Tag Little Door Books

One Button Benny and the Dinosaur Dilemma

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Thank you to Little Door Books for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for the new Benny story; please check out the other participants’ posts.

One Button Benny and the Dinosaur Dilemma
Alan Windram and Chloe Holwill-Hunter
Little Door Books

It’s great to see robot Benny back for a third adventure and what an eventful one it is despite the fact that it’s set on a Friday, which should be more relaxed as it’s when he and his fellow robots get together for their weekly dance party. Moreover, during the last week Benny hasn’t needed to press that large red emergency button on his tummy even once.

Having spent the party morning working on their dance moves, the robots decide they need a bit more practice so off they go to the park. There they hone their boogieing, 

then take a super-high jump, landing simultaneously. This causes a massive THUMP and the ground opens under their feet causing them all to cascade down, down into a deep dark hole.

Time to press that red button, decides Benny; the result being they narrowly escape being smashed to smithereens.
Seemingly however, that is just the start of their troubles for, from the surrounding blackness comes first a grumbling sound 

and then a tremendous ROARRRR. You can probably guess what was making those sounds.

Can Benny’s emergency button save them once again? And can they get back from whence they came in time for that funky Friday night dance party?

Chloe Holwill-Hunter’s engaging illustrations really do turn the robots, especially Benny, into real characters able to dance the night away and to empathise with anyone in need..

Who’s for apple pie?

Scotty Plants a Seed

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A big thank you to Little Door Books for inviting me to participate in this blog tour.

Scotty Plants a Seed
Conn Iggulden and Lizzy Duncan
Little Door Books

Scotty is a small black dog living on the island of Mull with a fisherman, having been blown in by a storm. One day, deciding the pup needs a collar, the fisherman takes down the one that had once belonged to Scotty’s mother and places it around the pup’s neck. Hanging from it is a tag that neither of them can read but it certainly has an effect on Scotty. Off he races to see his friend Owl and show off his brand new collar.

Owl declares that the writing on the tag is old, which impresses Scotty but he then pees against Owl’s tree displeasing his friend who is further upset at Scotty calling his home ‘a sort of a stick, but well, bigger instead.’

As Owl proceeds to talk of the wonderful trees he has seen – the shady banyan and the enormous Caoba – he notices Scotty’s collar begin to glow

and suddenly the pup disappears. Seemingly his collar fob acts as some kind of transportation device taking him first to India

and then to Brazil. There Scotty sees the two trees Owl spoke of, but manages to displease first a group of children and then a monkey by peeing.

When Owl catches up he’s both exhausted and without much of his plumage:Scotty though is eager to visit the plains of Africa. There a ranger points out an area of reforestation. ‘Just one little voice – just one seed in the ground, / One voice that can wake the whole world with its sound!’ he says to Scotty.

Eventually the two friends return to Owl’s tree, Owl almost completely sans feathers and guess what Scotty does. You can probably guess too what they both do the following morning …

Told through a rhyming narrative and bold, dramatic illustrations that capture the grandeur of the trees and contrasting desolation of a felled forest, this environmental adventure is an unusual way of presenting the alarming fact that trees all over the world are in danger. However it’s also one of hope, encouraging the vital importance of planting trees and caring for those we already have. Nobody is too small to make a difference.

Don’t forget to search for the hidden seed on every spread.

Grizzly Ben

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A big thank you to Little Door Books for inviting me to take part in the blog tour for this book.

Grizzly Ben
Alan Dapré and Alex Ayliffe
Little Door Books

Ben is grizzly bear mad, so much so that he asks for one for his birthday. That of course is not what he finds in the large parcel that awaits in his bedroom.

Less than impressed with his ursine gift, Ben sets about training Cuddly to be a Grizzly Bear. Things however don’t quite go as intended. The honey-eating lesson,

fishing demonstration and tree climbing certainly produce transformations, just not to Cuddly. He’s left stuck up a tree while, finding it all too much to bear, Grizzly Ben stomps angrily around in the garden till he falls fast asleep from exhaustion.

When he wakes, Grizzly Ben spies something very alarming.

What he needs at that moment is a warm. cosy BIG HUG from a certain cuddly toy. Could such a hug perhaps work another transformation?

The cleverly constructed tale, full of humour and a fair amount of havoc, is complemented by Alex Ayliffe’s wonderfully expressive scenes; she clearly had great fun creating them and I love the vibrancy of her colour palette and her inclusion of the additional characters who silently involve themselves in the action throughout the story. It’s one that offers lots of opportunities for audience participation of the roaring, stomping kind, so prepare yourself for a lively session when you share this with young children.

Don’t forget to check out the posts of the other blog tour participants.

The Boy Who Rescued a Rainbow

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Red Reading Hub is thrilled to be participating in the Little Door Books blog tour for this lovely book

The Boy Who Rescued a Rainbow
Corrina Campbell
Little Door Books

Now who would have thought that a boy as small as the protagonist in this super story could rescue something so massive as a rainbow: well this little guy is both strong and fearless, indomitable you might say, for accompanied by his dog, he climbs mountains ever so tall and fights off the fiercest of dragons.

