Newest For Sharing Reviews
Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin and James Dean
My love of Pete the Cat is well documented here at The Bookbag, as I’ve previously reviewed two of his adventures. This latest title, Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes hasn’t let me down, and I think it’s great. Pete is going to school, which can be a bit scary, especially when you’re having to do lots of new things, like go to the library or eat in the lunch room. Is Pete scared? Goodness no, he’s rocking, reading and eating in his school shoes. Full review...
Daniel O'Dowd Was Ever So Loud by Julie Fulton and Elina Ellis
Daniel O’Dowd is ever so loud, which shouldn’t come as a shock to any of you given that the book is called Daniel O’Dowd was Ever So Loud. Much to his teacher’s dismay, Daniel never listens to a word she says because he’s too busy being loud! Full review...
Remarkable Animals by Tony Meeuwissen
Can I introduce you to the Ally-Topus? He’s powerful enough to drag a man in to water, likes to hover over fragrant flowers but seems to be extremely shy and almost impossible to keep in captivity. Sound familiar? Maybe it would help to describe the accompanying picture – an alligator’s head, a bird’s body and a platypus tail. Still don’t recognise him? Maybe we can try another animal. What about the Pleevillar? The By-Tollar? No? I’d best stop there. There are one thousand creatures in Remarkable Animals so we could be here rather a long time. Full review...
Cheep Cheep Pop-Up Fun (Little Snappers) by Jonathan Litton and Kasia Nowowiejska
The animals on the farm are in a playful mood and some of them are hiding. Duck knows that there's a dotty animal playing peek-a-moo behind the tractor, but who is it? Lift the flap and we can all see that it's laughing cow, with her head popping right out to greet us. Someone is playing the same game with ginger cat - and there's an awful lot of mud around. Who can it be? Well, when you move the mud out of the way (don't worry - it's a flap - rubber gloves are not required) we can see that it's piglet, who's having a wonderful time. Full review...
Egg: An Egg-Citing Easter Eggs-Capade! (My Little World) by Jonathan Litton and Fhiona Galloway
There's a big hole in the front of Egg and - curiously - it's egg-shaped. Behind this hole and on every page there's another egg-shaped hole and they get smaller and smaller leaving a neat shape which you could easily balance on egg in. The colours shout SPRING and in case you are in any doubt we're told it's An eggs-citing Easter egg-scapade! You get the idea? Full review...
Preposterous Rhinoceros by Tracy Gunaratnam and Marta Costa
Reading is easy! You may say that, after all you are reading this very review. However, if you had never read a book before and someone gave you one, would you know what to do? When King Lion loses his voice, Preposterous Rhinoceros thinks he can help, but it takes more than just hope to read a book aloud. Will Rhino figure out what to do before the other animals get restless? Full review...
Best Lowly Worm Book Ever! by Richard Scarry
Since we have worn our copy of Busiest People Ever almost to shreds it was with great delight that we sat down to take a look at this book all about Lowly Worm. Lowly Worm is already a well known character in our house, and so there's something delightful in having a whole book about him! And what a book! This has a little bit of everything in, from the Lowly Worm alphabet right at the start, through counting and what it's like at school, to a delightful chapter all about good manners and on to the never-ending fun of playing 'where's Lowly Worm'. It's possible this will become our new favourite bedtime read! Full review...
A Day at the Fire Station by Richard Scarry
We're big fans of Richard Scarry in our house. Though I have to admit we don't usually read the story and we tend, instead, to just spend our pre-bedtime reading minutes scanning the pages for where the cheese car is, or who has stolen the bananas, or what Mr Frumble has crashed into now! This particular Scarry comes as a small disappointment, then, if that's what you're looking for as it focuses solely on the fire station and the activities of the firemen, but the story (if you bother to read it!) is actually quite good! Full review...
Oliver and Patch by Claire Freedman and Kate Hindley
Moving house is never easy, especially when you're a child. Oliver has moved from the countryside to the city, and he finds that not only is he having to adapt to his new surroundings, but he's also dealing with terrible loneliness, as he misses all his friends dreadfully. One day, when Oliver can't bear being shut up inside any longer, he ventures out into the big city...will he manage to find a friend? Full review...
Small Elephant's Bath Time by Tatyana Feeney
Water is the funnest, and Small Elephant knows it. But the one time he’s not the biggest fan of aqua is when it’s bath time. Ewww. Bor-ring. He will do anything to avoid having to get into the tub and Mummy has to take drastic measures. Full review...
Blown Away by Rob Biddulph
If you thought penguins didn’t fly, think again. Penguin Blue is up in the sky but it’s not what you might think – thanks to a fun kite and a cheeky gust of wind, he’s soaring up, up and away from the home, and as his friends try to help they get pulled up and away too. Uh oh. Where will the wind take these South Pole creatures? The answer, in this amazingly fun book, is to a lush, tropical island. It’s full of friendly creatures and wondrous green foliage like none they’ve ever seen before. But it’s rather hot and far from home. Full review...
