Tag Matt Hunt

My First 1 2 3 / Upside Down Opposites / Love

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My First 1 2 3
illustrated by Edward Underwood
Nosy Crow

This is a new addition to the excellent My First series illustrated by Edward Underwood. With flaps to lift – one per page – toddlers will engage in the basic counting element and enjoy guessing what is hiding under each flap, quickly working out that the number of hidden items each time is the same as the visible item depicted and clearly labelled.. For instance beneath one of the 3 flowers, are 3 bees, and beneath one of the 18 birds are 18 worms.

A thoroughly engaging way of developing basic numeracy skills – number recognition and one to one correspondence.

The large format of this sturdy book make it ideal for sharing with a toddler and in addition to the mathematical aspects, there’s a wealth of potential for language development. Each of the images depicted on every single one of the coloured background panels is richly patterned and also provides talking/ storying opportunities aplenty.
Definitely one to add to family bookshelves and preschool collections.

Upside Down Opposites
Danielle McLean and Matt Hunt
Little Tiger

This is a rhyming and visual demonstration of eight pairs of opposites for an adult and young child to share. Each spread uses a different object – a bird in flight, a hand-held ball, a face, a snail, a drinking glass, a squirrel, a hand and a dolphin. The adult reads the sentence on the first verso, the book is then rotated and with the change of perspective, its opposite is seen on the recto and its respective sentence is then read.
Its clever construction means that the book can be read from either end.

Love
Fiona Munro and Laura Hambleton
Design Eye, Quarto Kids

Herein we meet a group of ursine characters and their animal friends as one little bear finds out how the love of family members endures, even when they are separated by long distances and you cannot see your loved ones. Should you feel tired, angry or sad you can take hold of the heart in the centre of the die-cut and cuddle it close to you: that should help you feel that love flowing right to you.
A reassuring narrative by Fiona Munro and sweet, but not sickly illustrations by Laura Hambleton, remind us all, especially small children, that love is inside us and all around.

A First Book of Dinosaurs

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A First Book of Dinosaurs
Simon Mole and Matt Hunt
Walker Books

It surely is a case of ‘eat or be eaten’ in Simon Mole’s poetic presentation of dinosaurs in all shapes and sizes. The large format book dramatically illustrated in collage style by Matt Hunt is divided into four sections: ‘Meet the Dinosaurs’, ‘Eat or Be Eaten’, ‘Dinosaur Families’ and ‘The End. Or Is It?’ Readers/listeners will encounter some already established favourites such as Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus Rex (the first two featured), Stegosaurus and Diplodocus called herein Planet On Legs on account of the numerous small creatures that live on its back. There are many less well known creatures too including the dog-sized Eoraptor (new to this reviewer as is Baryonyx). I love Simon’s description of that one: ‘Swift-sprinter / Tail-flicker / River-watcher / Quick- dasher / Fish-grabber / Flesh-ripper // Best hunter / Gets dinner!’ together with Matt Hunt’s dynamic visual interpretation. A wealth of kennings in that.

Readers are introduced to a variety of poetic forms: Ankylosaurus, Sauropelta and Euoplocephalis are all described in a single acrostic entitled Tough! Tough! Tough!.

There’s a wealth of onomatopoeia, some similes and metaphors, a recipe and even a dialogue with a present-day chicken. To find out what said chicken is doing in a book about dinosaurs, you’ll need to get your own copy; so doing will make you popular with youngsters for sure.

After a look at the downfall of dinos and some fossil evidence, the book ends with a somewhat truncated dinosaur timeline.

A large-format, romping, stomping treasure, beautifully produced and one hopes, likely to turn a fair number of dinosaur-fanatic children into poetry enthusiasts too.

The Goat and the Stoat and the Boat

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The Goat and the Stoat and the Boat
Em Lynas and Matt Hunt
Nosy Crow

Sit back, sail along and enjoy the rhyming fun from the team who gave us The Cat and the Rat and the Hat; the text for this one is every bit as funny and lively and Matt Hunt’s highly energetic scenes of what turns out to be a fair bit of rocking and rolling, which inevitably leads to some pretty catastrophic consequences, are just superb.

It all begins with Stoat floating merrily along in his favourite boat when along comes Goat. Goat too wants to float in that same boat so on he leaps.