One day he comes upon something protruding from a tree; it’s a rainbow and it’s stuck fast, faded, and exceedingly raggedy. Now being a kind child, the boy very carefully frees the rainbow and puts it in his cart to take home. Once there he sets to work repairing the damage, matching, stitching and patching and then restoring its beautiful hues.

Together the boy and his rainbow friend have many adventures

but sadly the size of the rainbow diminishes little by little, until one day, it’s there no more. The boy hunts everywhere but to no avail. Puzzled he begins to grow angry; after all the care he’s given to the thing, why has it vanished without a word of thanks or even a farewell?

Looking skywards he cries out but there’s no sign of the rainbow. The boy is distraught but after everything he remains the strong fearless lad he’s always been, going about his adventuring once more until one day something gives him cause for joy …

As we accompany this small boy on his journey through love and loss, he discovers what it really means to be strong, brave and fearless: we readers truly empathise with the child, so close to him does Corrina Campbell make us feel in this magical book.

Rainbows are magical seeming things that occur when light is reflected, refracted and dispersed in airborne water droplets, which results in the light being split into a visible spectrum. Symbolically though they represent different things to different people – hope, thankfulness, peace, pride, mystery and more: I thought I’d ask some children for their ideas: Here are a few:
“It means God will never flood the world again.”
“Rain and sunshine at the same time.”
“I want to know why some people think there’s the end of a rainbow.”
“Thank you to the NHS.”
“My nan’s jumper.”
“Leprechauns and pots of gold” “My Dad’s favourite socks”
“The aurora borealis might be a bit like a rainbow”

Make sure you check out all the other posts on this blog tour.

Happy Sad

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Thanks to Little Door Books for asking me to be part of the blog tour for this lovely book: I’m definitely happy to do so.

Happy Sad
Pippa Goodhart and Augusta Kirkwood
Little Door Books

Young sea loving Toby becomes conflicted in more ways than one in this captivating picture book.
Living by the seashore, the boy spends a lot of his time delighting in the natural objects he finds thereon as well, as playing in and out of the waves. 

One day as he peers into a rock pool, Toby notices a fishy tail moving in the water; he dips in his net and pulls out not the fish he anticipated but a tearful little mermaid. She responds to Toby’s “Why are you sad?” by telling him she became stranded when the tide turned. Her feelings are palpable in Augusta Kirkwood’s portrayal of the two during this encounter. With great care and the best of intentions, Toby picks up the mermaid and takes her home with him. 

There, his Mum and Dad help him accommodate the little creature. Her response to the boy’s “Are you happy now” is that whereas she likes the pool, she misses the company of her fishy friends. Toby knows just what to do … 

Now the mermaid feels “happy sad” – happy with the fish but sad because she isn’t able to play with her father. The empathetic Toby continues to add things to the pool but the mermaid remains “happy sad”, even when he says he’ll return her to the sea, for now a strong bond of friendship has formed between the two.

Surprised when the mermaid invites him to live in the sea with her, Toby considers this, 

but then somewhat reluctantly, takes her to the water’s edge and watches her swim off. You can imagine how they both feel about their parting but perhaps it won’t be a forever one.You never know.

Pippa’s powerful story of empathy, kindness and putting others before yourself, shows that it is possible to feel both sad and happy at the same time. Together with richly coloured illustrations by Augusta Kirkwood, portraying so clearly the emotional changes both main characters undergo, this is a thought-provoking book to share, especially with KS1 children. It’s rich in classroom potential too.

Uncle Pete and the Forest of Lost Things

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Red Reading Hub is thrilled to be part of the blog tour for this new Uncle Pete and Tiny Mouse book.

Uncle Pete and the Forest of Lost Things
David C. Flanagan, illustrated by Will Hughes
Little Door Books

Barely giving themselves time to recover from their magical blanket delivery – but time enough to consume a fair amount of their favourite foods – Uncle Pete and his indomitable sidekick, TM, are off again. Now they want to track down their plane, abandoned when it ran out of stardust; surely it couldn’t have ended up in the Forest of Lost Things could it? And what’s more the two couldn’t really be thinking of entering this alarming-sounding place where it’s recommended nobody sets foot, to search for it could they? 

Of course they could, even when squirrel leader, Shona, is horrified at the notion. Nonetheless she does make sure the adventurers are equipped to the best of her ability before they sally forth, aided and abetted by the Squirrelcoaster. Their journey takes them over land and into peril deep, deep beneath the sea – bother those cans of beans – but thank the universe for those emergency underpants of Uncle Pete’s, one of the more sensible items he stuffed into that rucksack of his. Finally the two, by different means, reach the forest, but then they need to locate one another.

Uncle Pete has an encounter with an owl that’s far from happy about the present state of the forest, an erstwhile peaceful, magical place and now far too full of rubbish. 

