Tag Petr Horacek

The Found Things / Guess How Much I Love You: I See Me

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These are two Walker Books titles for very young children: thanks to the publishers for sending them for review.

The Found Things
Petr Horáċek

One morning Rabbit wakes to find the sun shining brightly and decides to go for a walk. First though she needs to dress, but one of her socks is missing. The hunt all over her abode for its whereabouts sees Rabbit discovering various other items of clothing, each of which she dons,

but of the missing sock there is no sign. Rabbit decides she’ll sally forth without it, albeit looking somewhat strange. So strange in fact that when she encounters Squirrel and Mouse, they mistake her for a monster. However the two have a special surprise for their lapine friend. What could it be?

Young children will love Petr’s vibrant, mixed media illustrations with their cutaway parts and enjoy participating in the sock search. Adult sharers especially will endorse Rabbit’s parting joyful comment on the final spread. The book also offers a simple, interactive fun text for children just gaining confidence to try reading it themselves, once an adult has shared it with them.

Guess How Much I Love You: I See Me
Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram

It’s a lovely spring day and Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare are out together enjoying themselves. As they explore they play a game of I-spy. Between them they spot a butterfly, a baby bird in a nest and a tadpole wriggling around in the pond. While they gaze into the water Big Nutbrown Hare asks, “What else can you see in the pond?” I wonder what Little Nutbrown Hare’s response is? (The cover is a giveaway!)

A sweet story featuring team McBratney and Jeram’s two wonderful characters that celebrate their thirtieth anniversary appearance in Guess How Much I Love You, this year. (The Nutbrown Hares have also appeared in a couple of animated TV series of the same name.) Many of the adults who share this board book delight with their little ones will likely remember meeting the characters in the now classic original tale.

Blue Monster / Not Fair, Bear!

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Blue Monster
Petr Horáček
Otter-Barry Books

Bored with no-one to play with Blue Monster decides to ask Rabbit; but Rabbit is sleeping and doesn’t hear the request. Blue Monster repeats it much louder, waking Rabbit this time. Rabbit though refuses so the monster proceeds to swallow Rabbit. The trouble is he does’t merely swallow Rabbit: oh no! This crazy creature also swallows in turn Rabbit’s leporine friend, Raccoon, Fox and Wolf.

Having done so he realises his actions were not appropriate, let alone kind. Moreover with all his friends inside his tummy, who can Blue Monster play with? Overcome with guilt and sadness he sits beside a tree and yawns. You can guess what happens next but what will the outcome be? Will Blue Monster truly see and error of his ways?
Illustrated with his usual panache, Petr Horáček’s tale is a surprising mix of friendship and silliness; it’s also a tad anarchic and a terrific read aloud that will both shock and amuse young listeners as well as being a great starting point for discussion be that in the classroom or at home.

There’s further undesirable behaviour and friendship tested in

Not Fair, Bear!
Lorna Scobie
Scholastic

Squirrel and Bear are best friends, doing everything together. Being besties though doesn’t mean they enjoy the same things.and the huge difference in their size can sometimes cause issues regarding playing. One day Bear chooses only activities that Squirrel deems unfair. The tree climbing ends with Squirrel cascading into a bush, Squirrel isn’t a swimmer so the river fishing leaves Squirrel feeling left out and so it goes on.

Come the evening Squirrel is feeling pretty dismal and off he goes to sleep. Not so Bear who disturbs Squirrel’s slumbers announcing that it’s playtime. An angry Squirrel tells Bear that the next day will be “DIFFERENT”.
Before long it’s evident that games played Squirrel’s way don’t work for Bear and the two have a tiff resulting in Squirrel telling Bear that he no longer wants to play with him.
Can the two find a way to enjoy each other’s games without falling out? Maybe, but will what they do please all the other creatures too? Lorna Scobie’s lively, funny story about learning to compromise is dramatically presented both in words and pictures. It’s followed by a ‘Big Feelings’ spread for children and adults to talk about together either at home or in a foundation stage setting.

Little Chick / Little Bunny / One Little Tadpole

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Little Chick
Little Bunny
Petr Horacek
Walker Books

Vibrant artwork with cutaway pages and cleverly placed die-cuts, together with simple question and answer texts, will captivate little humans as they follow the titular animals through their simple stories.
The setting for Little Chick is the farm where she encounters in turn, a pig, a smily cat, a large cow and a tiny mouse, before suddenly emerging onto unfamiliar ground where a friendly horse assists the feathered infant in finding its mother, a mother that is also looking for her little one.


Little Bunny’s adventure takes place in the woods. There are lots of birds to spot as well as a friendly brown bear, but in the bushes lurks a red fox that scares the little leporine. Happily though a kindly owl leads the way to the safety of Mummy rabbit’s outstretched paws.