The problem is that although Stoat is well aware of the way to keep safe therein, Goat most certainly is not. All he wants is to have fun too. Pretty soon however, things start to turn nasty. Stoat seizes a pencil and lays claim to the boat, which develops into a pencil power dual.

That is when, in addition to the rocking and rolling, the boat starts wibbling and wobbling, tilting and tipping and it’s not long before there’s a big splash in the moat. You’ll quickly guess the cause of that. Now the thing is that Goat in that colourful coat is able to stay afloat; not so however, Stoat. Is it time for a truce?

Adult readers aloud will need to take care their tongues don’t get into a twist when they share this cleverly constructed tale. Young listeners will delight in the cumulative chaos that the animals cause; Matt Hunt’s expressive illustrations portray this with panache..

How To Count To One

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How To Count To One
Caspar Salmon and Matt Hunt
Nosy Crow

Terrific fun – albeit rather a teaser – is this interactive counting book that despite its warning subtitle, may well actually enhance the number skills of little ones way beyond one and make them laugh a lot along the way too.

It starts off in a pretty straightforward manner with a single elephant: no confusion there but turn the page and there are two whales, one of which is sporting a sausage: guess what the equation asks about. The next spread shows three bowls of soup, one with a fly swimming in. You can see how this is going … or maybe not for then comes this …

From then on author Caspar Salmon becomes increasingly bossy, aided and abetted first by Matt Hunt’s dapper duck depictions and the cleverly designed page layout.

Carry on reading/counting (to one only, remember) and you’ll meet worms wiggling their way through the soil, a gathering of mammals together with some reptiles and insects; a spread of framed pictures all hanging neatly arranged – don’t forget what Caspar said now, though you can be forgiven for ignoring the notion put forward on the next page and proceed to this one with a goldfish bowl.

Tee tee! That author is getting a bit too big for his boots though I think he well deserves the prize for what’s on the back endpapers. Outsmarted us, or what? That depends on the one to one correspondence proficiency of the one doing the counting. Oh course, none of this would be half the fun without Matt Hunt’s zany illustrations.

The Cat and the Rat and the Hat

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The Cat and the Rat and the Hat
Em Lynas and Matt Hunt
Nosy Crow

Comic capers of the daftest kind unfold in Em Lynas’s unashamedly ‘cat-ipalising’ assemblage of sound/symbol associations that she’s fashioned into a sequence of silly scenarios all about various items of attire and the lengths her animal characters will go to, to acquire them.

There’s the cat that plays, sleeps and dreams upon the mat; the rat with a big hat (dayglo pink to match its appendages) – at the start anyhow;

but a tustle ensues …

then there’s the bat sporting a fancy cravat (of the same pink colour albeit with tiny white dots) but also eager to take possession of said hat and willing to perform all manner of acrobatic actions to prevent others seizing the cravat.

Various snatch and grab actions follow but to find out who eventually ends up with which article of adornment, you’ll need to bag yourself a copy of this crazy book and read it yourself. ‘And that is that.’

With those neon bright colours, Matt Hunt makes the entire thing into a laugh out loud reading experience for beginning readers as well as for adults sharing the book with little ones.

The Pirates are Coming!

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The Pirates are Coming!
John Condon and Matt Hunt
Nosy Crow

Can there be room on the shelf for yet more pirate books? It’s pretty likely as children seem to have a penchant for things piratical; and John Condon and Matt Hunt’s salty offering will definitely be a crowd pleaser.

It tells of young Tom who daily climbs the hill overlooking the sea in the hope of spying a pirate ship; and one day he does – so he thinks.

He rings a bell and all the villagers dash for cover; turns out though, that it’s a case of misidentification. Tom’s dad reminds him pirates have ‘BIG’ ships. Undaunted, Tom continues his daily watch but again and again he gets it wrong, needlessly sending the villagers into hiding.

Unsurprisingly they begin to get blasé and so the next time Tom yells “PIRATES” as he rushes down the hill,

not a single person hides – until that is, they hear the tell-tale “squawk!’ of a parrot.

Here, the tale takes a twist and the finale is a wonderful surprise. I certainly don’t want to be a story spoiler so I’ll leave the villagers in hiding and the pirates sailing silently into the harbour, gangplank at the ready …

John Condon’s story is full of drama, and superbly paced, with plenty of laughs along the way: further laughs will be induced thanks to Matt Hunt’s splendid illustrations. On every spread there’s something giggle worthy – rather, make that several things.