Said owl also talks of giant cats, incredibly grumpy ones; the same felines that TM has already met and happily not been consumed by on account of her extreme smallness. Happily too, Uncle Pete and TM are soon reunited and the search for the plane continues. However, there’s also the pressing problem of tidying and decluttering the forest and recycling as much as possible, that the former raises. Recycling though is getting a bit ahead of things as the lost plane must be located for that to happen. On the lost theme too is a little polar bear, Berg, that they come upon and invite to join their adventure.

An adventure about which I’ll say no more, other than that there are further twists and turns, thousands of fireflies, a multi-stage plan fuelled by the thought of feasting on favourite foods- again! – a terrific squash and a squeeze; plus a finale that leads neatly into Uncle Pete and TM’s next adventure. 

Hurrah! say all the readers of and listeners to, this terrific tale with its important environmental theme, as well as the thrills and spills, kindness and consideration one has come to expect from the fearless friends. Not forgetting the quirky drawings by Will Hughes that help to make this an ideal read for those fairly new to chapter books.

Make sure you check out the other stops on this blog tour too.

Scaredy Bat

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Thanks to Little Door Books for inviting me to join the blog tour for:

Scaredy Bat
Jonathan Meres and Anders Frang
Little Door Books

Absolutely bat-tastic sums up my response to this book. It had me hooked from the opening lines, so poetically describing the coming of morning to the Dark, Dark Wood. A wood where, in an old oak, dangle Big Bat, Middle Bat and Little Bat, snuggled up and ready for rest and perhaps some inverted dreams.

However, bothered by the buzzing, humming and drumming that fills the air, Little Bat just can’t get to sleep. The others tease him and so he decides to prove to them that he’s not in the slightest bit scared of the light. Off he goes with a ‘Wheeeee!’,

their warnings about the BOGEY BAT and bothersome bumps echoing in his ears. ‘Scaredy Bat! Scaredy Bat! Ner, ner, ner, ner, ner!” was their mocking cry.

As Little Bat fizzes and whizzes around in and out of the branches his confidence grows and he feels like he’s king of the wood. But then a strange feeling comes upon him – a feeling he’s no longer alone.

Surely it couldn’t be that bogey bat after all, could it?

Quickening his pace has no effect: wherever he goes that dark creature goes too until a sudden realisation dawns … But then he really knew all the time didn’t he?

Time to head back home to the others, both now a bit bothered by his prolonged absence.

Could there be another fright in store? …

Jonathan Meres’ dramatic rhyming narrative reads aloud like a dream (not of the upside down kind) and adult sharers will enjoy performing the tale probably as much as little humans will enjoy being entertained, both by the words and Anders Frang’s equally theatrical scenes. I love the way he uses the bats’ eyes to show their various feelings, and the cuddly toy rabbit.

Uncle Pete and the Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep

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Little Door Books is venturing into early-reader chapter books: this is the first. Thanks to the publisher for sending it for review.

Uncle Pete and the Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep
David C. Flanagan, illustrated by Will Hughes
Little Door Books

It’s almost impossible to imagine – a boy who has never ever slept a single wink in his entire life and that lack of sleep has no adverse consequences on his ability to embrace every day with energy and enthusiasm. Think what it must be like to be the parents of such a child.

It’s no wonder those of young Harry are at their wits end having tried every possible ploy and consulted countless doctors to get the boy to fall asleep – night after night after night for years and years and … Indeed the entire town is exhausted.

Thank goodness then for Uncle Pete who out of the blue arrives knocking at their front door, back from his exploring to replenish his supplies of baked beans and underpants. 

Having heard the family regale the tale of Harry’s insomnia, Uncle Pete offers to help. From among the contents of his rucksack he extricates a map and before you can say ‘yawn’, this eccentric uncle is off to his own home. There he heads for his shed wherein he keeps his now rusty, rickety old biplane.

What should he find has made a home in the pilot’s seat but a tiny mouse named TM. 

In a very short time, the plane has taken off bound for … Uncle Pete isn’t absolutely sure.

Their journey is, shall we say, highly eventful, both in the air and on the ground; but eventually they reach the mountain top and their destination.

I’ll say no more other than this wacky adventure with its wealth of fun details, is fuelled by large quantities of cheese, a plethora of beans, assorted underpants – rather a lot, and strawberry jam sandwiches, not forgetting stardust aplenty.

But is it a case of mission accomplished for Uncle Pete and TM?

The best way to find out is to get hold of a copy of David C. Flanagan’s comical tale with Will Hughes’ suitably quirky drawings and read it yourself. Alternatively you could try tuning in to their live event here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/uncle-pete-and-the-boy-who-couldnt-sleep-book-launch-event-tickets-149531172763 on Friday May 14th

No matter what there are more adventures of Uncle Pete on the way.

