Tag Catherine Emmett

The Rainbow Flamingo

jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Rainbow Flamingo
Catherine Emmett and Claire Powell
Simon & Schuster

Adele the flamingo is desperate to be like her pink contemporaries, indeed she appears pink from the outside but within are colours she has great difficulty hiding – rainbow colours. With the annual Flamboyance fast approaching, having without success upped her diet of shrimps, Adele is sick with worry. This year her class is to give a dance display and poor Adele is sure she won’t be able to hide all her colours inside. Making excuses to leave the practice, she goes home feeling totally alone. There she summons her courage and goes to find her mum; but mum flamingo is too busy with her culinary activities to pay heed to her daughter’s approach.

Off goes Adele in search of something to consume that might make those feathers turn pink. The outcome of her hunt is a colour change but now to Adele’s extreme concern, she is green all over.

Then she spies her mum and tries explaining but her tears speak louder than any words. However, once home again, she’s finally able to confide in her mum. No more hiding for Adele, especially the following day at the Flamboyance. With her eyes on mum’s proud face, the little flamingo joins the other dancers, breathes deeply and opens wide her wings, dancing and prancing in her full glory.

Who do you think is the winner of the crown? It turns out that some of Adele’s friends have hues of their own too.

With its empowering, motivating message, ‘don’t be afraid, wear your colours with pride.’ Catherine’s rhyming text and Claire’s suitably elegant illustrations convey Adele’s mounting anxiety splendidly. It takes lots of courage to be yourself, as the young flamingo finally did, but trying to be somebody you aren’t will never make you happy.

Definitely a book to share and discuss in KS1 classrooms as well as at home.

The Pet

jillrbennett Leave a comment

The Pet
Catherine Emmett and David Tazzyman
Macmillan Children’s Books

Young Digby David is a demanding sort of a boy, especially when it comes to wanting a pet, and happily for him, his dad is an obliging sort of guy, maybe somewhat over indulgent. So when the lad issues one of his urgent stipulations, what does Daddy do (after his hair has turned slightly grey that is) but pick up the phone to the pet shop. Before long there they stand in the shop with Digby insisting on having, contrary to the owner’s advice, the hairiest rodent there. Dad offers double the price and off they go. Digby is a loving guinea pig owner – but for a mere half day, after which the poor creature is left untended in her hutch.
Things continue in similar fashion. Digby wants to better Lily Jean’s cat,

Lola’s frog, and Dipak’s froggy threesome and each time it’s a case of Dad gaining a few more grey hairs, calling the pet shop and making an extravagant purchase.

But then what should catch young mister ‘I WANT’s eye but Gus the gorilla.
Mr David parts with all his cash (is he crazy?) and finally Digby is happy. For a while at least, but then as the novelty wears off, so does the attention Gus is paid.

What does a bored gorilla do? This one decides to make a break for it. And we’ll leave the large hairy creature there …

But what of Digby, you might be wondering. Sorry but I’m going to leave that matter hanging too …

Delivered in jaunty rhyme that reads aloud brilliantly (so long as you can resist the urge to dissolve into giggles), and David Tazzyman’s wonderfully droll, scribblesome illustrations, this is a corker of a cautionary tale showing how crucial it is to take proper care of your pets – whatever they are. Oh! and stop and think before you wish …

Destined to become a firm favourite with both adult sharers and their young audiences.

King of the Swamp

jillrbennett Leave a comment

King of the Swamp
Catherine Emmett and Ben Mantle
Simon & Schuster

In a dark dank swamp living peacefully alone and growing orchids in his neat garden, is McDarkly.

One day, this peaceful existence is shattered by a royal entourage led by a roller skating enthusiast King who wants to turn the swamp into a roller-skate park.

However at McDarkly’s mention of orchids the Princess’s ears prick up and an agreement is made that the royal party will give the orchid cultivator just ten days for his orchids to bloom so that the princess can learn from these wonderful plants.

Determined to save his swampy environment from the King’s destructive clutches, McDarkly labours night and day, and as his allocated time is about to end, he comes upon a small green grub on one of the leaves.

Disaster! But all the more so when the one proves to be a great many of the wrigglers and they devour his precious flowers overnight.

Back come the royals, with the King in high spirits when he discovers the lack of orchid flowers. Once again though, it’s down to the Princess to save the day …

Delectably silly, Catherine Emmett’s rhyming tale is an exceedingly clever and enormously enjoyable way of putting across an environmental message or two so that young audiences will be both greatly amused and one hopes, ready to get behind the conservation crusade that still needs lots more activists.

Ben Mantle’s comical scenes are rich in detail – daft and otherwise. Who can fail to giggle over the sight of McDarkly sitting atop a bush outside his home sipping tea from a china cup, or that of the creature singing to his plants.