Tag owning up

Cake!

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Cake!
Ellie Patterson and Gabriela Gil
Little Tiger

This tasty offering will surely set the taste buds of young humans tingling as they follow the events of this birthday cake whodunnit. Bunny and seven brothers are all missing their birthday cakes but who has eaten them? Was it Tiger? Not according to the large striped cat who tells the bunnies it was Rhino and indicates the cliff edge across which is a tightrope. Over teeter the bunnies plus Tiger and despite the rope snapping, they find themselves right beside Rhino who certainly looks somewhat sticky.

She though shifts the blame to Flamingo and the animals all head to the lake where they spy another pretty obvious cake gobbler among the flamingo flamboyance.

Suddenly the bunnies realise they’re the only ones in the lake so they decide to wend their way home sans cakes.

However, there’s a surprise waiting for them: the culprits have made amends and tasty treats await the home comers. But there’s one final surprise in the form of a large chunk that’s missing from one bunny’s cake. Who is the culprit this time?

With an important message about owning up to your wrong-doings, and showing you are sorry, this engaging story, deliciously illustrated by debut illustrator Gabriela Gil will delight young listeners either at home or in a pre-school setting.

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.