The Totally Terrifying Three by Hiawyn Oram and David Melling
This story sees the gathering together of three unlikely friends: a dragon, a witch and a giant. They all consider themselves to be TOTALLY TERRIFYING, yet when they meet each other, they're not scared. As they wander around together they come across a toddler. She isn't phased by any of them and the totally terrifying three soon find themselves entertaining her with a shoulder ride, a trip on the broomstick and a sweetly crooned dragon lullaby. It seems the three friends are not so terrifying after all!
| Totally Terrifying Three by Hiawyn Oram and David Melling | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Ruth Ng
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| Summary: A fun story with lively illustrations. | |
| Buy? yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: October 2011 |
| Publisher: Hodder Children's Books | |
| ISBN: 978-1444903027 | |
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I liked the writing style in this story. The use of words in capital letters helps the reader emphasise phrases and leads small children to join in on the repetition after a couple of repeated readings. The characters sometimes have a funny turn of phrase, like the dragon who says Hang on a tiddly tad and the only character I found I wasn't entirely convinced by was the toddler who seems to use language far more advanced than you'd expect. Still, if you say it in a small child's squeaky voice it feels a bit more realistic!
The illustrations really help the story to work. David Melling has a great, fun style and I liked the way the TOTALLY TERRIFYING three are depicted. The dragon has a large pot-belly and his head is considerably smaller than his body. The witch has the most enormous nose but is rather dumpy and squat. And the giant is very lanky and made to look very silly sitting in a teeny tiny car with his knees up around his ears!
I like the idea that these magical characters that are usually portrayed as being a bit scary in most stories are seen here to be quite harmless and silly and just a bit funny-looking! I imagine it would be a helpful story if you had a little one who was a bit nervous about dragons in the toilet (that was one of my personal fears as a toddler) or witches in the wardrobe as it would provide a different viewpoint for them.
A fun story to share with toddlers that bears repeated reading!
You might also enjoy Don't Worry Douglas by David Melling
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Totally Terrifying Three by Hiawyn Oram and David Melling at Amazon.com.
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