Difference between revisions of "Newest For Sharing Reviews"

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[[Category:For Sharing|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|For Sharing]]
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[[Category:New Reviews|For Sharing]]__NOTOC__
==For sharing==
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{{Frontpage
__NOTOC__
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|author=Adam Stower
{{newreview
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|title=Murray and Bun
|author=Steve Webb and Katharine McEwen
 
|title=Tigerbear
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=For Sharing
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|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=I'm a sucker for a good bedtime story and to me ''Tigerbear'' is just that. With the perfect tone for a bedtime read, a small amount of adventure, a nice rhyming pattern and friendly illustrations, I can see this book sending many children off to sleep to have their own adventure in years to come.
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|summary=Murray is supposed to be a humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to sleep and eat and eat and sleep and, well, whatever takes his fancy next of the two.  But he's a bad magician's cat, so his favourite bun has been turned into a hyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and the catflap they both use can chuck them out, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure and whiffs.  This time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to be honest, but he's turned up and he'll have to do…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184939007X</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0008561249
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1732898766
|author=Simona Sanfilipo
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|title=The Adventures of Birpus and Bulbus: Book One: The Sour Milk Dragon
|title=Rapunzel
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|author=Wynn Everett-Albanese, Michael Albanese and Indre Ta (Illustrator)
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A poor villager and his wife are expecting a baby. However, when the man steals some rapunzel from a witch's garden and is caught, she insists that she be given the baby when it is born. That baby turns out to be a girl called Rapunzel, and as she grows up she is imprisoned in a tall tower by the witch. Her hair grows incredibly long and the witch uses this as a means of reaching Rapunzel in her room at the top. A passing prince hears her sweet singing and seeing what the witch does, also calls to Rapunzel to let down her hair. They form a friendship but before the prince can help Rapunzel to escape, the witch discovers what has been going on and cuts off Rapunzel's hair and banishes her to a lonely desert. The prince searches for her, albeit rather hazily, as he has lost his glasses. Will he find her so that they can live happily ever after? Well it is a fairy tale so what do you think?
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|summary=When we first meet Birpus and Bulbus they're running for their lives in the Forest of Fine Repute. Their greatest fear has come about: the Sour Milk Dragon is chasing them.  He's right behind them, spewing hot, sour milk from his nostrils.  (Please don't try this at home: it won't end well.)  Fortunately, they were nearly at Nobby Lob-lolly - and when a ladder of moss and vines was lowered for them, they escaped. They climbed up to the Tree Wee homes high up in the tangled woods where they lived with their Grand Wees, Nester Nook and Granny Cranny.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846432499</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=B0CC9W7GLR
|author=Neil Griffiths and Janette Louden
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|title=On the Beach: The Winter Visitor
|title=Sneezy Bear
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|author=Chris Green and Jenny Fionda
|rating=4
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|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=At the beginning of 'Sneezy Bear', we meet Bear who is enjoying a soak in the river. Although he would be happy to luxuriate in the water all day, he starts to feel hungry so decides that he needs to go in search of some food. First he spots some tasty looking salmon but just as he is about to grab one, he lets out an almighty sneeze that causes a huge splash which allows all of the fish to escape. Next he spots a cherry tree, but before he can taste the juicy fruit, he sneezes yet again and the cherries explode everywhere leaving nothing to eat.
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|summary=Kit and Teal were just beginning to wonder whether it was better to be at home, bored but warm, or frozen cold and building sand sculptures on a snowy beach when a large slab of silvery ice drifted onto the shoreline. On top of the ice was a polar bear. As the ice bumped onto the sand, the bear woke and with wobbly legs moved from the ice. Kit was all for making a run for it, but Teal knew that the bear was hungry and gave him one apple and then another.  He obviously needed to be taken home on the bus and given a good meal and somewhere to sleep. What else would you do?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>190543426X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1913839656
|author=Hiawyn Oram and Satoshi Kitamura
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|title=Let's Celebrate Being Different
|title=In The Attic
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|author=Lainey Dee
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=''I had a million toys and I was bored,'' exclaims the unnamed protagonist of ''In The Attic''. Rather than moaning about his boredom, he does something about it, so he climbs into the attic and into his imagination. He finds little creatures, miraculous worlds, an old engine, and a tiger to be his friend. He fills his day with miraculous and dreamy adventures, then heads back home to report back to his mum.