The Queen's Orang-Utan by David Walliams and Tony Ross
The Queen felt trapped in the palace with all those stuffed animals which she has been given on foreign tours. There are mountains of them and every night she would dream of escaping. When her birthday drew near the family dutifully asked her what she would like as a present. The Prince was thinking of a gold, diamond encrusted stairlift whilst the Duke was considering a great big bottle of brandy. The Royal Baby had some decorated thimbles in mind, but the Queen became just a little snappish as she explained that what she really wanted was 'One's own orang-utan'. And she didn't mean a stuffed one, either. Full review...
Actual Size by Steve Jenkins
There’s an enormous disembodied eye staring at me. At 30cm it’s as big as a dinner plate and it’s in my living room. Which is no bad thing because if I met it in the sea then I’d really be in trouble. Fortunately the eye is contained on page four of the intriguing and really rather splendid, book 'Actual Size'. Full review...
Don't Chew the Royal Shoe by Kate Leake
Dogs, love ‘em or loath ‘em, they get underfoot and have a tendency to chew on things that are left around the house. One set of dogs that you would expect are better trained are the Royal Corgis, they wouldn’t dare chew on a royal shoe. It turns out that they might not, but that won’t stop Chips, the other royal dog and he likes nothing better than getting his gnashers round a boot or two. Full review...
Bully by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
He's a bit of a... well, a bully, really. The farm animals want to play with him, but he just calls them names. He proceeds to insult each one until a brave little goat stands up to him and calls HIM a bully. How will Bully react to that? Full review...
Pom Pom Gets the Grumps by Sophy Henn
Uh oh. Pom Pom is in a BAD MOOD. Nothing is going right today, the world is against him, and everyone is just rubbing him up the wrong way. Harrumph! Full review...
Max's Wagon by Barbro Lindgren and Eva Eriksson
Max had a wagon and he began putting his treasures into it. First it was his bear, then the dog, who was asleep on the chair and looking decidedly disinterested in what was going on, but he played his part. Then it was Max's ball and the contents begin to seem just a little precarious and were even more so when Max's car was added to the pile, but bear sat astride Dog and Max pushed the wagon whilst holding the car on top of the ball with the other. Then he added his cookie and Dog began to look just the tiniest bit distracted and bear fell out. Dog got bear and brought him back and he did the same when the car and the ball fell off the wagon (in the literal sense of the phrase). Then the cookie fell out... Full review...
Mighty Small by Timothy Knapman and Rosie Reeve
Max the mouse has a secret. He is a superhero! He can't run super fast, or jump really high, or do anything particular 'super' but still, he has a cape and he likes to wear his underpants over his trousers, if his mum isn't looking! He is sure that if he just tries hard enough he will figure out what his super power must be. Full review...
The Bus Is for Us by Michael Rosen and Gillian Tyler
As a child of the 80s I sometimes yearn for an era free from Aliens in Underpants or rough Gruffalos. An era of Alan and Janet Ahlberg telling gentle stories that had an old fashioned feel, but were still great for the modern kid. Thankfully, I am not the only person out there that craves this as some books are still being produced that describe the simple pleasures such as riding the bus. However, I think that these kids have obviously never tried to catch the Number 9 at rush hour. Full review...
Whale in the Bath by Kylie Westaway and Tom Jellett
It’s bath time, which is often not a favourite time of day. Really, it’s a sign that the fun is over and it’s time for bath, maybe a story, and then bed, at least for the little ones. The grown ups get to stay up later. Hmpf. But Bruno is not moaning too much about getting in the bath, though you get the impression that’s a battle he’s had, and lost, in the past. The problem is…there’s a whale in the bath. And whales are pretty big so there’s not much room for Bruno to hop in beside him. Full review...
15 Things Not to Do with a Baby by Margaret McAllister and Holly Sterling
There’s a new arrival at home. A foreigner. An imposter. An alien. A BABY. What on Earth should you do with it? Full review...
Tell me a Picture - Adventures in Looking at Art by Quentin Blake
When did you last read a children's book that absolutely flummoxed you in the way it showed or told you something you didn't know? (And please be an adult when you answer that, or else it won't be quite so impressive.) Back in 2001, Quentin Blake wasn't a Knight yet – he hadn't even got his CBE – but he did get allowed to put on his own show at the National Gallery, with other people's pictures that contain oddities, stories, unexpected detail – sparks on canvas and paper that would inspire anyone looking, of whatever age, to piece things together, work things out, form a narrative. The pictures came with no major labelling, no context – just what they held, and some typically scratched Blake characters discussing the images as a lead-in. They were simply hung in alphabetical order, and probably could not have been more different. This then is a picture book of the most literal kind, with 26 stories. Full review...
My Village: Rhymes from Around the World by Danielle Wright (editor) and Mique Moriuchi (illustrator)
I'm thinking that of all the kinds of books that have ability to surprise, high up on the list are poetry books. You can generally see the style, idea or genre of a novel from the cover, and beyond a few shocks and twists nothing changes. But take poetry on board, and there are surprises on each page – the concentrated form of the literature surely gives the author more chance to bedazzle, to pull the rug over the readers' eyes and to generally give something the audience didn't expect. And so it is with this book, for while Michael Rosen's introduction spoke to us of nursery rhymes, I had already flicked through and still was not expecting a spread of them. Even when he itemised the various kinds I didn't foresee finding them all on the pages, although that is what I got. Who would have thought that such a small, succinct and varied little volume would have that much capacity to surprise? Full review...