With his trademark glowing colours, Petr Horáček’s interactive ‘peep-through’ books will be enjoyed by adult sharers and the very youngest listeners. No child is too young for books such as these.

For an older audience is

One Little Tadpole
Molly Littleboy and Jacob Sousa
Little Tiger

With more than thirty flaps there is plenty of exploring to be done between the covers of this large board book. Besides the life cycle of the frog there is information about the birds, insects, fish, mammals and the flora likely to be encountered in or around a pond. However, not all the creatures – for instance the two frog species illustrated on ‘The Circle of Life’ spread’ – are ones that UK readers would come across. Nonetheless this is a book that encourages children to use all their senses when exploring in the real world and to this end includes a spread on pond dipping.

It’s also good to see, on the final spread, the suggestion that readers create a miniature pond of their own as a way of helping nature to thrive.

Some of the illustrations give only an impression of the animal rather than an accurate means of identification so, having sparked a child’s interest, one would need to refer to a field guide rather than rely on this book’s visuals.

Molly, Olive & Dexter: The Guessing Game / Tiny Owl’s Scary Day

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These picture books are both created by author/artists whose work is well loved by young children: thank you to Walker Books for sending them for review.

Molly, Olive & Dexter: The Guessing Game
Catherine Rayner

In the second of this delightful series featuring residents of a garden oak tree, Molly the hare, Olive the owl and fox, Dexter, the friends are playing a guessing game. Dexter thinks of something and it’s immediately guessed by Molly. Her thought is equally easily guessed by her friends and that leaves Olive to be the thinker. “I’m thinking about TWO things at the same time!” she announces.

Young listeners may well have guessed her ‘think’ at this stage but will enjoy following the fun as Molly and Dexter endeavour to work out the answer prompted by Olive’s clues. Even when she practically tells them, the others can’t get the answer right and consequently they get grumpy until at last … the penny drops. Now everyone is happy and it’s time for the three best pals to enjoy a snooze.

Gentle humour and outstanding illustrations make this a gorgeous book to share with the very young.

Tiny Owl’s Scary Day
Petr Horáček

As dawn approaches, Mummy Owl tells Tiny Owl it’s time for sleep. She though pays no heed to this and despite the possibility of encountering scary things, off she ventures to explore what the day has to offer.

Soon other birds start to chase her; she enjoys the fun but feeling tired, she takes rest by some flowers. It’s there that the first scary thing happens, so away she flies.

The river is her next stop but as she stands on a large stone, Tiny Owl is unaware of being watched. ‘Creep Crack Click Clack’, scary moment number two. Time to take to the air again, in search now of a quiet place.

Resting on a branch along with several other birds feels safe but before long comes scary moment number three.

Accepting that her mother was right about the scariness of the day,Tiny Owl decides to head for home but when she reaches her tree, there is no Mummy Owl waiting to welcome her. Yet another scary moment but this time there is no need to worry; it’s Mummy returning. Where has she been to make her so tired? Having recovered from breathlessness, the two owls snuggle up together until the moon comes up, calling them out into the night sky.

Young children will love following Tiny Owl’s adventure with its alarming encounters, dramatically illustrated in Petr Horáček’s striking illustrations.

What You Need To Be Warm

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What You Need To Be Warm
Neil Gaiman
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

In 2019 Neil Gaiman author and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, asked his Twitter followers, ‘What reminds you of warmth?’ He received thousands of replies and from these he composed a freeform poem in aid of UNHCR’s 2019 winter appeal.

The images Gaiman gathered signifying warmth range from clutching a baked potato

to ‘The tink tink tink of / iron radiators /waking in an old house. / To surface from dreams in a bed , / burrowed beneath blankets / and comforters,’ …to ‘the wood burning / in the stove’ .
There is hope though for the poem concludes thus, ‘You have the right / to be here.’
Thirteen artists: Yuliya Gwilym, Nadine Kaadan, Pam Smy, Daniel Egnéus, Beth Suzanna, Marie-Alice Harel, Petr Horáček, Chris Riddell, Bagram Ibatoulline, Benji Davies, Majid Adin,

and Richard Jones each provided an original illustration. Twelve illustrators offered comments printed at the back of the book. Oliver Jeffers created the stirring cover art and this important, compelling book is the result.

A wonderfully warm glow emanates from his cover images: would that such warmth be offered to all refugees and other people displaced of necessity around the world. With both the on-going conflict in Ukraine and now that in Israel and Gaza, its humanitarian message is even more urgent today than it was four years back when the tweet went out.

A donation of £1.55 from each sale of the book in the UK and at least 40p from sales in other territories will be donated to the UN Refugee Agency.