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|summary=Todd was excited about spending the weekend with his grandmother, not least because she made the best beetle juice. He packed two pairs of dungarees and his favourite hat and then gathered together his button collection to show his grandmother. She had promised to take him to the Friday Night Club at the local community centre and Todd was pleased about this as he wanted to make new friends. At home, his only friend was his mum and he wondered why that could be. Grandma thought that it might be because he looked different.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849392986</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|author=Rebecca Elliott
 
|title=Zoo Girl
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Zoo girl was not what I expected. I was anticipating your average rhyming story aimed at preschoolers with the usual obsession over zoo animals. What I got was a very deep, moving tale aimed above the usual picture book age that will resonate with people who read it from children to adults.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>074596270X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1529504775
|author=Nick Butterworth
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|title=The Toy Bus (The Repair Shop Stories)
|title=Tales From Percy's Park: Percy's Bumpy Ride
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|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=At the start of 'Percy's Bumpy Ride', all the park animals are puzzled by the strange noises coming from Percy the Park keeper's workshop. They cannot guess what Percy is up to, but soon all is revealed when the doors open and Percy drives out on a spanking new machine. It's a new lawn mower and when Percy claims that it will help him fly around the park he is not joking. He and the animals roar around the park cutting the grass speedily and efficiently. However, before long the mower literally takes off and it looks as if they are all heading for a nasty accident until some very friendly sheep help to soften their landing. Percy decides that maybe his exciting new mower is perhaps not up to the job of keeping the park's grass in trim, but luckily, the sheep have given him another idea...
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|summary=Elsie and her little brother David loved to go to the park and watch the red buses drive past.  Elsie would race the buses along the side of the park but David couldn't - he'd been born with cerebral palsy and even just standing up was very difficult.  One day Elsie spotted a bus in the toy shop window which would help David - and was happy to use the coins from her money box to pay for it as cash was tight at home. Gradually, David learned to stand up, use the bus for support, and walk behind it. Many decades later, Elsie brought the bus, now damaged and rusted, to the Repair Shop, hoping that the experts there could make it so that her grandchildren could play with it.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>000715514X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1529504767
|author=Nat Lambert and Andrea Petrlik
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|title=The Christmas Doll (The Repair Shop Stories)
|title=Colours Sticker Activity Book
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|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
|rating=3.5
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|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=It's lovely to find a book – and even better to find a series of books - which allow parents and children to do something constructive togetherThe first book which we looked at was ''Colours''On each double page spread there are plenty of things to talk about with your child, stickers to find and put in the appropriate spaces and then a game or an activity to completeYou'll find songs to sing, pictures to colour in and join-the-dot pictures to complete. There are even some smiley faces so that you can reward your child for what they've achievedThey're suitable for the three plus age group and will be enjoyed by both boys and girls.
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|summary=Susan was very young when she was evacuated from London in 1939 and nervous about how she would be greeted when she got to her final destination.  She needn't have worried though as she went to the home of Mr and Mrs Russell, who couldn't have been kinder to herShe even had her own room - all to herselfGradually she relaxed and began to enjoy her lifeShe'd help Mrs Russell with the baking and when it came to Christmas Eve Susan and Mr Russell put the decorations on the Christmas treeThe best surprise happened the following morning.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849562938</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1916459943
|author=Robin Tzannes and Korky Paul
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|title=Squeakily Baby
|title=When Chico Went Fishing
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|author=Beth Webb
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Chico wants to go fishing with his father very much, and begs him, but dad says no, he will make too much noise and scare away the fish. In the end, Chico sets out to go fishing on his own, and he does really well. This is a very simple story. It is accompanied though by fascinating, detailed illustrations. In fact, it is billed as a Korky Paul picture book, one in which illustrator Korky Paul has done the drawings. I think this is really interesting as often illustrated children’s books are sold on the basis of the author of the text.