I asked a few children their thoughts about never sleeping and here’s a selection of what they said:
“I would love to be able to play Lego all through the nights, but the worst thing would be getting caught and told off.” Samuel 6
“It would be brilliant to be able to read books and my Kindle all night, but the downside would be my parents banning my favourite things for a whole week.” Emmanuelle 8
“You could get out of bed in the middle of the night and get sweet snacks without anyone knowing. Also you could play games with your friends outside and never feel tired.” Leo 7
“I could go out at night and do lots of different activities., play lots more sport and look at the stars more. But eventually it could get boring if you run out of things you want to do.” Spencer 8

Snooze / The Whales on the Bus

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Here are two fun picture books that will ensure very noisy storytime sessions

Snooze
Eilidh Muldoon
Little Door Books

Courtesy of Eilidh Muldoon’s wide-eyed (mostly) owl, what is offered here is a splendidly soporific explanation of how to ensure the best sleep ever. Mmm!

It all begins well enough with our strigine narrator locating a comfortable, peaceful place for slumbering … errr?

– a place wherein you can snuggle and appreciate the surrounding silence – so long as other avians aren’t anywhere around, that is.

Darkness is highly desirable and some soft background music often works wonders

– so long as that’s all you can hear; so maybe it’s wise to check out the location in case of caterwauling felines and yapping pooches. And if your neighbours are not aware of your desire to sleep, a polite request to keep the volume down would be appropriate.

That should mean, that at last it really is slumber time; aaaah!. And once you’ve had that wonderful sleep why not do as our narrator suggests and let one of your pals try using the book too. Sweet dreams …

The clever combination of tongue-in-cheek text and wryly amusing, beautifully executed illustrations make for a splendid debut picture book from Eilidh Muldoon. Whether or not it works as a bedtime story, I’ll leave you to discover.

The Whales on the Bus
Katrina Charman and Nick Sharratt
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Expect a great deal of enthusiastic noise and lots of action when you share this with little ones. It’s an open invitation to choo, choo, zoom, zoom. dive, loop-the-loop, quack, quack, beep, roar,

yo, ho ho, slip and slide, float and even perhaps whisper nighty night along with the bus riding whales, crane train passengers, skiing bees, jeep driving sheep, submarine diving seals, gliding piloting tiger, truckload of ducks, skating snakes

and the other adventurers in Katrina Charman’s joyful animal extravangaza.

Using the tune of the nursery favourite ‘The wheels on the bus’ and showing each in turn of Nick’s zany scenes of the (largely) cacophony-creating creatures you can have an absolute whale of a time with a class of pre-schoolers when you read this.

Slightly older children could have terrific fun creating their own verses to add to those composed by Katrina and then illustrating them. Bring it on, say I.

One Button Benny and the Gigantic Catastrophe / Bad Cat!

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One Button Benny and the Gigantic Catastrophe
Alan Windram and Chloe Holwill-Hunter
Little Door Books

Young robot Benny returns for a new adventure (hurrah! I hear fans shout) and now the Cool Cat competition is fast approaching so, like all his friends, Benny has to get his moggy Sparky super shiny and sparkly for the big event – having done the wretched washing up, that is.

Disaster strikes though, for the next morning every single one of the cats has disappeared. An exhaustive search of the town reveals only a note on the ground: the cats have all been kidnapped.

This certainly warrants the pressing of Benny’s (only to be used in pukka emergencies) red button assures his mum.
Having duly done the deed, something unexpected happens: Benny’s button opens like a door, disgorging two rolled pieces of paper.

There’s only one thing to do if Benny and his friends are to get their pets back safely and that’s work together following the instructions on the paper

and Trojan Horse style, build an enormous scrap metal cat in which to hide and wait for the return of the alien kidnappers who will surely come and steal this massive cat once they hear about it.

And sure enough they do. Fortunately all this cat-napping has made the aliens sleepy and once back on their own planet they fall fast asleep leaving the rescuers to find their missing moggies.

Things don’t go exactly to plan thereafter but I’ll leave Benny and his friends being chased by the wobbly alien cat stealers and you to get hold of a copy of Alan (author) and Chloe – illustrator’s – wacky tale of teamwork, forgiveness and dish washing to discover what happens subsequently.

Bad Cat!
Nicola O’Byrne
Nosy Crow

Nicola O’Byrne’s feline character Fluffykins may have a cute sounding name but this moggy is anything but cute. Indeed he creates a chain of havoc as he knocks down a vase of flowers, tangles up the knitting, unwinds the loo roll, plays havoc with the venetian blind, leaves a large puddle on the floor and that’s not all.

Now I’m not a cat lover, nor am I familiar with cats’ behaviour, but it appears from his expressions that in his boundary pushing actions, Fluffykins knows exactly what he’s doing despite his owner’s warnings and chiding. On the other hand it might just be playful oblivion. In this story Nicola O’Byrne leaves it open for readers to make up their own minds.

With a text addressed directly at the mischievous moggy and so much white space around the action, this latest offering is certainly something altogether different from her previous books.

Young listeners will probably relish Fluffykins sheer devilment; this ailurophobic reviewer certainly would steer clear of his abode.

