Tag celebration

The Great Zoo Hullabaloo! / Scaredy Cat

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The Great Zoo Hullabaloo!
Mark Carthew and Anil Tortop
New Frontier Publishing

An unusual and unexpected silence greets zoo-keepers Jess and Jack when they open the zoo gates one morning. But where, oh where are all the animals?

The observant young keepers spot all sorts of evidence of their recent presence and realise that the animals have left a trail of feathers, footprints and ‘scats’ (poo).

They decide to split up and Jess’s parting words to Jack as he starts scooping up the poops are to ‘keep an eye out for that rascally rat.’ That’s a wonderful ‘Look – he’s behind you’ opportunity for listeners.

As the sun starts to sink, Jess is still searching when she hears drifting on the breeze, all kinds of musical sounds.

Then comes a FLASH in the sky as a flare goes off, (She’s also instructed Jack to send up a flare should he find himself in trouble – so is he?)

Jess follows the floating feathers towards the light, which as she draws near, she sees is coming from a forest up ahead.

Suddenly from the bushes, Jack emerges and he leads her to where sitting around a fire making music are all the missing animals. They’re having a whale of a time hopping, bopping, tooting, hooting, whistling, and kangaroo plays a didgeridoo – what a hullabaloo. (Wonderful language play in the form of onomatopoeia and alliteration is dropped into the rhyming text here)
What’s it all in aid of though?

Drawing in closer, they see, curled up cosily in a zookeeper’s shoe is a baby roo: – ‘Softly she slept in the warm furry bed, / flamingo feathers tucked under her head.’

Right up beside her however is a coiled snake holding aloft a celebratory offering. Time to waken the sleeper from her slumbers …

Then all that’s left to do is sing a special song before wending their way home by the light of the moon.

With a wonderful assortment of creatures and musical instruments portrayed by Anil Tortop in his effervescent scenes of the animals’ antics absolutely bursting with sound, (that rat manages to get itself into many of them) and Mark Carthew’s splendid read aloud text, the book is a superb amalgam of the visual and verbal. A gift for listeners and readers aloud too: get out those instruments, bring on the HULLABALOO!

More inspired Anil Tortop illustrations can be found in:

Scaredy Cat
Heather Gallagher and Anil Tortop
New Frontier Publishing

A little girl has lost her pet: ‘Have you seen my Scaredy Cat? /He’s afraid of this and afraid of that!’ she tells us as she searches high and low.
Bees, towering trees, Granny’s sneeze – a super duper kind – noises, certain toys, climbing, sprawling, brawling boys, hoses, noses, muck, ducks and garbage trucks,

all these things and more have him running scared: but where has he chosen to hide?

Could it be among the books or hooks? His owner can deal with those (love her attitude)

as well as the crooks, so where has he gone, this hissing, erm … moggie, that object of her affections?
The combination of Heather Gallagher’s frolicsome, bouncy rhyme and Tortop’s funny scenes (love all the varying viewpoints) is a delightfully entertaining romp of friendship and tease.

Monty Monkey & Elsie Elephant / Happy Birthday to You!

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Monty Monkey
Elsie Elephant
Nikki Dyson
Nosy Crow

Two additions to the sound button series of stories both told in rhyme by Nikki Dyson.
Monty is a monkey that tires of his diet of bananas and searches the jungle for alternative ‘fruity treats’. He takes a pineapple belonging to some parrots, snatches a juicy mango from the mouth of Snake and helps himself to a couple of Aardvark’s coconuts. Just as he’s about to tuck in, along comes a large gorilla and …

Elsie lives on the plains and one night she decides to stay up and play. The trouble is she wants other animals to play with her, animals that would far rather be fast asleep under the starry skies.
Will she ever snuggle down for some shut-eye and if so, when?

Despite the brevity of these stories, their main characters, have, in Nikki Dyson’s illustrations real personalities that very young children can relate to. Those same children will delight in pressing the sound buttons that make authentic monkey and elephant sounds.

Happy Birthday to You!
Nicola Slater
Nosy Crow

Bear, Badger and Cat set out, each with a musical instrument: Bear plays her flute, Badger his guitar, Cat her violin and they all seem to be heading for the same destination. What could it be?
Then along comes little Otter. He too turns up at the same place as the other animals. Could there be a special celebration within?
Find out in this jolly interactive board book; it includes music and a special final light-up surprise.