The Star Whale

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The Star Whale
Nicola Davies and Petr Horáček
Otter-Barry Books

What a truly beautiful celebration of some of the world’s natural beauty is this book containing forty poems penned by zoologist/ writer Nicola Davies, each one accompanied by a stunning painterly illustration by Petr Horáček.

It’s impossible for me to choose absolute favourites, such are the riches contained herein but one I was instantly drawn to today is Kingfisher, the opening and closing lines of which are: ‘A strike of turquoise lightning / Swallowed by its own reflection / … ‘And nothing matters in the world / But this small glint of wonder.’

It seems as though Nicola visited our re-wilded garden for her description of the kind of garden she loves – a place where ‘stems make a jungly chaos / and beetles prowl.’ … ‘Where wildflowers bloom to feed the butterflies / and bees.’ … ‘where neat and tidy are forgotten / and nature rules.’

As trees are my favourite thing in the natural world, I was also attracted to Mama Tree wherein the description of interconnectedness goes like this: ‘ Mama tree is talking to her children. / Through fungal fingers that wrap around her roots / she reaches out like any mother / to touch, to feed, to warn.’ If I sat beneath the tree Petr has painted for this poem, I don’t think I’d want to move. for a long time.

In this wonderful book you will also be able to fly on the back of a bat and ’learn all the star-scattered secrets of night,’ meet a morning raven, attempt to get your tongue around the moth alphabet, join the Earth in her seasonal dance around the sun; be enchanted by the colours of a dragonfly; you could even encounter a dinosaur or two.

A book to keep and a book to give.

The Perfect Present / Tofu Takes Time

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The Perfect Present
Petr Horáček
Otter-Barry Books

Mot and Tom are the best of friends; they also share a birthday on which they exchange gifts. Tom gives Mot a multi-coloured feather which his friend imagines might be from the world’s most spectacular bird. Mot gives Tom a marble, also multi-coloured; could that perhaps be the universe’s smallest planet. Tom would love to give his friend an entire ocean alive with creatures large and small, perhaps even a monster

and a host of wild animals like lions, monkeys and an elephant. Mot’s choices to give Tom are hills, rivers, forests and mountains, the sun too.

Having spent a long time in all these imaginings the two friends go outdoors to play in the rain

and then back indoors after a bath together they share a scrumptious birthday tea. I wonder what Tom and Mot decided was the best present of all as they snuggled down ready for sleep.

Petr Horáček’s vibrant mixed media illustrations radiate the warmth these two moggy pals share in this gorgeous celebration of friendship and the power of the imagination that’s perfect for giving and sharing with young humans on any day but perhaps birthdays especially.

Also showing the importance of spending time together is

Tofu Takes Time
Helen H. Wu and Julia Jarema
Beaming Books

Instead of popping to the supermarket to buy readymade tofu, it’s a case of PLINK PLANK PLUNK followed by CLICK CLACK WHIRRRR as Lin’s grandmother, NaiNai begins making tofu from scratch, watched by the little girl who is impatient to see the finished product. But all good things take time and patience, and that is what NaiNai tells Lin from the outset as she gradually involves her in some of the tofu-making tasks including straining the soy milk, lemon squeezing

and squishing and moulding the curds into shape.

However, as Lin gradually learns, the tofu making process not only takes time, it takes the whole universe too. It takes the seed from soil and sunshine, the cloth from thread and fibre,

weight and space, stories and pictures from books: and most of all, it takes spending precious time with her much-loved grandmother.

Julia Jarema’s illustrations have a feeling of gentleness, as they alternate between details of the tofu-making and Lin’s imaginings in Helen Wu’s tasty tale of patience and delayed gratification. Her inclusion of playful, onomatopoeic language and NaiNai’s repeat phrase add to the fun for young listeners; and her ‘more about tofu’ and author’s note will interest both adults and youngsters with an interest in cooking.

A Best Friend for Bear

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A Best Friend for Bear
Petr Horáček
Walker Books

As Black Bear wanders alone he decides a friend would cure his loneliness but finding one in a large forest is far from easy. Suddenly to his surprise he comes upon another creature: it’s Brown Bear and co-incidentally that bear too is searching for a friend. Brown Bear agrees to Black Bear’s suggestions that they look together and off they go, both commenting on the difficulty of their mission. The search is occasionally hazardous but exciting

and it’s good to have a fellow creature to help when needed.

After hunting unsuccessfully for a while, Brown Bear suggests they practise with each other by playing hide-and-seek. All goes well until Black Bear is unable to find Brown Bear until …

and then as they sit side by side, a realisation dawns …

Young listeners will delight in being in the know with the author about what’s coming in the two final spreads and equally will love the warmth and on-going humour of the story. Petr Horáček’s arresting, richly textured and coloured, scribbly visuals are truly gorgeous: I love too, the way the bears’ eyes say so much in their search for what’s right there in front of (or beside) them all along.