How Billy Hippo Learned His Colours / Molly’s Circus

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Two new picture books from Little Door Books, kindly sent for review

How Billy Hippo Learned his Colours
Vivian French and Hannah Foley

Billy Hippo has learned swimming but he now needs to learn his colours because he wants to give his dad a special birthday present – something pink as his siblings suggest.

The trouble is Billy has yet to learn his colours.

Nevertheless he sets out looking for pink flowers along the path beside the river.

There are flowers aplenty, of a variety of colours, as the parrot he meets is quick to tell him.

Gradually though with the bird’s help, by a process of elimination Billy does come to know what the colour pink looks like;

but does he succeed in finding the right colour flowers for his dad? I wonder …

Children learn their colours through a variety of experiences, just like Billy and Vivian French ’s story will help in that learning process. So too will Hannah Foley’s bold bright illustrations, made all the more fun by the presence of a pair of mischievous-looking frogs that follow Billy in his search, one clutching a pink flower.

You can download a free audio-book of the story along with some songs from the publisher’s website.

Molly’s Circus
Esther Kent

A little girl (the narrator) dons her boots and goes off out to play, followed by her harassed-looking mum.
Once in the garden the child views her surrounding and then lets her imagination soar as she announces, ‘There’s a CIRCUS in my garden.’
The washing line becomes a high wire; there are clowns, trick cyclists and a ‘trapeze in the trees.’

A troupe of acrobats performs under the direction of the ringmaster extraordinaire – Molly – who gets a little bit carried away …

Happily though, mum is on hand to provide exactly what’s needed.
Debut picture book creator Esther Kent’s exuberant, detailed artwork fizzes with energy and glows with warmth; every spread is a wonderful reminder of how children are able to transform the mundane into something magical.
You can find Molly’s Circus song from the publisher’s website.

What Not to Give an Ogre for his Birthday / Caveboy Crush / Iguanas Love Bananas

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What Not to Give an Ogre for his Birthday
Will Hughes
Little Door Books

Stanley and Martha love buying birthday presents for people and always manage to find just the right thing; but when it comes to their new neighbour, Len the friendly ogre, the task is shall we say, a challenge. The usual things – a bike, clothes, a theatre trip or a pet don’t really fit the bill and a ride in a hot air balloon would be somewhat problematic.

Can the two come up with an idea that could make Len’s birthday the best he’s ever had?

This story of determination and friendship is the first of the Little Door Debuts imprint and it appears as though the publisher has found a new talent with Will Hughes, whose scribbly style illustrations are great fun, putting me in mind slightly of Quentin Blake’s work.

Caveboy Crush
Beth Ferry and Joseph Kuefler
Abrams Books for Young Readers

Here’s a sweet story of a first crush Neanderthal style.

Meet caveboy, Neander, who falls for the ‘most beautiful girl in the prehistoric world’ short, hairy Neanne, who is perfect in every way. His parents accurately diagnose the problem when he becomes all moony.

Armed with flowers picked from The Field of Bees, Neander rushes off to try and woo the little cave-girl but …

and there she isn’t.

The disappointed caveboy decides a grander plan is needed but this too is a dismal failure of the CRUSH kind and Neanne decides her wooer is just a little a bit crazy.

Could it be a case of third time lucky perhaps …?

A fun tale with splendidly expressive illustrations should make for an enjoyable, somewhat noisy storytime as youngsters enjoy the opportunity to let rip with a CRUSH or two during the telling.

Iguanas Love Bananas
Jennie & Chris Cladingbee and Jeff Crowther
Maverick Publishing

I suspect the authors of this crazy rhyming narrative about animals and their food predilections are fans of Kes Gray & Jim Field’s ‘Oi!’ picture books.

In this story we meet all kinds of creatures, large and small, dining on their favourite foods much to the consternation of the humans from whom they steal or otherwise procure such things as fajitas – that’s cheetahs; sausage rolls – the water voles raid a picnic basket for theirs; vindaloos, though these are seemingly paid for at the take-away, but the people on whom they sneeze on account of the spices are less than impressed.

I’m unsure how the manatees got hold of a crate of blue cheese but the end result is constipation, so we’re told.

I have to say though, that I’m with the guy on the final page who is the only one relishing Brussels sprouts. Yummy!

Jeff Crowther clearly enjoyed himself creating the illustrations for this culinary romp; his scenes of all those animals stuffing themselves are full of gigglesome details.

Daddy Frog and the Moon / Crime Squirrel Investigators: The Naughty Nut Thief

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Here are two new picture books from Little Door Books; thanks to the publisher for sending them for review:

Daddy Frog and the Moon
Pippa Goodhart and Augusta Kirkwood

Pippa pens a tale of paternal love frog style, in her sweet story wherein a father frog sets out to find something to show his baby froglet just how much she is loved.

Baby Frog though is more interested in being shown how to squiggle and even when presented with a perfectly round stone, all she asks is that he shows her how to swim. Not content with his first offering, Daddy goes off searching again but the flower wilts and Baby is eager to learn hopping. Once again, she’s left to perfect the skill herself while Daddy seeks further proof of his love for her.