If you enjoy putting on a performance with your story sharing, you’ll absolutely relish reading this one with a group of youngsters and they’ll love it too.

Early Years Picture Book Shelf

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How About a Night Out?
Sam Williams and Matt Hunt
Boxer Books

We join a kitty cat embarking on a nocturnal excursion through the city where  adventures aplenty await. There are friends to meet for a ‘catercall’ upon the wall,

a roundabout to ride upon, birds to scare and much more. A ‘night to sing about’ claims our adventurer but all too soon the sun comes up and it’s time to head for home and some city kitty slumbers.

Delivered in jaunty rhyming couplets and Matt Hunt’s alluring art showing the cat’s journey against the inky dark sky, this will surely please early years listeners.

What Colour Is Night?
Grant Snider
Chronicle Books

If you’re thinking night is black, then have another think. You certainly will having read Grant Snider’s poetic nocturnal exploration. Herein he shows us the multitude of colours that a closer look will reveal. There’s blue for a start, ‘a big yellow moon beginning to rise’, the fireflies glowing gold in the park.

But that’s just the start: there are ‘Fat brown moths dancing in yellow streetlights’, a whole city lit with red neon signs, the green-eyed glow of prowling raccoons, silver stars spilling across the sky above the barely visible countryside.

The silent stillness of his scenes though, is not confined to the outdoors. Inside we see the grey face of a clock, the shapes afloat in the bowl holding a midnight snack are yellow blue and pink; while through the window we start to see the moon’s rings and outdoors once more are ‘all the night’s colours in one moonbow’.

I’m pretty sure that young readers and listeners will envy the sleeping child picked up and taken on a dream flight through pink and purple clouds over the city aglow with colours. Snider offers an ideal excuse for little ones to request a delay to their own slumbers in order to view those ‘colours unseen’.

What Can You See?
Jason Korsner and Hannah Rounding
I Like to Put Food in My Welly
Jason Korsner and Max Low
Graffeg

What Can You See? invites little ones to develop their observation skills as they focus on in turn a table laid for tea, a lounge, the garden, the sky, the jungle, a flower and a host of other focal points to locate the objects named in the relevant verse in Hannah Rounding’s delectable illustrations.
In I Like to Put Food in My Welly, playful topsy-turvies result from putting butter on the bread, pulling a rabbit from a hat, climbing an apple tree and other starting points, each scenario being presented in Max Low’s zany sequences (Did I see two of Max’s popular characters making a guest appearance?)

Engaging rhymes and art: just right for putting across the ‘language is fun’ message to pre-schoolers.

Oink! / Daddy Fartypants

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In your face or subtle, toilet humour books are always winners with young children: here are a couple of recent, contrasting examples:

Oink!
David Elliot
Gecko Press

David Elliot tells this hilarious tale entirely through delicate watery scenes of a pig’s bathtime along with onomatopoeic sound effects, mostly animal but punctuated by ‘Knock! Knock! (s)

It starts with pig climbing into his, one assumes, eagerly anticipated steaming bath-tub; but he’s no sooner sat back for a relaxing soak when ‘ Knock! Knock!’ “Maaa?” a sheep clad in pink frilly skirt and clutching a toy boat enters and proceeds to climb into the tub. (Her utterance, one assumes is a polite request).

Further knocks see more unruly creatures, first a horned bovine character …

followed by an ungulate (donkey/horse?) ensconcing themselves in pig’s increasingly noisy bath.

Pig though utters not a sound but then … One tub-emptying action later

 

things – or actually animals – start to move …

Peace at last! Time to top up the hot water and relax. Ahhhh! Bliss.

No telling – just showing – and absolutely brilliantly done in Elliott’s subtly comic, brilliantly expressive pencil and watercolour scenes.

An absolutely smashing pre-bedtime sharing book for which your little humans will delight in supplying the various noises. If I was in an early years setting I’d set up a small world play scene complete with tub and animals for the children to act out the tale.

Daddy Fartypants
Emer Stamp and Matt Hunt
Orchard Books

Meet dad bear, farty bum extraordinaire. The trouble is no matter how clear it is that’s he’s the culprit when it comes to noxious rear end emissions, he never never owns up to his trumps and parps. Instead he blames others, no matter who, no matter where, no matter when.