Mister Boo!

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Mister Boo!
Joyce Dunbar and Petr Horáček
Walker Books

Meet Mister Boo, a mischievous moggy that loves to tease, not least Rosie when he pops his head out from the box on arrival at her home.

Surprises are his special thing: he alarms the mice, flips the goldfish from their bowl,

and come spring there’s no stopping him. He frightens the baby birds as they learn to fly,

terrifies the baby rabbits and the owl fledglings with his springtime joie de vivre.

Time passes and one morning awoken late by birdsong, Mister Boo finds that despite it being spring, he no longer feels that spring in himself. Equally upsetting is the fact that the other animals either ignore him or show him little interest other than the mother owl that lets him know what she thinks.

Feeling decidedly downhearted Mister Boo creeps back home where he’s greeted by a joyful Rosie who has a surprise in store.

Can this restore his spirits? He’ll assuredly need to accept some changes in the home …

Told through Joyce’s chatty text with its lively, playful language and Petr’s distinctive, brilliantly expressive scenes of the ups and downs of the titular character this will delight young listeners and adult sharers alike, especially those with a particular penchant for prankish cats.

The Last Tiger

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The Last Tiger
Petr Horáček
Otter-Barry Books

Animal freedom and conservation are the themes underlying Petr Horáček’s stunningly illustrated, ominously titled new book that begins in the jungle where there dwells a fearless tiger, the strongest, most powerful creature of all.

When a group of hunters come to the jungle, the other animals are alarmed and flee into hiding, urging the tiger to do likewise.

Undaunted the tiger ignores their warning and he’s spotted by the men who are determined to capture the beautiful creature.

Back to the city they go only to return with more men and a plan.
Luring the tiger into a net, they catch him, and he’s taken away and put in a cage for all to see.

In captivity, the unhappy tiger dreams only of running free in the jungle and gradually wastes away. The humans lose interest in him

and one night he’s able to slip between the bars of his cage.

Free once more, the tiger regains his strength and stature while always remembering that what he values most is being free.

Very much a modern fable, this thought provoking book with its vibrant, richly patterned art invites readers of all ages to consider the fragility of freedom itself.

Grumpy Duck

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Grumpy Duck
Joyce Dunbar and Petr Horáček
Walker Books

Down at the pond there’s a duck with the grumps but who can blame her since her pond is dry and she’s all alone without a playmate in sight.

Off she goes to seek one, her first request being directed to Dog. Dog is more than willing so long as Duck will join in with some messy hole digging. Duck, having no wish for filthy feathers turns down the offer, thus increasing the size of the little grey cloud that is accompanying her.

Pig’s muddy puddle is deemed too pongy, she doesn’t do ‘cockadoodling’, nor competitive hopping,

peaceful dozing or clothes chomping, so Duck also refuses the suggestions proffered by Cockerel, Rabbit, Tortoise and Goat.

By now, that cloud above her is both black and absolutely ginormous; big enough to cover all those animals whose offers have been rejected and now they, along with Duck, look pretty dejected.

All of a sudden that black cloud, as is the wont of such aerosol masses, decides to burst, precipitating a multitude of BIG SHINY WET SPLASHY RAINDROPS.

Before long the cacophony issuing from their sloshy, sploshy, splashy splishy surroundings is that emitted by seven joyful farmyard residents having the time of their lives.

And the big black cloud? That’s nowhere to be seen; instead the sky is emblazoned with all the colours of the rainbow.

Joyce Dunbar’s patterned text is full of delicious alliteration and a delight to read aloud. I can see this soon becoming a storytime favourite and one that children may well want to try reading for themselves once they’ve heard the story a couple of times.

Petr Horáček’s illustrations are more scribbly delicious than ever. Splendidly expressive and instantly recognisable: I wonder how many listeners, already lovers of Horáček’s vibrant art will bring to mind his Greedy Goat when they see the garment gobbling Goat in this story.

When the Moon Smiled / Vehicles ABC

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When the Moon Smiled
Petr Horáček
Walker Books
Full of twinkling charm is this board book version of a favourite Petr Horáček counting story.

One evening the moon rises to discover that everything down below has gone topsy-turvy. The animals that should have been awake are nowhere in sight while those that ought to have been asleep are still awake.

Time to light the stars and set things right, thinks the moon. And so he does, one by one.

The first star lit sends the dog into the land of nod; the second is for the two cats; they stretch and go out on the prowl.

Then in turn he goes on to light a star, for, the three cows, four bats,

five pigs, six foxes, seven geese, eight mice, nine sheep and finally, the tenth star is for the moths.

Now the entire sky is full of stars shining down over the farm and all’s right with the world.