By now he’s searching by moonlight. But not even with his gigantic leap can he reach the moon.

No matter, for what he does find is something much better: Baby Frog, and she has some exciting news to share …

Warmly told by Pippa using plenty of dialogue and repeat join-in phrases; and with Augusta Kirkwood’s beautiful, textured scenes of the pond, its flora and fauna, this sweet story is ideal for human sharing around Father’s Day and any other day too.

Crime Squirrel Investigators: The Naughty Nut Thief
Emily Dodd and Giulia Cregut

When Rosie squirrel discovers her stash of nuts has been raided and almost all are gone, she and always hungry, Charlie, decide to become Crime Squirrel Investigators. The clue is in the shells and off they go on the thief’s trail.

First stop is Dora Dormouse but she’s soon eliminated, as are Tappy the woodpecker and Squeaker the wood mouse.

Throughout  their investigation, Charlie has been trying to tell Rosie something and finally, he gets a chance to speak. What was it he wanted to tell his friend?

All ends happily with the friendship intact, and a plethora of hazelnuts to feast upon.

Rosie is quite a good detective when it comes to identifying nutshell clues and young listeners/readers will enjoy anticipating what is coming when Charlie eventually speaks out.

Equally they’ll enjoy Giulia Cregut’s amusing illustrations, which bring out the inherent humour in Emily Dodd’s telling.

Both books have additional material – audio versions and songs – that can be found at the publishers website. 

 

Magna Cow / A Campfire Tale

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Magna Cow
Barry Hutchison and Cate James
Little Door Books

Brisket is a cow, an unusual one with especially curly horns, a particularly frizzy tail and, when it’s dark a faint glow emanates from her. Odd though these features might be, there is one that makes her even more extraordinary, she’s magnetic.

It’s this magnetism that causes Magna to create havoc at the cows’ camping trips,

bring about the dismantling of their treehouse and appropriate the cutlery at a party.

Consequently when the big day of the Moove to the Music dance competition comes around, Brisket is banished to the top of the hill while the other bovine beauties strut their stuff.

Suddenly disaster, in the form of a trundling tractor moving downhill, is about to strike. The dancing cows are too busy prancing and pirouetting to notice what’s happening. Only Brisket from her hilltop vantage point sees the danger: can she save the day?

Cate James daftly depicts this bonkers, but fun tale, about mooving metal, bovine bother and friendship from Barry Hutchison, with appropriately crazy-looking cattle and their shenanigans.

Specially written songs can be downloaded from the publisher’s website.

A Campfire Tale
Sarah Glenn Marsh and Ana Gómez
Sterling

The first night away from home, be it a sleep over or as in this story, a camping trip, can be a scary thought for some children and it appears so with Dragon too.

The child narrator though offers to act as his buddy. Assuming he’ll be a great companion, she takes him swimming, sailing and involves him in the whole gamut of camp-related activities,

even a puppet show; but all go pretty badly to say the least.

Perhaps it was a big mistake to take on the Dragon as her buddy especially as the other campers now seem to be avoiding them.

Come the evening, Dragon is a disaster when he attempts to help with the tent pitching and insists on listening to ghost stories, despite being scared stiff of same, but the last straw is his effort to get rid of a spider, which only serves to inflame the situation.

The narrator sends him packing and in the morning, there’s no sign of the scaly character.
The campers search for him in the woods but quickly get lost; what’s more they hear something growly in the distance.

Could this be an opportunity for Dragon to redeem himself perhaps?

The bold, bright illustrations by Ana Gómez are comical and engaging, showing the feelings of both Dragon and narrator.

Try and Say Abracadabra! / How Billy Hippo Learned to Swim

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Try and Say Abracadabra!
Maria Loretta Giraldo and Nicoletta Bertelle
Ragged Bears

It’s spring; all the little birds are learning how to fly and having a great time so doing. All that is except Little Owl who, despite support from teacher Mrs Pigeon, is left standing on his branch terrified.
Tortoise comes along and encourages him suggesting he use the super magical word ‘Abracadabra’

but when Owl tries, the word comes out wrong and he crashes to the ground.
Two attempts under Mouse’s direction fail to achieve more than a little flutter and then along comes Hedgehog with his suggestion that owl shout the magic word as loud as he can and …

Success!
Now the grateful little creature is ready to pass on the secret of his success to a baby frog that’s afraid to jump …

The power of Giraldo’s never give up message is artfully portrayed in Bertelle’s mixed media, digitally worked illustrations of the endearing characters.

How Billy Hippo Learned to Swim
Vivian French and Hannah Foley
Little Door Books

“All hippos LOVE swimming!” So says Billy Hippo’s dad in response to his son’s declaration that he doesn’t like swimming. The water’s too cold and too wet; Billy is convinced of that.
Other members of his family try their hardest to encourage him to join them in the water but Billy stands firm on the river bank.

