Albert’s Bubble Bath / Bert and the Bubble

Albert the bear is a grumpy character but there’s one thing that makes him feel good. No it’s not picnics, nor fishing, and definitely not singing around a campfire: it’s relaxing in a bubble bath. However, Albert’s bubble bath is the envy of the forest creatures and they’re keen to try it too. Albert though, is certainly not going to allow this and makes it quite clear with the signs he puts up around his home. When they have no effect he hires top security, again with no effect. The subterranean relocation of the bath fails too. Time to don those thinking specs Albert. After much hard thinking he has an idea of the constructive kind: surely this must work.

Oops! He hadn’t factored in sharp-beaked birds. POP! Albert plus his beloved bath tumble earthwards but the bath gets stuck before reaching the ground. Reluctantly Albert asks for ideas and up steps a beaver. Maybe he and his family can help … Seemingly they do so in more than one way.
With it’s fun finale this is a dramatic story with plenty of giggle-inducing moments that ensure that the learning to share message is imparted lightly.
It makes a satisfying read aloud and should definitely go down well with foundation stage/ KS1 children.

Also about sharing is:

When Bert the frog finds a beautiful shiny bubble he shows it excitedly to his friend, Sandra. Sandra is eager to hold the bubble; Ben agrees but asks she treat it carefully. Pop! That’s the end of the bubble: clearly Sandra wasn’t careful enough. The following day Bert finds another bubble, a bouncy one that Norman wants to play with. ‘Yes”, Bert says, “But please bring it back.” But Norman fails to do so. Poor Bert is starting to think his bubble luck has run out when down floats the biggest bubble in the world.

So eager is Bert to keep this one safe that he goes to great lengths to protect it. Determined not to share this time, he builds a fort and locks himself and the bubble inside. It’s a tight squeeze but Ben remains shut away pondering upon the terrible consequences should he come out.

Suddenly there’s a tapping on the door accompanied by voices calling him to come out, apologising and promising to be more careful in future: it’s his friends. Out comes Bert and out comes the bubble looking bigger than ever. The three frogs have great fun playing with it all afternoon and just as Bert is thinking he’s having the best time ever …

However now Bert’s reaction is somewhat different. He’s clearly learned that when it comes to friendship and bubbles, one is definitely way more important than the other.
An amusing, learning to share story with funny froggy scenes at every turn of the page.

The Viking Who Liked Icing

The Viking Who Liked Icing
Lu Fraser and Mark McKinley
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Here’s a story set long, long ago and far, far away.

When it comes to the traditional Viking skills or indeed anything else that requires some kind of sporting finesse, Nut, in contrast to his big sister Leaf, falls well short of the mark. Indeed whenever he picks up his bow and arrow, everyone else takes cover. He’s not entirely without talents however: he’s passionate about baking cakes and does so with lashings of creativity, dreaming about so doing at night too.

There’s one day in the Viking calendar that young Nut dreads more than any other: Viking Sports Day has him shaking in his boots. Nonetheless off he goes, cake in hand to the venue, a reluctant participant if ever there was one.

Things go pretty disastrously

and then comes the Great Horn-Throwing Race …

Is there any way Nut might redeem himself?

With its combination of Lu Fraser’s dramatic rhyming narrative and Mark McKinley’s hilarious scenes of Nut’s sporting ineptitude as well as his mouth-watering confections, and the other characters’ reactions to both, this is a fun demonstration of the fact that everybody has a talent that will win through if nurtured. That way lies happiness.

This will surely be a hit with young listeners at school or at home.