It’s a perfect bedtime story for little ones, so written in a lyrical manner and illustrated in mixed media by Horáček, as to induce a feeling of somnolence.

Children will love to join in counting the stars and animals along with the moon as he alternates between setting to rights the diurnal and nocturnal creatures, before falling fast asleep themselves.

Vehicles ABC
Jannie Ho
Nosy Crow

Just right for introducing an assortment of 26 means of transport, from ambulance to zeppelin, is this alphabetic array of vehicles that run on land, move across water or fly through the air.

If your child’s at that stage, it’s great for learning letters of the alphabet by name and also the initial sounds; although electric car and ice-cream van, unicycle, Queen Mary and express train will need a bit of extra talking about (one of the snags of phonics).

With bold bright images against equally bright backgrounds to enjoy, the sounds of the various vehicles to make – both you and your toddler can have fun being inventive over this – plus possibilities such as wheels, lack of, who might drive and countless other possible things to talk about, this little board book is simply bursting with a wealth of language learning potential.

Board Book Choice

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Where is Little Fish?
Count with Little Fish
Lucy Cousins
Walker Books

Lucy Cousins who created Hooray for Fish adds two new board books to her undersea titles and they’re absolutely perfect for babies and toddlers.
In the first, Little Fish is in playful mood as he enjoys a game of hide and seek with his undersea friends. The repeat question starting ‘Is Little Fish … ‘ is an open invitation for listeners to join in with the game.
Finding him is tricky as there are all manner of hiding places on the ocean floor – behind the coral, inside a shell or the treasure chest, perhaps even among the seaweed fronds.
Tinies can enjoy discovering his location and meeting some of his playmates by manipulating the flap on each spread.

Here’s one year old Raf. doing just that!

Count with Little Fish is a rhyming suggestion to join in as the tiny creature swims through the water meeting 2 fin-fin fish

3 counting fish, 4 flying fish, 5 fat fish, 6 thin ones, 7 scary sharp toothed ones, 8 shy ones, 9 that have turned themselves upside down and finally 10 fish swimming in a circle.
A fun-filled first counting book.

Who is Sleeping?
Who is the Biggest?
Petr Horáček
Walker Books

Lift the flap fun with classy, textured images of wonderfully personable creatures partially hidden, on spreads absolutely bursting with colour in Petr Horáček’s signature style: what more could a toddler want?
In Who’s Sleeping? they meet a dozing owl, a napping frog, a snoozing crocodile, a sleeping fish and a slumbering Polar bear and a final child in dreamland in this enchanting guessing game.
A variety of descriptive words are introduced as contrasting sized wild animals pose side by side in the half dozen spreads of Who is the Biggest? There’s ‘Brave Lion and Shy Meerkat, Short Penguin and Tall Ostrich, Slow Tortoise and Fast Hare, Heavy Whale and Light Jellyfish, Noisy Parrot and Quiet Mouse and these two beauties …

But the biggest of all lurks behind Big Monkey’s tail. Now what could that be?
Wonderfully shaped wild beasts and flaps to explore add up to hours of visual pleasure and some new vocabulary to learn along the way.

Storytime with Ted
Sophy Henn
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Red Reading Hub’s favourite board book character stars in a new addition to Sophy Henn’s lift-the-flap series as he contemplates the possibilities of storytime.
Will it be full of magical wizards with their twinkly spells? Or a stomping dinosaur adventure perhaps. What about a fairytale; Ted loves this one …

but he also enjoys spooky tales; maybe he’ll choose one of those.
Now his animal audience is assembled, and they’re all sitting comfortably, what will their “Once upon a time… “ story be? What would you choose?
Ted and his entourage never fail to delight and so it is here. If you and your toddler have yet to encounter Ted, I urge you to do so right away; he’s utterly adorable.

I’ve signed the charter  

The Mouse Who Wasn’t Scared

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The Mouse Who Wasn’t Scared
Petr Horàček
Walker Books

From the cover illustration of Little Mouse clad in stripy boots, gloves and tail warmer, we know we’re in for a treat with Petr Horàček’s latest picture book.

Despite her size, Little Mouse is a fearless creature. That, at least, is what she assures Rabbit in response to his warning about the woods being full of large scary animals.

Off she goes to explore.

Deep in the woods she comes upon something large and grey under the branches of a tree …

and this is what she says, “You don’t scare me … Do you want to play?”

Receiving no response from the wolf, Little Mouse continues on her way.

In the shadows sits a very large bear, which Little Mouse addresses in similar fashion. Again no reply is forthcoming.

The moose also remains silent in response to her invitation to play,

so Little Mouse proceeds cheerily and confidently onwards until she spies a little house.