However Billy’s family aren’t the only ones aiming to get him swimming. Two frogs have, all the while, been watching the whole situation unfolding and scheming up their own plan. With the strategic placing of a well-chosen item or two, they cause Billy – as Hannah Foley shows in this splendid slapstick sequence –

to hurtle into the water and after a deal of glugging, not to mention swirling and wallowing, Billy announces, “I love swimming.”

Simply told in a direct manner that leaves Hannah Foley plenty of room to fill in the details in her fun-filled illustrations, this is a good bet for little ones who have a reluctance to take the plunge.
You can down load a free audiobook and songs from the publisher’s website.

A Snoring Giant, A Favourite Witch & Knights Galore

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The Giant Who Snored
Mike Nicholson and Amy Lewis
Little Door Books
In the hills close by a town lives a gentle giant. He’s a great favourite of the townsfolk especially the children who look forward to his daily visit and the fun it offers …

Everything is tickety boo until the day the giant, suddenly overcome by tiredness, falls asleep during his visit. The loud snores he emits rock the whole town causing absolute chaos on land and sea and driving the residents absolutely crazy.
The hullabaloo must be stopped, announces the mayor offering a reward to anyone who can wake the slumberer. However, despite the best efforts of the blacksmith, the tailor and the chemist, the giant remains sound asleep. Is there anybody who can rouse the snorer? And if so, how?
Here’s a clue as to the who …

As for the how, suffice it to say, it’s pretty disgusting and likely to cause young listeners to emit delighted ‘eeuugh!’s in response; and everything ends satisfactorily for all concerned.
Apart from the very occasional slight creak, Mike Nicholson’s rhyming text slips nicely off the tongue -read it through to get the phrasing right before sharing it though. In combination with Amy Lewis’ digital scenes of the stentorian snores of the giant and their effects, you have the makings of a lively, enjoyable story time session.

Winnie and Wilbur The Naughty Knight
Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul
Oxford University Press
In their latest magical escapade Winnie transports Wilbur and herself back in time into a medieval castle where, for a change, her faithful moggie takes the starring role in the grand tournament, with Winnie as a lady-in-waiting.
Can the gallant knight, Sir Wilbur outshoot the famous Sir Roderick in the archery contest? And what happens when the two come face to face in the jousting?

Let’s just say that Winnie has her magic wand neatly stowed away about her person and thanks to a few deft flourishes of her arm, Sir Wilbur cuts Sir Roderick down to size in spectacular fashion, just in time to attend the magnificent banquet in the Great Hall. No need for magic there surely? …
Even after 30 years, Winnie and Wilbur’s magical charm never seems to wear off and it’s especially good to see Wilbur as the star of the show; love those split page layouts especially.
This one brims over with zany humour and is full of potential for primary classroom themes.

Sir Charlie Stinky Socks: The Dinosaur’s Return
Kristina Stephenson
Egmont
Sir Charlie Stinky Socks is back to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his first adventure in what I think is story number nine.
When Charlie’s pet cat Envelope unknowingly hatches a dinosaur’s egg, the young knight together with his faithful friends, set out on a quest to return the ‘little something’ to Thunder Mountain.
A quest that sees them sucked into a swirling watery tunnel, diving into the vent of a volcano and more, before landing up on an island and in so doing, precipitating a dinosaur stampede.

All ends happily however with grateful dinosaurs and a spectacular display of fireworks.
Fast moving, fun, full of action and with dino.-sized flaps to explore, Sir Charlie and friends continue to delight.

One Button Benny

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One Button Benny
Alan Windram and Chloe Holwill-Hunter
Little Door Books

Benny’s planet is populated by robots; robots of all shapes and sizes, and each with an array of multi-functional buttons. Benny though is different: he has just a single, central button, a large one bearing a warning that it’s only to be used in an emergency,
The little robot is taunted by his fellow robots who love to show off their button-activated skills.

Longing to press that button of his, Benny looks everywhere for emergency opportunities, but without success.
Then one morning, while pondering his button’s possibilities, he glances outside and sees something is amiss.
In the street it’s panic stations: overnight there’s been an invasion of collectors.
These are small, green aliens that travel the galaxy in search of shiny metal to toss into their massive crunching machine and fashion it into teapots – yes teapots! And it looks as though this is to be the fate of the entire population of Benny’s planet.

Emergency!
There’s only one thing to do in an emergency …

Now it’s Benny’s chance to save the situation. Can he do it? Can he prevent the threatened mechanical mayhem?
Robots, aliens and space are amusingly combined in this sc-fi. tale for early years audiences who will enjoy the metallic characters and have a good laugh at the unlikely teapot fetish of the alien invaders.
Chloe Holwill-Hunter portrayal of a metallic world populated by anthropomorphic robots executed predominantly in burnished shades of greys, black, blue and tan are distinctly otherworldly and have a strangely fascinating appeal.