Just right for sharing on a toddler’s special day.

Dylan the Baker

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Dylan the Baker
Guy Parker Rees
Alison Green Books

Dylan the exuberant stripy dog is back once again and this time we join him as he dons a chef’s hat and apron ready to bake a birthday cake – his favourite extra special Choccy-Banana one for his pal Jolly Otter.

The trouble is that right from when those wonderful baking smells start wafting from the oven, Dylan’s tum starts to rumble.

Trying not to eat the yummy cake becomes Dylan’s major preoccupation as he removes it from the oven, leaves it on the table and dashes outside to distract himself.

It’s there that his friends Purple Puss and Titchy Chick find him and they too join Dylan in the not-eating-cake activities. First it’s head-standing, then spinning around in the woods,

followed by swinging and a host of other games; the problem being that before long Dylan isn’t the only one suffering from tummy rumbles and super salivation.

Will Jolly Otter get even so much as a sniff of his birthday cake when three friends all have an irresistible urge to sink their teeth into the delicious confection?

Look out for Dotty Bug, another of Dylan’s pals who pops up on every spread encouraging listeners to join in with this fun story. And fun it certainly is especially as the anticipation builds with those ‘Rumbly-tumbly- grumbly GRUM tummies, not to mention Dylan’s song to sing along with; and the final twist in the baking bonanza is entirely satisfying.

 

Moreover, if you fancy trying some of Dylan’s cake, he’s been kind enough to include a recipe at the end of his story.

Young, Gifted and Black

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Young, Gifted and Black
Jamia Wilson and Andrea Pippins
Wide Eyed Editions

‘All children deserve to see themselves represented positively in stories. That’s why we’re highlighting the talent and contributions of black change-makers from around the world – for readers of all backgrounds to discover.’ So say the creators of this splendid book in their introduction.
It’s a sterling objective and one that is achieved with panache.

The title itself comes from Nina Simone’s song, ‘To Be Young, Gifted and Black’ and the book features 52 iconic activists, politicians, film directors, actors, entrepreneurs, athletes and other sporting legends,

writers, artists, scientists, singers, musicians and more from around the world.

Jamia Wilson introduces each one with a short biography that encompasses details about their birth (and death if relevant), their accomplishments and achievements, and includes a powerful quotation. Here are a few:
‘Reading is an exercise in empathy, an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.’ (Malorie Blackman);
‘Children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but the content of their character.’ Martin Luther King, Jr.
‘If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.’ Shirley Chisholm;
‘It’s the little things citizens do. That’s what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees.’ Wangari Maathai.
‘It always seems impossible until it’s done.’ Nelson Mandela.

The order of presentation is seemingly random and the majority of those featured are from the 20th century although there are also some earlier icons such as Mary Seacole and Alexandre Dumas.

Andrea Pippin’s illustrations are rendered predominantly in shades of pink, green, yellow, red and each double spread has a pleasing unifying design and colour palette.

This is a fine tribute to the black changemakers included, an inspiring read for youngsters and a must have book for Black History Month.

I’ve signed the charter  

Nursery Bookshelf

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You’re Three!
You’re Four!
You’re Five!
Shelly Unwin and Katherine Battersby
Allen & Unwin
Here are three little books dedicated to being a particular age, each one using different animal characters – a small one and an adult.
Celebrating being three is a little alligator; a small meerkat and a parent look at the specialness of becoming four; and a young goat plus parent explore what being five brings.
Weaving in such concepts as basic one to one counting, addition, numbers, shapes, change, seasons, and the senses into her rhyming text, the author gently builds in opportunities to extend the listener’s language while at the same time celebrating each specific age.
Thus being Three encompasses some favourite fairy tale titles, being halfway up and the idea of triplets.

Four introduces compass points, quarters and the seasons;

and Five mentions the vowels, days of the week, questioning words and the senses.

Each book will need a fair bit of adult/child discussion and exploration with the aid of Katherine Battersby’s engaging art; but the most important element every time is the specialness of the child at which ever age they are.
As a teacher I’ve always been concerned about parents trying to make their children look and act older than they are; these small books are a helpful counter to that.