The creature waiting behind the door certainly isn’t big and is more than willing to play with Little Mouse; but …

By means of the textual pattern and atmospheric mixed media illustrations, Horàček builds tension slowly, controlling the pacing perfectly until Little Mouse reaches the house.
When readers turn the cut-down page to open the cottage door, they’re already eagerly anticipating something unexpected though perhaps not what is revealed waiting within.

A great read aloud be that with a nursery group or with individuals.

Picken / Animal Counting

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Picken
Mary Murphy
Walker Books
What a clever title for this ‘mix and match’ farm animal book. Here youngsters surely can ‘pick ‘n mix’ the opposite sides of this split page board book to create a host of crazy animals. Thus for instance, a Calf can become a Camb, a Cacken, a Catten, a Caglet, a Case …

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(I’ll leave you to work out what animal the rear end belongs to) and a Cappy.
A kitten on the other hand, might be a Kilf or a Kimb …

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or four other strange creatures.
Essentially this is a game in a book and with Mary Murphy’s bold, bright illustrations, a delightful one at that. In addition, it’s a wonderfully playful way to develop some sound/symbol associations.

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Animal Counting
Petr Horáček
Walker Books
This lift-the flap animal book is just the thing to encourage the very young to participate in the development of their counting skills. Brightly coloured images of a giraffe, zebras, cheetahs …

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snakes, crocodiles, chameleons, toucans, pandas, lemurs and finally fish are presented alongside the appropriate numeral and when the half-page flap on the right-hand side of each double spread is lifted, it reveals both a number symbol fashioned from the featured animal and the corresponding number word.

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To add further interest, each animal is described in an adjectival phrase such as-‘Seven Screeching toucans‘ or ‘Nine leaping lemurs‘.

The Greedy Goat

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The Greedy Goat
Petr Horáček
Walker Books
What a tremendous treat of an extended joke of a book this is. I thought at first that the particular Goat in question must have an extraordinarily strong constitution as she gobbles up dog’s food for her breakfast, washed down with slurps of the cat’s milk; this is followed by a veritable 3-course lunch: pig’s potato peelings for starters, the farmer’s wife’s plant as entrée and his daughter’s shoe for dessert. And her supper – can you believe it- is this …

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It should come as no surprise then that after a whole day’s experimental gormandising our heroine starts to feel its effects.

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Moreover, the farmer’s family too have noticed the absence of their things and the guzzler seems to have absented herself too. Come Sunday, she looks thus:

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It takes a whole week for our experimental eater to get back to her usual self: but that still leaves one small girl in need of new footwear and the farmer short of his boxers. They never do turn up – well maybe they do but let’s not go there! And the goat? Is she now a reformed vegetarian, never to stray from her herbivorous diet again? Umm … who wants to ruin your dessert? The proof of the pudding is in the reading …
Petr Horáček has served up a truly flavoursome cautionary tale with spicy ingredients: a piquant main player, supported by a copacetic cast and – as ever – delectable mixed media illustrations that will be relished by children (who may well try their hand at some of his techniques) and the adults who serve up this treat to them.

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Shiny Red Objects – Misidentifications

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Toad and I
Louise Yates
Jonathan Cape
I’ve loved all Louise Yates’ Dog Loves … books so couldn’t wait to read this one. It’s altogether different; Dog is nowhere in sight but we meet some congenial new characters.
Herein we meet young Kitty who, by dint of searching for her lost ball, comes upon the resident of a large tree – a Toad no less; not the kind that on receipt of a kiss becomes a handsome prince, but one that is eager to invite Kitty into his hole of residence aka his treehouse.

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And it’s one that has all mod cons as Toad is only too happy to point out …

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but while he’s so doing, the pair are interrupted by the arrival of Squirrel who announces an injured owl without. Having hastily donned suitable gear, they hurry out to repair the damage so to speak and in so doing, they discover its cause: “A meteorite,” said Owl. “It knocked me off my branch.”

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Next stop is back inside – the observatory in case of further meteorite fall. In comes Shrew with another announcement, concerning his house this time. There follows further investigations of a somewhat crazy kind …

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until finally, Kitty takes matters into her own hands, unearths the root of all the trouble and guess what: it’s that small, once spherical object that she’d been playing with at the start; and it had set in motion a whole catastrophic concatenation of Owl displacing, house squashing and hedgehog hitting. Fortunately nobody really minded and even more fortunately Toad and Kitty are able to repair all the damage …

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in time for a game before teatime.
With a lovely final twist – or should that be bounce, we leave the friends to their farewells and promises of further meetings …
What a delicious cast of characters Louise Yates has conjured up here: I hope she brings them back for further adventures.

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The Mouse Who Reached the Sky
Petr Horâček
Walker Books
Co-operation is key in this gorgeous follow-up to The Mouse Who Ate the Moon. Herein Little Mouse spies a shiny red ‘marble’ hanging in a tree, wants it and tries unsuccessfully to reach it.

