibrant spreads that unfold to show the entire length of each river journey.

World stories to wallow in for sure.

Neither of the rivers I’m personally familiar with – the Thames and the Ganges – are included in Timothy’s book; now’s that another story – or many.

Karate Kids

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Karate Kids
Holly Sterling
Walker Books

Holly Sterling teaches karate and competed for England in karate, winning many medals, so it was almost inevitable that she would eventually create a picture book on the topic and here it is.

Let’s meet Maya who narrates the book, announcing before the story starts that she aspires to be a karate kid.

We then join her one Saturday morning as she dresses in her special suit (a gi) and sets off with her dad and soft toy lion to the dojo.

There she and her friends are greeted by their sensei or teacher, and then having removed their footwear, they bow to her and the class begins.

They warm up, practise blocks, then try out

and perform a patterned sequence of moves called ‘kata’ and conclude with mokuso (meditative breathing).

It’s evident that Maya as well as the other learners thoroughly enjoy participating in the session

and as she leaves Maya pauses to watch and admire one of the older children, a black belt wearer practising her kata.

In addition to showing Maya and her friends’ joyful enthusiasm for what they are learning, Holly’s lively art reflects her own enthusiasm both for karate and for portraying young children.

Be sure you check out the end papers of this karate-enticing book.

Show and Tell

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Show and Tell
Rob Biddulph
Harper Collins Children’s Books

I’m delighted to tell you that this piece of rhyming brilliance from Rob Biddulph is a February paperback publication – be sure not to miss it if you haven’t got the hardback.

How Rob does it time after time I can’t quite fathom, but the guy is surely a genius when it comes to picture books.

He sets this story in the classroom and he zooms us right there with the opening credits page with its trolley full of named drawers.

Having met the class in question 2L who so we’re told, are ‘excited’ we’re introduced to their teacher Mr Lumsden as he announces what they’ve all been waiting for – a show and tell session. “The child that impresses me most wins a prize,” he says.

Now there’s rabid competitiveness in 2L as is very quickly evident, but things begin quite simply with Adam and his lowly sunflower seed.

This is immediately poo-pooed by another class member as being “BORING!” She has something far superior, so she thinks – a tin of blue spaghetti.

Very soon the event turns in to an ‘anything you can do, I can do better’ competition as the items brought – goodness knows how – begin to escalate. We see a red robot, a racing car, immediately followed by an alligator,

and a space ship complete with alien operator, Zorg. Then we have Big Ben, out-bigged by a flaming volcano

and wait for it – the MOON!

There follows a totally unexpected, added bit of out of this world wackiness, before Mr Lumsden finally picks the winner.

Thereafter comes a brilliant twist that shows us all something really important. On this matter I’ll say no more.

When I was a class teacher, I never had ‘show-and-tell’ sessions for the very reason that Rob has so cleverly and humorously shown and told with his 2L.