Archie’s First Day at School
Archie Goes to the Doctor
Emma Brown
Cico Kids
The creator of the Shady Bay Buddies books and soft toys, Emma Brown, a crochet expert, started making up the stories when her daughters were young, and these two titles are part of a series that aims to provide reassurance and information to help very young children overcome their ‘first time’ anxieties.
In the first story Archie sets off for his first day at school with Bunny his toy, his big sister, Amber and his mum. He’s greeted at the door by his teacher, bids his mum farewell, chooses a coat peg and then is allocated somewhere to sit
Soon he’s busy making a model and accidentally spills paint on Bunny.

He spills milk on him at snack time: seemingly Archie is rather excited.
Outside play is followed by lunch with his friend Breeze.
After a story, it’s time to go home and Amber is waiting for him, although surprisingly, not his mum. Archie says he’s enjoyed himself but isn’t too sure about Bunny.
In the second story Archie is outside with his sister and being very adventurous on the swing when suddenly he finds himself on the ground with a hurt arm.
He’s somewhat alarmed to hear he has to go to the doctors with Mum.
In the waiting room he meets his friend Breeze who has earache. Soon it’s time to go into Doctor Hodge’s surgery where after an examination of his arm, Archie learns nothing is broken but he needs to wear a sling.

Then after a quick reassuring chat to Breeze, he goes off home.
With interesting mixed-media backdrops (listeners can search for Archie’s bunny at every turn of the page), appealing cuddly toy characters, and stories told simply and directly, these books should help allay first time nerves.

The Wish Tree

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The Wish Tree
Kyo Maclear and Chris Turnham
Chronicle Books
When I taught reception age children we’d sometimes have a wish tree as part of the classroom environment, perhaps for the International Day of Peace or as part of an RE theme. Of course it wasn’t a whole tree, just a branch that had broken off and been collected for the occasion. Now here’s a storybook character wanting to find a wish tree in the great outdoors. His brother and sister dismiss the idea but with his trusty ‘Boggan’ for company, Charles sets out into the snowy world on his quest to find one.

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Up hill and down they search, venturing into the woods where they stop to help various animals and make some new friends;

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but try as they might, they cannot find a wish tree. Evening is nigh and the searchers are weary; they can go no further. But then something truly wonderful and magical happens as Charles and Boggan’s kindnesses are rewarded.

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His newfound friends help him on his way and when he wakes up, he sees before him a snow-laden pine tree. Charles writes a wish, ties it to the tree and then he, Boggan and the animals partake of a seasonal feast together.

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As the moon glows in a star-filled sky, Charles and Boggan finally make their way home to bed and perhaps to dream.
The snowy scenes have a subtle pinkish glow that radiates the wonderful warmth of the story despite the chilly outdoor setting. Openheartedness and friendship win through in this subtle tale of determination and tenacity.
With its in-built repetition that offers listeners opportunities to join in with those ‘La-di-da-di-da-daaaa’s of Charles and Boggan’s ‘Whishhhhh’ songs, this is a lovely book to share as temperatures drop and the nights draw in. I love the magical elements and the way gaps are left for readers and listeners to fill for themselves.

Toddler Delights

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City Block
Christopher Franceschelli and Peskimo
Abrams Appleseed
In this exploration of city life, through clever use of alternating shaped and whole pages we are shown city life from subway to high rise level and everything between. The book is divided into three parts: ways of getting around, places of interest …

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and finally, things to eat. The die cut shape on the first spread suggests its fuller context when the page is turned (or opened) and this pattern is used throughout and in all, two dozen aspects of city life are featured in a whacking 96 pages. Perfectly sized for small hands, we are treated to a series of linked illustrations of what makes a city: its transport systems …

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the multitude of places to visit, food to sample …

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and all – if you really go for it – in a day …

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Goodnight, City!

I really like the way we are gradually shown smaller aspects of this sprawling metropolis – the very different places that all contribute to its fascination and excitement. What are you waiting for, go exploring …

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Hey Diddle Diddle
Happy Birthday
illustrated by Yu-hsuan Huang
Nosy Crow
Littles will delight in moving the sliders and bringing to life the favourite songs in these two chunky ‘Sing Along With Me’ board books. In the first, the illustrator uses a fairground setting adding a whole cast of characters to those from the rhyme and there is plenty to talk about in the jolly scenes.

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The cow jumped over the moon.