Not a single apology or pardon so much as reaches his lips, no not ever.

One day when collecting his forbearing son from school, Daddy Fartypants encounters an attractive new teacher, Miss Lovelybear and as he eagerly approaches, she lets loose a gargantuan gust from her derrière. And does that teacher issue an excuse? Oh dear me, no she does not: instead she points the paw at guess who … Outrageous!

Game, set and match to Miss L. Her terrible toot triggers a realisation on Daddy F’s part. Repentant, he promises to become a changed character when it comes to rear end rumbles and so far as we know he’s been true to his word.

Totally terrific fun, Emer Stamp has come up trumps with this thoroughly moral tale, and Matt Hunt’s splendid, sonic blast, pant-ripping illustrations speak volumes – quite literally. PHOOAW! Your little ones will relish this book as did this reviewer whose partner could give Daddy Fartypants a run for his money when it comes to windy issuances – he does own up though, I hasten to add.

Little People, Big Dreams: Muhammad Ali & Little People, Big Dreams: Stephen Hawking

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Little People, Big Dreams: Muhammad Ali
Isabel Sánchez Vegara, illustrated by Brosmind
Little People, Big Dreams: Stephen Hawking
Isabel Sánchez Vegara, illustrated by Matt Hunt
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Following the huge success of titles celebrating amazing and inspiring females, the publishers have decided to add positive male role models to their picture book biography series and these are the first two.

First on the list is Muhammad Ali who as a boy known as Cassius had his new bike stolen and was told by the police officer that if he wanted to face the thief as he’d said, he had better learn to fight. So begins his journey to becoming a champion boxer.

Having taken a gold medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics he was determined to turn professional and win the world heavyweight championship,

which he did, defeating Sonny Liston in 1964.

Cassius however was not just a boxer; he was fierce defender of African-American rights speaking out against racial discrimination. He converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.

His refusal to fight in the Vietnam war, a war he considered unjust, resulted in him being stripped of his heavyweight title and banned from boxing for three years.

However he came back and won three more heavyweight titles; and after his retirement spent his time in the service of others.

With their illustrations, the Mingarro brothers, aka Brosmind, bring a gentle humour to the account of this legendary man.

Published in March is a second title, Stephen Hawking, about the scientific genius who overcame THE most enormous odds and went on to become the most brilliant scientist of our time.

We read how while studying physics at Oxford University Stephen first began to be clumsy and then having moved to Cambridge University to do a PhD, he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease and told, aged 21, that he had just a few years left to live.

Rather than spending his time dwelling upon his lack of control over his body, he decided that in order to study the universe, he needed only his mind.

Black holes became the focus of his attention and Stephen proved that rather than being wholly black, there was a tiny light escaping from them; this was named ‘Hawking radiation’.

We’d all do well to remember Stephen’s words, “however difficult life may seem, there is always something that you can do and succeed at.” An inspiration he truly remains and this is what writer Isabel Sánchez Vegara and illustrator Matt Hunt convey so well herein.

Add these to your primary school collection.

Cinderfella

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Cinderfella
Malachy Doyle and Matt Hunt
Walker Books

I do love a fractured fairy tale and Malachy Doyle has smashed the Cinderella story well and truly with this funky, bang up-to-date rendition.

The star of the show is undoubtedly Cinderfella himself but he has two thoroughly undesirable, enormously lazy, extremely bossy older brothers named Gareth and Gus.

You can just imagine their reaction when an invitation arrives announcing junior karate champion Kayleigh’s birthday bash. Cinders is most definitely not on the guest list, they inform him.
However, once the two have scooted off to strut their stuff at the dance, Ruff comes upon the invitation and all is revealed …

With his brothers out of the way, there’s nothing to prevent Cinderfella from raiding their wardrobe and sure enough, therein he finds the perfect gear to disguise and make himself look the height of cool. Ruff too discovers something that’s just the ticket. Now all they need to do is make sure they get home before Gus and Gareth. Gear and carriage sorted and it’s off they go.

