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A Very Strange Creature by Ronda Armitage and Layn Marlow


Monkey discovers a very strange creature in a basket. It has no tail, so it can't swing. Elephant notices it has no trunk, so can't wash itself, and so on through all the animals. Finally, big brave Lion decides to ask the very strange creature what it is...

A Very Strange Creature by Ronda Armitage and Layn Marlow

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Category: For Sharing
Rating: 4/5
Reviewer: Keith Dudhnath
Reviewed by Keith Dudhnath
Summary: The jungle animals find a basket containing a very strange creature. They try to identify it in this sweet picture book with a gentle sense of humour.
Buy? Yes Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32 Date: June 2009
Publisher: Orchard
ISBN: 978-1408301869

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Young children will get the joke very soon, and will enjoy laughing at the animals not knowing what the creature is. There's a fun twist in the tail too, and they'll snigger at Lion boldly declaring the creature to be a Waa-aa-aa. The gentle humour is perfectly pitched and gives this sweet tale an extra layer of enjoyment. It bears repeated reading and will become a firm favourite on any bookshelf.

After the slow reveal and fun twist comes the sweet ending of the mother saying exactly what her baby means to her. It's somewhat predictable, but it really couldn't be any other way. The change of mood makes it more suited for quieter reading moments, such as bedtime, although it works fine for reading sedately during the day too.

Layn Marlow's animal illustrations are bold and expressive. They're perfect for any young child learning the names of various animals. As with another Marlow-illustrated book, Just Like Tonight, there are plenty of butterflies and insects dotted around every page, which really add to the atmosphere. Recommended.

My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.

For jungle fun with a great sense of humour, I Really Want To Eat A Child by Sylviane Donnio and Dorothee de Monfreid is a firm Bookbag favourite. Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell is equally great, and also looks at the characteristics of different animals one by one.

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Buy A Very Strange Creature by Ronda Armitage and Layn Marlow at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy A Very Strange Creature by Ronda Armitage and Layn Marlow at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
Buy A Very Strange Creature by Ronda Armitage and Layn Marlow at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy A Very Strange Creature by Ronda Armitage and Layn Marlow at Amazon.com.

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