In the second book, it’s a little rabbit that shares his birthday celebration with readers and of course, his party guests.
Because of the repetition and simple rhyming pattern, reading familiar songs (in addition to singing them) is a very good way to teach beginning reading; and the young child gradually starts to match the words on the page with those in his or her head. By scanning the QR code on the inside cover of each book, users can download an audio version to keep and sing/read along with. (Instructions are provided,)

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Eek! A Mouse Seek-and-Peek
Anne-Sophie Baumann and Anne-Kathrin Behl
Twirl Books
Talk about flap extravaganza – this surely is it – as we join a mischief of mice as they rummage, room after room, through a house, seeking paraphernalia for a party. Starting in the basement they search containers large and small. Next stop is the bedroom – ooh! some secrets here –

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then the kitchen, the bathroom, the attic and …

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What a well-organised household these mice have found. And what fun to explore it with them, opening all those boxes, cans, cabinets, tins and cases listening to their comments as they collect all manner of exciting items and have a few surprises and the odd tasty morsel too.
Comic scenes abound and this is certain to get a lot of enthusiastic handling, not to mention squeals of delight: I only hope it can stand up to the multiple readings I envisage.

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Ready, Steady Mo!

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Ready Steady Mo!
Mo Farah, Kes Gray and Marta Kissi
Hodder Children’s Books
I doubt many youngsters will be able to resist Mo’s invitation to RUN! According to the champ, there’s nowhere you can’t run – to the kitchen, around the furniture, down the hallway, up the stairs …

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and nothing you can’t run in – your slippers (it might be a bit tricky however), your vest, your onesie – though maybe it’s best to get dressed first.

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Then go out and run anywhere be it daylight or dark. Mo does not recommend running in class however (and interestingly he attended the secondary school nearest to a primary I taught at (before his rise to fame) so he knows all about that; and he was, I hear, a bit of a handful at school as a new arrival from Somalia, until a PE teacher recognized his talent and he found a channel for his energy and high spirits.
Our champ recommends running with friends or family and perhaps even with animals or … in space and right around the entire universe …

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Out of puff? There’s only one thing to do …

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Love, love love him and this book with its terrific, brimming over with energy, illustrations from Marta Kissi; she really has done him proud; and Kes Gray’s rhyming text, that really does make you wanna get up and go – with little MO! Like the inspirational Mo himself; it’s a real winner. (There are even photos of Mo and his gorgeous family inside the back cover.)
What are you waiting for: don those trainers and GO! GO! GO! You may not make this August’s Olympics but you’ll soon feel a whole lot better …

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A Day I Remember

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A Day I Remember
Prodeepta Das
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
Set in Odisha, (spelt Orissa when I visited the state) subtitled An Indian Wedding, this is a first person account of the special role played by young Swayam at his uncle’s wedding. Swayam is thrilled because he has been chosen to act as markundi, which means he wears special clothes and visits the bride’s home with the groom Natu Mamu (his uncle).
Before all that though, there are many preparations including washing the house,

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red dye is put on the womens’s feet, mehndi patterns are put on the hands of the girls (Swayam has some too) and holy Hindu designs are drawn in the courtyard of the house.
On the wedding day itself Swayam puts on his special new clothes making him look like a prince,

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then it’s off to Puri in the wedding car to a musical accompaniment. At the venue itself, there’s a welcome from the priest, a delicious dinner and then comes the joining of the bride and groom by the pundit after which the couple walk around the holy fire,

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then make their promises to one another.
The newly weds finally get back to the village when it’s almost daybreak. There’s a welcoming, the guests see the bride, give their presents and finally, there’s more feasting. What an exciting day for everyone especially the young narrator Swayam.
Most of what Swayam describes so clearly is typical of all Hindu weddings although of course, as with most celebrations, there are local variations.
With its wealth of colourful photographs, very readable text and aptly designed, bordered pages, this is a book that should be of interest to all. Definitely a worthwhile investment for any primary school library collection and I’d keep another as part of an RE topic box so it’s always there when needed.
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Prodeepta Das has also wielded his camera to great effect in this collaboration with Beverley Naidoo

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S is for South Africa
Frances Lincoln pbk
What better way to open this alphabetic celebration than the invitation of the children outside the Apartheid Museum “Let’s build a country for all of us to share.”
Food, sport, the seaside, gold, homes, jewellery, wildlife, languages, music and of course, Mandela are just some of the topics featured in this fascinating and uplifting book.
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