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Determined to get it however, she enlists the help of Mole who decides it’s a balloon but is equally unsuccessful in reaching the object so they ask Rabbit, who assures them it’s a ball. But can they come up with a plan that will enable them to reach the spherical object, bring it down and finally, identify the thing? Maybe – so long as they work as a team …

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They try their best but despite all their stretching they can’t quite get there … “Oh no!” – “Whoops!” … CRASH! But all is not lost – definitely not, for down it comes together with hundreds more and at last identification done, let the feast commence …

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With a cut-out page and a fold-out, the bright, richly textured, collaged mixed-media illustrations are enormously tactile, appealing to both children and adults. The former will delight in peering down Mole’s hole …

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and then out when the page is turned; and opening the vertical gatefold to reveal the teetering trio.
A beauty from start to thoroughly satisfying finish.

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Blue Penguin

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Blue Penguin
Petr Horáček
Walker Books
There’s a magical and luminous quality to the icy landscapes dazzlingly rendered by Petr Horáček in this sublime story on the theme of insiders and outsiders.
Into a penguin colony, in the far south, is born a new baby – a blue penguin. His fellow penguins are amazed. ”Are you a real penguin?” they ask and indeed Blue Penguin does all the penguiny things like diving and jumping (although he doesn’t excel); but he is ace at fishing.

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Bemused though, they begin to shun him leaving a very sad, empty-feeling Blue Penguin with no company save his night-time dreams.
Into one, repeatedly, comes a beautiful white whale that transports him far from his lonely place every night; and every morning Blue Penguin sings the whale a song sending it out across the ocean.

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This song catches the ear of another penguin drawing her closer day by day until finally, “Teach me your song,” she asks.

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Thus the two forge a friendship as Little Penguin learns to sing Blue Penguin’s song and they play and sing together.
Then comes a night when Blue Penguin decides they should sing a new song. Such is its magic that it draws in the other penguins, who, enchanted by its beauty, also want to learn the song. But his teaching is halted in its tracks by the arrival of a huge white whale that has heard the song and responded to its call.

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Now Blue Penguin has a decision to make: old song or new? Go with his dreamtime friend or remain with his new friend Little Penguin: maybe the other penguins will have some influence on his decision …
Sometimes a book comes along that sends shivers of delight right through you. Such a one is this. If only Blue Penguin’s song could be taught to everyone, the world over; maybe a copy of this beautiful, big-hearted tale should be given to each and every child, educational establishment, organisation and every nation’s leader.

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Gracie and Leo enchanted by Blue Penguin and the beauty of the book

Imagine …

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Toddler Time

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A Recipe for Bedtime
Peter Bently and Sarah Massini
Hodder Children’s Books
Baby, baby soft and sweet,
Almost good enough to eat!
It’s night-night time so come with me,
And hear my bedtime recipe.
We are invited to share a bedtime ritual along with teddy (who has the perfect recipe book), and other assorted toys who help put the human infant to bed. After a snack, there’s a cuddle, clothes off, into the bath with lots of warm water and bubbles, then a rub-a-dub with a huge towel – perfect for a quick game of Peek-a-Boo,

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a tummy softening squirt– thank you elephant, into those jimjams and a drink of milk. Now put said infant into a warm place with a sprinkling of kisses and a cosy cover, not forgetting a sleep-inducing ‘Hush-a-bye’ song; now climb in everyone. Night-night.
With its tender, gently soporific rhyming text and pictures so beautifully in tune, I can imagine this becoming a bedtime favourite with many a toddler.

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Are You My Mummy?
Mary Murphy
Walker Books
In this enchanting board book we join a little pup as it travels around the farm asking the various animal inhabitants, “Are you my mummy?” After encounters with a sheep, a cow, a horse, a cat, a pig

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and a duck, our persistent pup finally finds a large dog and joy of joys, her response is “Yes … and you’re my lovely puppy!”
Cute animals, a simple patterned text and flaps to open revealing each mother’s little one are the key ingredients of this new addition to the Baby Walker series. It’s just the thing to share with the very youngest child… again and again I suspect; and slightly older, beginner reader siblings might well enjoy reading it to a baby brother or sister.

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Where Do You Live Snail?
Petr Horacek
Walker Books
Snail sets out visiting mouse, the busy bees, a fluffy bird, a shiny fish and hoppy frog asking them in turn, “Where do you live?” Each time he receives the answer, “I (or we) live in … ” The frog then asks snail about his home and discovers that snail has a mobile home on its back.