At the party, Kayleigh is singularly unimpressed at the preponderance of Groovy Chicken dancers but then she catches sight of somebody whose moves are altogether different: he and his canine pal are doing the Funky Monkey and she wants to join them …
They dance the night away – well almost

– but then Cinderfella’s watch reminds him that it’s time to scoot and off he and Ruff dash, Cinders dropping his sunglasses in his wake.

No prizes for guessing who picks up those shades and then the search is on.

Will the ace disco boppers be reunited and live as far-out friends ever after.

Matt Hunt is the perfect illustrative partner for Malachy Doyle here: his hip guys and gals are a wonderfully inclusive cast of characters and those party scenes are certain to make you want to get up and swing your hips to and fro, swing those hips and go, go, go as you too join in with that Funky Monkey. You might even be tempted to try a few karate kicks too.
Utterly irresistible.

Message in a Bottle

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Message in a Bottle
Matt Hunt
Scholastic Children’s Books
Town life doesn’t suit Lion: he dreams of clear sunny skies, wind in his mane, sand in his paws and, his guitar. Nothing more. So when he spies a ‘beach house for sale’ advert he cannot believe his luck. That very evening he packs the necessities – mostly strawberry smoothies – and heads off over land, air and sea until he reaches the island of his dreams. There, he takes up residence and thus, his perfect existence commences …

What joy to wake to the sounds of parrots and splashing waves, to breakfast on succulent coconuts and strum a guitar to your heart’s content. Soon though, unsurprisingly, Lion begins to feel lonely; but how can he communicate his need for a pal without a phone or mail service?

Sunlight moment! Lion decides to write a message, pop it in one of the many bottles he has (sans smoothie of course) and drop it into the sea. No response. Lion writes more messages, puts them into more empty bottles – many bottles, tosses them into the sea, watches them disappear, and sleeps …
What happens thereafter, is not exactly what Lion had hoped;

but suffice it to say without giving the whole thing away, all ends happily and … rather noisily. Which all goes to show that you don’t always know what will make you happy; and that stepping out of your comfort zone, embracing difference and welcoming new arrivals can work wonders.
A timely, important message for readers and, a tumultuous one for Lion. Matt Hunt delivers both with verve and humour.

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How do you do, Mr Gnu? / What’s More Scary?

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How do you do, Mr Gnu?
Billy Coughlan and Maddie Frost
Maverick Arts Publishing
Gnu has received a royal invitation, to take tea with Her Majesty the Queen no less. First though he needs to polish up his etiquette and for this he has plenty of role models: the dogs with their polite begging “Woof” Woofs for starters and then there’s that “Caw” of raven’s: that’s definitely worth imitating especially with those spindly legs of his flapping like wings. The fish have such eloquent “Glug”s that Gnu just cannot help but try emulating those …

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Add to that the dinosaur’s “ROAR”; the refined “Neigh” of the guardsman’s horse, not to mention the raspberry blowing from a little girl (think twice Mr Gnu, before you try that one on Her Majesty. Err …

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With its wonderful, final piece de resistance, “Pfffffft” this lesson in manners is sure to have your audiences in fits. They’ll love joining Gnu in trying out the other exquisitely mannered expositions and actions of the other animals so amusingly portrayed in Maddie Frost’s hilarious scenes too. Prepare yourself for a noisy story session when you share this beauty.

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What’s More Scary?
Min Flyte and Matt Hunt
Nosy Crow
This ‘choose-the-flap’ adventure takes readers along with the little boy narrator for a jungle adventure. First though he has to pack his rucksack with the appropriate gear, (especially according to his mum, a toothbrush) and don his rosy red wellies – just the thing for a camouflaged safari walk.

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Off goes the lad along the jungle path and before long he hears some alarming sounds; seemingly he’s being followed but then comes a fork in the path: which way should he go? Crisis averted, it’s time to proceed but again the path divides and another choice needs making – or not! Well yes in a way but a spot of tree climbing is required.

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And so it goes on with a bit of dangling, followed by rowing and another fork – in the river this time, with a croc one way and piranhas the other. Next there’s a choice between a tree with a snake, or one with a grumpy gorilla, to climb; then inside a cave, our narrator, aka “Jimmy” is confronted with something with the scariest ever eyes: what could that be? The little guy has had enough of safari-ing and beats a hasty path back home: has he escaped though?
With a final choice left to the reader, Flyte and Hunt’s flap-filled foray into the wild, has plenty to engage and involve youngsters.

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