Tag Amanda Francey

Jonathan! / The Best Mum

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These are two recent paperback from New Frontier Publishing – thanks to the publishers for sending them for review

Jonathan!
Peter Carnavas and Amanda Francey

Jonathan has great fun dressing up in different costumes and scaring other members of his family when they least expect it. No matter what he wears the response from in turn his dad, sister and mum is “Not scary, Jonathan.’

Disheartened he walks away and soon discovers that he’s climbing a lumpy, bumpy hill. After a conversation boy and beast head back towards the house. Seemingly he’s now found the ideal scary trick.

Peter Carnavas’ simple rhyming story accompanied by Amanda Francey’s expressive watercolour and pencil illustrations make for a fun read aloud with a twist in its tail.

The Best Mum
Penny Harrison and Sharon Davey

The little girl narrator of this rhyming story compares her mum to lots of others she knows, recounting the many ways her friends’ mums are better skilled than hers. But is there ever a perfect mum? Would she be the one who can make incredible costumes for dressing up days, or the one who roller skates gracefully, the disco dancer and pop song singer; is she the one who’s always on time or the baker of delicious treats?

Despite all her own mum’s shortcomings and embarrassing acts, at the end of the day she’s still THE best mum who gives the best cuddles. Who would have expected any other conclusion?

Lots of fun and a great conversation opener, and hilariously illustrated by Sharon Davey whose daft details are sure to make you laugh.

Swish & Squeak’s Noisy Day / Take Ted Instead

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Swish & Squeak’s Noisy Day
Birgitta Sif
Andersen Press
Swish is a mouse with super-efficient ears that she puts into action from those first waking moments of the cacophonous day described in Birgitta’s Sif’s sweet tale.
The CRUNCH CRUNCH sounds she hears coming from downstairs aren’t as she first thinks, a crocodile consuming the kitchen table; rather it’s Squeak, her younger sibling, enthusiastically munching breakfast cereal. And so it goes on with some gentle noises of preparations for school and some not so gentle …

The walk to school and lessons therein are equally full of eeeeks, munches, squeaks, toots, pump ums and bah bas – it’s small wonder Swish’s head is in a spin …

but those ears really come into their own in the melee of the playground at home time.
All this invitingly join-in-able onomatopoeia (great for developing sound/symbol relationships) and more, forms an integral part of Sif’s captivatingly whimsical scenes of sibling affection executed in predominantly soft pinks, rose, purple and teal hues.
A lovely celebration of the sibling bond and incidentally …

of the peace and quiet of libraries.

Take Ted Instead
Cassandra Webb and Amanda Francey
New Frontier Publishing
The 3Rs of reading – rhyme, rhythm and repetition – rule in this tale of a mother trying to coax her reluctant toddler up to bed. The little lad tries putting forward a host of alternatives: the dog, the baby his cat, his older brother, a toy robot, a neighbour and even his goldfish (each has a name rhyming with ‘sleepy head’) …

but Mum is having none of it. In fact she uses Ted and a spot of reverse psychology to get the resister where she wants him.
A fun read aloud for adult and child to share at bedtime. Equally, with the key ingredients for beginning reading integral to the story, and playful illustrations that work with the text, this is an ideal book for children just starting out as readers to try for themselves.

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