Tag parenting

Welcome: A Mo Willems Guide for New Arrivals

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Welcome: A Mo Willems Guide for New Arrivals
Mo Willems
Walker Books

‘This is a board book, no make that a book, like no other – A Mo Willems Guide for New Arrivals’: this hilarious offering is probably best suited for new parents, despite the fact that the narrator appears to be speaking directly ’THANK YOU FOR JOINING US’ … ’PLEASE ENJOY YOUR STAY’ to a new babe, in the manner of a travel brochure or similar.

It goes on to detail a short list of activities to enjoy such as ‘SLEEPING and WAKING, EATING and BURPING, POOPING and MORE POOPING’ as well as forthcoming highlights: MUSIC, CATS and STORIES – hurrah for that one. – that the infant will encounter in its early life.

Not everything is a bed of roses naturally, but the voice is again reassuring with Willems’ arch humour shining through in its ‘WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU’, that goes on to mention unkindness, fighting, wastefulness and soggy toast and ICE CREAM DISASTERS. This list is countered with upbeat intentions of happy tears, warm embraces and sharing of ice creams.

I’ve no idea what babes, even a couple of years on, would make of the LOG-IN CODE spread, one of the few that doesn’t have road sign like pictograms.
But, they’ll certainly benefit both emotionally and linguistically from the shared reading underlined with the ‘while we read this book together’ refrain; and enjoy particularly the shiny mirror on the inside front cover.

Superbly executed and sturdily built to stand up to those all-important shared readings, this is affirming, thought-provoking, and meta humour notwithstanding, overarched by love.

Next time somebody I know has a baby, this is the book I’ll be buying them.

Wolfie the Bunny

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Wolfie The Bunny
Ame Dyckman and Zachariah OHora
Andersen Press
As the story opens we find the Bunny family outside their apartment where they discover a wolf cub on the front door step. The Bunny parents are delighted: “He’s going to eat is all up!” warns daughter Dot.
The following morning while Mama feeds it a breakfast of carrots, Papa is busy photographing the newcomer; but young Dot sticks to her assertion about them being his preferred repast, and when her friends come to visit they are of the same opinion.

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Dot decides to go and play at her friend’s house leaving Wolfie, who unbeknown to her, cries. On her return, while the parents continue drooling over the rapidly growing, carrot-scoffing Wolfie, he shadows her every move, even to the shops …

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At this point it does begin to look as though young Dot might after all be correct in her assertion; but it’s not her that Wolfie has his eyes on. There’s something very large there and his dinner of choice is not Dot but Wolfie himself.
Time to make a hasty escape Dot? Errm actually, not. Instead the young miss stands up for, and fiercely defends her (adopted) family member,

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showing the large bear that she really does mean business of the consuming kind and off he dashes but then …

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Is that the end after all ??
Actually, fortunately for Dot, this is a totally tongue-in-cheek kind of tale where all ends, let’s say, rather satisfactorily. OHora’s illustrations rendered in bold acrylics in a fairly restricted range of colours (grey, reds, green and gold) heighten the dramatic impact of the deliciously droll telling.
I love the way readers are kept wondering right up to the very last page; love the ever-scowling Dot and the immediately endearing Wolfie, love the whole thing in fact. It’s a cracking good read aloud whether you choose to share it with a class, a group or one to one; and definitely, a fresh take on a new sibling.

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