Tag Katy Halford

There’s No Such Thing As … Fairies / One Goose Two Moose Three Raccoon Four Baboon

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These are both additions to popular series: thanks to Scholastic for sending them for review.

There’s No Such Thing As … Fairies
Lucy Rowland and Katy Halford

Having explored the possibilities of there being unicorns, elves, mermaids, dragons and ghosts, team Rowland and Halford turn their attention to Fairies in their latest search and find story. The young girl narrator has been told by her daddy that fairies don’t exist and she sets out to check the veracity of his assertion the very next day. First in the meadow where the family have a picnic, then the woodland stream, followed by the park, the beauty salon, the aircraft show

and the hothouse. She even checks out the dentist, the library and the theatre, after which she’s ready to agree with her dad, “There’s no such thing as fairies,” she confidently tells him, “It’s really TRUE.” Realising his little girl is upset dad lifts her up onto his shoulders and they start walking home. Suddenly a rainbow appears and …

Katy Halford’s vibrant, playful, detailed scenes wherein fairies hide in plain sight complement Lucy Rowland’s expressive, patterned rhyming narrative with its repeat refrain, making this a book that young children will find great fun and likely want to hear several times: oh how they love being in the know with the author.

One Goose Two Moose Three Raccoon Four Baboon
Kael Tudor and Nicola Slater

Rule stickler Simon is back and once again he’s having trouble getting the animals into their proper lines. Then there’s Moose who is as eager to help as ever..
In this instance help is definitely required during an animal outing to the park for which there are three vehicles, one for the raccoons, one for the geese and the third bearing the sign Magical Moose Tours. When it’s time to reboard their respective buses is when the problem starts. There are mix-ups of raccoons and baboons, hares and bears, bees and fleas, eels and seals, a cockatoo and kangaroos; even a fox and a box – hmm!

Poor goose is going crazy with frustration and confusion. Forward steps Moose hoping to give some assistance. Can he persuade Goose that there is more than one way to do things and allow the tour to continue?

Another gigglesome delight with a wealth of possibilities for preschoolers and beyond, from author Kael and illustrator Nicola.

There’s No Such Thing As Dragons

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There’s No Such Thing As Dragons
Lucy Rowland and Katy Halford
Scholastic

Prompted by the titular remark of his grandfather during a story-sharing session, a young child embarks on a mission: to find out whether or not dragons exist. Before leaving he packs the items he needs in his backpack and asks the readers to assist in the search. 

Then having checked his own abode the lad heads off up the hills, climbs a mountain, 

and then enters a forest, takes flight in a hot air balloon, tries the museum and several other places but with no success. He does find the occasional knight in the castle though, before heading to the final location on his list of possibilities: the rocky seashore below the castle.

As he sits checking his dragon book beside the entrance to a cave who should appear but his grandpa who has been searching for him all the time. Reluctantly the boy concedes “There’s no such thing as dragons” 

as the two watch the shadows dancing in the moonlight. Suddenly as they are about to depart, they hear a sound and there’s a distinct rise in the temperature … Then comes a surprise revelation: what could it be?

Lucy’s spirited rhyming text scans well, so it’s a good one to read aloud to a class or group; and individuals will enjoy scanning Katy Halford’s illustrations that underscore the whimsical humour of the story as they too search for the dragon hiding in plain sight.

There’s No Such Thing As … Unicorns

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There’s No Such Thing As … Unicorns
Lucy Rowland and Katy Halford
Scholastic

Whether or not you know youngsters who are besotted with unicorns (and that’s an awful lot even in my experience), or are acquainted with young search-and- find fans, then this story will likely appeal.

Its narrator is a little girl – a unicorn obsessive if her bedroom is anything to go by and when her big brother tells her that these magical creatures just don’t exist. she decides to try and prove him wrong.

Next morning having packed her bag with the necessary accoutrements, she sets out on a unicorn search. It’s a search that takes her to a variety of places – a farm, the zoo, a lake …

the woods, each of which yield negative results. Now what about the meadow? That looks more promising, but no unicorns appear to frolic among the ponies. Nor are they evident at the seaside, even in the dark depths of that cave …

Equally, the school classroom and the park in the gathering dark furnish for our seeker, not a single unicorn sighting and so disillusioned, she takes refuge to let her tears flow.

Suddenly who should appear but her brother who’s been hunting, not for unicorns but for his little sister. A comforting cuddle ensues and then, under the twinkling stars, the two make a wish …

With its repeat titular refrain,, Lucy’s rhyming telling as always, is a delight to read aloud, and if you share it with more than one or two little ones at a time, make sure you leave plenty of time for listeners to peruse each of Katy’s busy scenes. They simply burst with enchanting details and rainbow hues; and of course there’s that elusive one-horned creature lurking somewhere at each location.

My Friends and Me

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My Friends and Me
Stephanie Stansbie and Katy Halford
Little Tiger

Families come in many different forms; this book celebrates that diversity. It’s narrated by a cheerful child who introduces, matter-of-fact style, families belonging to several friends.

There’s Kate who has two dads, best friend Harry with just his multi-talented mum

and Olivia with two sisters, two mums and a little brother. Then comes Lily with two homes, one belonging to her dad, the other to her mum.

Some friends are especially good for sleepovers: one lives in an enormous mansion, another in a caravan and a third, on a boat.

Hannah on the other hand, lives with her foster mum (among others in the household) Then there’s Ned’s mum who turns out to be not the man people originally thought but a super-surfer all the same.

In fact each of the families is a happy one and love is the key, not least in the narrator’s own, for we discover that this young child lives with granny and grandpops who are the ‘coolest grown-ups’.

The up-beat tone of the narrator is reflected in Katy Halford’s bright, cheery illustrations that have lots of amusing details such as ‘Frank’ the goldfish and Harry’s toy bear Bon-Bon.

Presenting as it does both traditional and non-traditional family units, this book would be especially helpful for teachers exploring families as a theme ; and of course it’s worth pointing out that every family is in some ways, different from every other one.