The Really Abominable Snowman by Valentina Mendicino
The Really Abominable Snowman, it turns out, is just a little yeti called Milo. He’s not even abominable, never mind really abominable! But that isn't what everybody else thinks, they're all terrified of him, even though all he wants is a friend to share his favourite cupcakes with… Full review...
Charlie Cook's Favourite Book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
As a parent, you’re always in search of it. That one, elusive thing; the perfect bedtime story. Well, in Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book, I think we quite possibly have it. This ten year anniversary edition of the book will hopefully bring it to slightly wider attention than some of Donaldson’s more well known titles, as it is a completely charming and timeless book. Full review...
The Pet Person by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
Children's stories often turn a familiar idea on its head. In this story it is that of pets, for the main characters in the story are a family of dogs, and one of them would very much like his own pet person! Will Rex succeed in persuading his parents to get him a person? And if so, will it be everything he ever dreamed of? Full review...
Frog in Love by Max Velthuijs
Frog has been feeling a little strange. He finds himself wanting to laugh and cry at the same time, and his heart is beating strangely. Pig declares that Frog must have a cold, but Hare suggests that perhaps Frog is in love. But who can Frog possibly be in love with? Full review...
I Feel Sick! (Little Princess) by Tony Ross
I should think most parents of small children are familiar with fake sicknesses, in an attempt to get out of nursery/school/the dentist or whatever other trauma you are heartlessly inflicting on them. I remember my daughter aged about three trying to convince me that she had a broken leg, pointing to the broken one and then limping on the other! Here we see the Little Princess insisting that she is terribly, dreadfully sick. Especially when she has been asked to do something she doesn't want to do. Then she feels really terrible! Full review...
The Deep Dark Wood by Algy Craig Hall and Ali Pye
Children love a fairytale. Forests, monsters, Little Red Riding Hood. They open up a world of possible adventures, wonder and mystery. The Deep Dark Wood taps into that format brilliantly, taking ideas and myths already deeply ingrained into our culture and creating a really fun story for children (and adults) to engage with. Full review...
The Jolly Dodgers! Pirates Who Pretended by Neil Griffiths and Janette Louden
I’ll get started with this point; the layout of this book is utterly wonderful. It’s got a great subject matter, pirates are always popular both with adults and children, and the story of a group of pirates who don’t really want to be pirates but who are being forced into it by their pushy wives, is a terribly entertaining one. But it is the layout, style and all the extras which are working the hardest in this book's favour. Full review...
Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes by Walter de la Mare
It was a surprise for me to read online that Walter de la Mare spent so much of his life in and around London – born at least in what is now the borough of Greenwich, passing away in Twickenham. The reason I say this is that out of the copious poems collected here, it's as if cities don't exist. Hardly anything of the subjects is manmade. The concentration is fully on the idyllic and pastoral, and in following on so closely in the footsteps of his debut collection, 'Songs of Childhood' from 1902, still very, very much Victorian. Full review...
Tales from Acorn Wood: Hide-and-Seek Pig by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
Pig and Hen decide to play hide-and-seek and whilst Pig counts to ten, Hen goes off to hide. Pig thinks that she's found Hen straight away when she spots a yellow beak behind the gate, but when we lift the gate flap we discover that the yellow beak belongs to Blackbird, who happily joins in the hunt for Hen. Could that be Hen hiding in a tent? There's a long brown ear peeping out from behind the flap, but when it's lifted, we discover Rabbit, who joins the two hunters. She was having a drink when she was found, but she brings her mug along with her. Before Hen is eventually found we've collected quite a few seekers! Full review...
Sparky! by Jenny Offill and Chris Appelhans
There are so many books about unusual pets, that I was a little wary when first opening this book. On one hand, it’s a subject which I think works really well and is always popular. On the other hand, is it over done? I needn’t have worried, this book is really ever so slightly different. It’s aimed at an older reader, I’d say primary school age, and in the end it makes for a pretty poignant read. Full review...
This Little Piggy Went Dancing by Margaret Wild and Deborah Niland
There are classics of the nursery rhyme oeuvre and This Little Piggy is certainly one of them. Who doesn't remember someone ticking of each of their fingers or toes as they explained the whereabouts of our porcine pals, only to be tickled at the end? However, this is 2014 and there must be a way to improve the rhyme; perhaps the pigs are eating something different or like a different activity? Or perhaps we should just leave well alone? Full review...
Esther's Rainbow by Kim Kane and Sara Acton
There's something rather magical about rainbows. Even now I find I get a little bit excited when I see one and will rush over to the window to see how big it is, and where the pot of gold might be! In this rainbow story, Esther spies a rainbow on the floor. When she touches it, it's soft and warm and smells slightly like honey. After the rainbow goes away she finds herself noticing, throughout the week, the different rainbow colours in her every day life. Full review...
