View source for Buzz and Jump! Jump! (Early Reader) by Alice Hemming and Louise Forshaw

{{infobox2
|title=Buzz and Jump! Jump! (Early Reader) 
|author=Alice Hemming and Louise Forshaw
|reviewer=Ruth Ng
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Help your little ones make an easy start in reading stories aloud themselves.  More fun than a school book, there are some lovely early readers in this series and this one has a lovely, cheeky kangaroo!
|rating=5
|buy=yes
|borrow=yes
|pages=32
|publisher=Maverick Arts Publishing
|date=May 2017
|isbn=9781848862500
|website=https://www.alicehemming.co.uk/
|video=
|aznuk=1848862504
|aznus=1848862504
|cover=1848862504
}}
After hearing a mysterious buzzing in the kitchen, mum traps a fly in a jar, but then she hears the buzzing again...what could be going on?  Meanwhile, Ken the Kangaroo (who declares himself to be the best at jumping), is jumping everywhere he can. In this red level book, aimed generally at those who have completed their reception year in school, there are two simple, sweet stories in one book, perfect for those who are just learning to read.

My five year old pounced on this book, keen to see what the funny kangaroo was up to!  Both of the stories are enjoyable to read.  The annoying buzzing that continues even after the fly has been caught and released outside turns out to be mum's phone vibrating!  Then we get onto Ken the Kangaroo's antics.  He is a very jumpy kangaroo who likes to jump wherever he goes.  After a full day of jumping he's pretty worn out, and his final jump of the day is to jump into his bed.  My son found this fairly easy to read, with just a few challenging words.  He enjoyed the humour in the stories, and the excitement of reading without too much adult intervention.

The Maverick Early Reader series has been created to bring the fun of bedtime stories into the classroom, easing a child's transition from being a listener to being a reader. The format of the books makes them a smaller, thinner picture book, more like a normal paperback size.  They're easy to hold with good, clear fonts.  The books follow the Institute of Education's banding system, and the difficulty of each book takes into account aspects such as content, language style, the book's layout and phonics.  There is a chart included at the back of the books to show the different levels.  Children do learn to read at different speeds, but there is also some indication given of expected ages.  The books also have helpful introductions to certain letters, notes about high frequency words and other words to familiarise yourself with as well as reading tips and fun questions to ask your child as they read.

The illustrations are well done, and support the text as you read.  It's easy to see what's happening in the fly story, and so you can use the pictures as clues if you're struggling to read all the words.  In the kangaroo story I particularly liked all of kangaroos funny friends, especially the small koala.  There is also a very angry adult koala later on in the story, who is upset about Ken jumping all around his shop!

I felt this was pitched at the right reading level, with fun pictures and two entertaining stories.  My son really enjoyed reading it, and he hasn't seen the books in this series as being 'homework' but instead fun books to read and enjoy multiple times.  Definitely recommended!

Further reading suggestion: As your early reader's confidence and skills improve, they might also enjoy [[The Three Little Witches by Georgie Adams and Emily Bolam]] or [[My Brother's Hot Cross Bottom by Jeremy Strong]].

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[[Category:Emerging Readers]]
[[Category:Alice Hemming]]
[[Category:Louise Forshaw]]