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The predictable question and answer format together with Petr Horacek’s gorgeous mixed media illustrations make for a thoroughly enjoyable addition to the Baby Walker series. This one has a wheel that when turned, makes the stars shine on snail.
Another beautifully illustrated title in the same series is:
A Surprise for Tiny Mouse
Petr Horacek
Walker Books
As we accompany Tiny Mouse through the seasons we share her enjoyment of nibbling the corn in the sunshine, moving in the crackly leaves on a windy day, feeling the crunchy night-time frost

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and the snow tickling her nose. What she doesn’t like though is splashy rain so off she scampers to hide until out comes the sun once more, and if the wheel is turned …
Cutaway pages and peep-holes further add to the enjoyment of this one.
In my experience beginning readers also get great pleasure from these books if left in early years book baskets for individuals to try reading for themselves.

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Animal Antics

jillrbennett 3 Comments

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Little E engrossed in Teddy’s bedtime tale

Teddy Bedtime
Georgie Birkett
Andersen Press
In this board book we have some sixty words and seven spreads through which toddlers can enjoy sharing in the bedtime rituals of a trio of teddies plus other toys. Said teds play together then go upstairs for some fun in the bath.

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After that , it’s pyjamas on, teeth brushed, storytime and lights out.
A jolly rhymimg text and cute pictures with lots of patterns and items of interest for the very youngest; for bedtimes and other times too.
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The Short Giraffe
Neil Flory and Mark Cleary
Allen & Unwin (Murdoch Books) pbk
When photographer Boba the baboon arrives to take a photo of the tallest animals in the world, he is confronted with a poser of a problem. The desired perfect photograph can easily fit in five giraffe faces but what about Geri? The shortest ever giraffe offers to step aside but the others are having none of it; all credit to them. Various ideas are proffered – stilts, stacking,

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inverting, inflating and winging him; but none is successful and eventually the giraffes’ ideas are exhausted. Along comes a caterpillar with a seemingly simple solution (children of course, will already have got there).

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Then it’s just a case of a bit of repositioning and neck arching and with Geri in the centre front … click! Perfection at last.

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There are laughs aplenty in this neatly simple story of inclusion, embracing differences and exploring things from different perspectives.
With touches of slapstick, Cleary’s digitally manipulated images set for the most part, against manila coloured paper which has the effect of making the candy-coloured animals stand out, (and up) are bound to make you smile.
Share with individuals and small groups.
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The Mouse Who Ate the Moon
Petr Horacek
Walker Books
Little Mouse adores the moon, so much so that she longs to have a piece of her very own. One morning when she wakes up, there, just outside her hole is a slice of her heart’s desire – so she thinks. It smells so wonderful that she takes a tiny nibble, and another and …

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Oh no! No round moon now. But when she tells Rabbit and Mole her sad news, they say that nobody can eat the moon. A distraught Little Mouse returns to her hole until dark begins to fall when she hears a noise outside. It’s her friends Mole and Rabbit and they have something to show her, something large and shiny and ROUND in the starry sky. Time for a celebratory sharing of the rest of Little Mouse’s portion of moon, they decide. Mmm – delicious!
This cleverly designed book, with its peepholes and cutaway pages build up the scenes and extend the action as the story progresses. Horacek’s striking illustrations are created with a variety of media including wax resist and strong watercolours; the various techniques serve to add depth and texture.

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After sharing the story adults may well take the opportunity to examine more closely with their young audiences, how the scenes have been created and this could well inspire children to try out the techniques for their own artistic creations. Not only a charming and amusing story, but a great art lesson in looking.
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Nina orchestrating the story for her sister

The Farmer’s Away! BAA! NEIGH!
Anne Vittur Kennedy
Walker Books
When the farmer’s away, the animals play. What a din they make too as they tell the story in their very own words: a story of their day of boating,

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picnicking, switch-back riding, waterskiing, taking a trip in an air balloon and dancing. All that, until ‘ARF, arf, ARF’… dog gives the warning of the farmer’s return.Then it’s a mad dash, a CHARGE and a leap over the fence

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and shh shh shhhhhhhh. Phew!

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With its only words being those neighs, baas, quacks, arfs, oinks, rees, clucks cheeps, ribbets, quacks, moos and more uttered by the farm animals as they enjoy their anarchic day while the farmer – with the odd hmm hmm or oh dee doh – toils away on his tractor in the fields –, this delightfully silly story will appeal to children’s sense of the ridiculous. They will love joining in to create that animal cacophony (what better way to sharpen up those sound/symbol associations than this?) as well as relishing the shared joke between them and the author.
The watercolour illustrations of the rural scenes are an absolute hoot too.
Leave this one around in your infant classroom and you’ll hear those sounds echoing all over as children have a go at reading the story themselves.
(You might even create and laminate those animal sounds and leave them for the children to orchestrate their own versions of the book. Then what about some masks? small world play maybe … endless possibilities here.)
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Find and buy from your local bookshop:http://www.booksellers.org.uk/bookshopsearch