I’ve signed the charter  

At Sea with Captain Cranky & Mayday Mouse

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Captain Cranky & Seadog Steve
Vivian French and Alison Bartlett
Little Door Books
Captain Crankie lives with his canine pal Seadog Steve beside the sea. They spend their days taking villagers and visitors to watch seals and dolphins in the Mary Rose, and their evenings together in their tidy home. However, the locals are a messy lot: they leave all kinds of rubbish lying around spoiling the look of the place and upsetting the captain. Enough’s enough, he decides and he and Steve drag and haul all the rubbish back to their house, load it into the Mary Rose and set off out to sea where they jettison the lot overboard, leaving it to sink down into the depths. Before long though, there is a whole lot more rubbish …which also ends up in the same place deep under the waves much to the consternation of mermaid Millie. She resolves to speak to Capain Crankie and next evening she’s there waiting atop a rock as the Mary Rose heads out with another cargo of rubbish. Before long Millie is leading the Captain and Seadog Steve on a deep sea dive to see the results of the Captain’s thoughtless dumping.

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What’s to be done? It seems Seadog Steve might have a good idea up his sleeve…

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The result of the villagers’ fishing expedition is certainly some unexpected hauls; but it’s not long before everything has been put to a new and exciting use and everyone is happy.

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An important environmental message is embedded in this charming story. It’s told in a straightforward manner that is easy to read and easy to absorb without being simplistic, by Vivian French; and through Alison Bartlett’s richly coloured, detailed illustrations.

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Mayday Mouse
Seb Braun
Child’s Play
I really love Captain Mouse’s spirit of determination and optimism in the face of adversity. She sets out in her walnut shell boat one sunny day with an important mission – to deliver her brother’s birthday present. Her friends bid her “Bon voyage” warning her to keep watch for “big waves and watery perils” and instructing her to shout “MAYDAY” should she need their help. Mouse however is convinced all will be well; but then the wind drops. Undaunted, she whistles a sea shanty three times and lo and behold, back comes the wind and off she goes again with the wind getting stronger and stronger …
Suddenly, down comes the rain, the boat starts filling with water and a storm blows up …

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tossing mouse and boat into the air and towards a crashing sound and ‘a dark and dangerous cave’.
Quick-thinking Captain Mouse steers past only to find herself about to crash into some large rocks and the next moment …

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What is it that Mouse is thinking? Surely not “This is the end of me!” as she hurtles onto a small sandy island where, cold and exhausted, she’s soon fast asleep.

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Is she going to be left stranded or will she eventually reach her brother and deliver that birthday surprise? It’s fortunate then, that she keeps her cool, remembers her resourceful friends’ instructions and …

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Here they come with everything needed for a quick repair to her boat and off they go.
There’s a lovely musical finale that delighted my audience and had them joining in with the birthday greetings .

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Despite the very damp interlude, this is a thoroughly heart-warming story with a plucky little heroine. Good on you Captain Mouse. Did you spot the polluting object in that final scene? It was certainly a hazard for our heroine.

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Finding a Way

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Don’t Wake Up Tiger!
Britta Teckentrup
Nosy Crow
Author/audience complicity is crucial to making this delightful story work: right from the opening ‘Shhh! Tiger is asleep and we mustn’t wake her up.’ youngsters are drawn into the plot: a plot that entails getting Frog, Fox, Tortoise, Mouse and Stork plus a bunch of balloons past Tiger without waking her.

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The balloons play a vital role: Frog uses one to float him right over, but we have to play our part with a bit of nose stroking to make sure Tiger stays asleep. Fox certainly needs our help too or he’ll land right on the sleeper …

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Phew! That’s two past and Tortoise goes next: gentle tummy stroking is required for his safe passage across a nearly waking Tiger; and Mouse’s crossing needs the assistance of a lullaby and a spot of rocking – not the boat – but the book or more accurately, Tiger. She’s safely over but her balloon is adrift. Last comes long-legged Stork but OH! NO! Mouse’s drifting balloon is dangerously close to her beak … Breath-holding anticipation by audience before …

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One very startled, wide-awake Tiger. What’s next? Surprise! For Tiger perhaps though maybe not listeners; think balloons, think sing along for a very special day …
Great fun to share – for both children and adult readers aloud.

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A Puppy’s Tale
Alan Windram and Chloë Holwill-Hunter
Little Door Books
Georgie is a small puppy with a lively interest in things around her. So much so that one day while out walking she strays from the path in pursuit of a bouncing frog. Her attempts at jumping like the frog are unsuccessful and suddenly, the frog jumps off home.

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The same thing happens when she encounters a hopping rabbit and a scuttling red squirrel; she cannot hop like the rabbit, or run fast like the squirrel. None of the animals stay to play with Georgie. Tired and lost, she sits and cries, watched from above by a kindly blackbird. After hearing of Georgie’s failed attempts to emulate the other animals, the blackbird offers to help her find the way back to her own home …

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With its patterned text and action words to join in with, this gentle tale of friendship is a good one to offer those just starting to read for themselves, as well as to share with early years groups who will enjoy the opportunity to jump, hop and scuttle like the animals Georgie meets and Chloë Holwill-Hunter amusingly portrays.