You Choose in Space / Ludwig the Sea Dog

You Choose In Space
Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodhart
Puffin Books

The You Choose series just gets better and better: now young children can whizz off on countless journeys of discovery in the pitch black of outer space. They can choose their jobs aboard the space-craft; select some snazzy gear to wear; there’s a weird and wonderful assortment of potential friends to get to know;

a whole different diet to sample and much more.
The great thing- or one of them –is, there’s a seemingly limitless choice of possibilities, so that with each blast off, a whole new out-of-this-world story can unfold in glorious technicolour.
The Sharratt/Goodhart team truly have conjured up an inclusive and wonderfully interactive, treat for young space enthusiasts, as well as those who like to be in the driving seat when it comes to a story.

Ludwig the Sea Dog
Henning Lōhlein
Templar Publishing

In this, the second adventure of Ludwig and his friends, the dog receives from his pal, Peter the penguin, whose submarine has broken down, a postcard requesting his assistance.
How on earth or under sea, for that’s where Peter is stuck – is a book-dwelling dog supposed to go to the aid of a friend beneath the ocean?
There are of course, plenty of books to tell him about marine life but these don’t prove as helpful as Ludwig anticipates.

He has to be rescued, and then discovers that water is not his favourite medium.
Perhaps he’ll have better luck with a spot of fairy tale magic, courtesy of the book he’s left in to dry out;

that and of course, some further assistance from his friends.
I’ll say no more other than to recommend that you open the envelope at the front of the book, put on those 3D sea goggles and prepare yourself for an amazing underwater experience. There’s even a fold out spread to explore.

Where the Bugaboo Lives

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Where the BUGABOO Lives
Sean Taylor and Neal Layton
Walker Books
How many ways are there to read a story? In this instance, I’m still trying to discover the answer. It assuredly puts the reader very much in control; you can if you wish stop reading at page 7 for instance; or …
I took the scary option and went with Ruby and her brother Floyd (who is desperate to retrieve his ball that’s rolled down into the valley wherein the scariest of all creatures THE BUGABOO resides). Eventually I found myself here

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but you can of course guess what I did then …
You might be pierced by a prickle-beast, eviscerated by a hungry Old English Spook, tossed terrifyingly by a troll, stunk out by a scuttling spider, drooled upon by a demon, battered by a bony hobgoblin

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or worse. It all depends whether you go uphill or down; follow the spring path or the autumn one; wander on a winter way

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or take a summer stroll, head for the smoke or the coloured lights.
This one comes with a parental warning as it’s overflowing with the kind of terrifying creatures that will make adults run for cover. The whole thing is crammed with crocs, bedevilled with blood-sucking mosquitoes,

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inhabited by giant infants, a-fire with fearsome fiends, sweetly scented by snooze-inducing sniffers – daisies actually but pretty powerful ones. And that’s not all.
Oh! And if kisses aren’t your thing, be alert and join Floyd and Ruby in their mad homeward dash. PHEW!
I foresee family fights ensuing over this book and one copy in a classroom will definitely not be enough to cope with the demand.
Gloriously ghoulish, amazingly awesome and eminently re-readable; it’s brimming over with visual and verbal delights.
Miss this one at your peril. Or perhaps that should be, get hold of it at your peril.

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