Gigantosaurus
Jonny Duddle
Templar Publishing
This is a board book edition of an already popular story and unlike many board books the text has not been cut down.
“His feet go STOMP!
His jaws go CRUNCH!
In the blink of an eye
You’d be his LUNCH!”
Shudder, shudder. The Gigantosaurus is about, warn the dinosaur mums as Bonehead, Tiny, Fin and Bill set off to play on the hill one day.
Bonehead posts himself to stand watch on the termite nest and before long he raises the “GIGANTOSAURUS! alarm …
THUD THUD THUD – a false alarm as it turns out. So too is the second cry and the third. Bonehead laughs at his pals, leaves them and goes off, supposedly to take a nap but “GIGANTOASARUS! Run as fast as you can!” he calls. Enough is enough the others decide and off to explore they go; but then …

Duddle’s prehistoric take on The Boy Who Cried Wolf is enormous fun. The rhyming story rollicks along and with their filmic quality, the digitally created illustrations seem to leap off the page.
There’s also a fold out page and, to whet the appetites of knowledge seekers, there are snippets of information about the featured dinosaurs on the two final double spreads.
Dinosaur style, Duddle has definitely done himself proud.

I’m Shy
David A. Carter
Walker Books
This has the subtitle ‘A Bashful Little Pop-Up Book’ and it’s a delight, as is the eight-limbed creature that after a little coercion, bit-by-bit reveals itself in its full glory:

before scuttling back into its hidey-hole again.
‘Again’ is the response I’ve had from every small child I have shared this little book with; although there have also been many demands to ‘do that bit again’ at the very first appearance of the eye

when the front cover is opened fully.
Short and sweet it surely is: I envisage this one being read to destruction by enthusiastic little hands.

Cheep, Cheep!
Sue Downing
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Cockerel crows a good morning on a bright new day and this sets off a chain of greetings. ‘With something new to share and say/little chick goes on his way.’ “Cheep cheep!” says Chick to little calf.

Little calf in turn moos to little lamb who baas to little foal and thus the four baby animals are off out to play.
Simple, charmingly effective and very ‘join-in with-able’. And surprisingly with such chunky, easy to turn pages, it’s also very light to hold.

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