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|summary=Much as mothers love their babies, there's something they all dread - a squeakily baby.  He's so tired but he can't - or won't - go to sleep: instead, he just lies on his blanket and ''wails''.  The sea offers to help. It rocks Baby gently and the waves sing ''hush, hush''. Think of gentle wavelets falling onto a sandy beach and you have the sound perfectly. The mermaids join in - ''la lou, la lay...''  And for a moment it seems to have worked as Baby closes his eyes.  Then a seagull '''shouts''' and we know exactly what's going to happen next.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192729942</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=140639131X
|author=Richard Byrne
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|title=A Practical Present for Philippa Pheasant
|title=This Book Belongs To Aye-Aye
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|author=Briony May Smith
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Aye-Aye goes to Miss Deer's Academy For Aspiring Picture-Book Animals. Dontcha just love that concept? He's desperate to be in a book of his own, but he's not quite ready yet. Miss Deer announces that there's going to be a very special prize for the most helpful animal of the week. However, as the week goes on, the parameters of the competition seem to change, and the Rabbit Twins are up to their usual cheeky shenanigans.
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|summary=Philippa Pheasant was ''tired'' of nearly getting squished as she tried to cross the Old Oak Road. She wrote to the mayor about the problem but didn't even get a reply. Philippa wasn't a bird to sit back on her tail feathers when there was a problem which needed solving: she saw the benefits of the lollipop lady at the school crossing and decided that she would set up something similar herself. Her uniform and lollipop stick were both a little amateur to start with but the benefits were obvious.  All the animals used the crossing and Hedgehog was even trained up to provide a safe path overnight.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192756192</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1776574338
|author=Jan Ormerod and Lindsey Gardiner
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|title=Leilong's Too Long!
|title=The Animal Bop Won't Stop
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|author=Julia Liu and Bei Lynn
|rating=3.5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=The words are easy to read aloud and would be fun, perhaps, to share with a small group of co-operative pre-school children and try out the suggested movements. If you want to get your kids dancing, this might not be the best choice at bedtime, and my boys are a bit wary of directed activity (so we exercise them in the park).
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|summary=Every morning Leilong, the brontosaurus school bus, makes his way through the city, picking up children as he goes.  Children who live at the top of tower blocks don't even need to go downstairs – they simply climb out of the window and slide down his neck.  It's perfect, isn't it?  What could be a more fun way of going to school?  There is a problem, though.  Leilong isn't happy in the city: he's always having to be careful about where he puts his feet and – because he's longer than a tennis court – he often causes damage without intending to and traffic regularly gets snarled up.  The school decides that he can't be the bus anymore.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>019278014X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1776574028
|author=Sally Gardner
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|title=Bumblebee Grumblebee
|title=Snow White
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|author=David Elliott
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Having read many retellings of Grimms' tales, it is refreshing to read one that expands the story familiar into six short chapters while remaining faithful to the original narrative. Gardner adds some detail to the story (the Seven Dwarfs try to protect Snow White by inventing some alarm systems to warn of the queen's approach, and Snow White is making an apple pie when the queen disguised as an old woman arrives with the poisoned apple) but does not remove or prettify the more violent aspects of the story; the huntsman kills a deer and persuades the queen that its heart is Snow White's, and the queen is ''smashed to smithereens'' on rocks as she tries to escape from the dwarfs .  The prince arriving and Snow White returning to life after the piece of poisoned apple is jolted from her mouth is the resolution to the story, but the dwarfs being the guests of honour at the wedding is a nice touch.
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|summary=I love a good board book!  ''Bumblebee Grumblebee'' is aimed at quite a niche market: it's for the child who still enjoys board books (er, see my first sentence) but has mastered sufficient language skills to have realise that you can ''play'' with words and make something quite different from each one.  We have the elephant who dons a tutu - and becomes a ''balletphant''.  The buffalo who has had a bath (complete with yellow duck) and then dries off with a hair drier becomes a ''fluffalo''.  The rhinoceros who drops his ice cream cone is a ''crynoceros'' (think about it!)  The pelican who sits on his potty changes into a ''sm.......''  OK, let's not go there  Some people are eating!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444002430</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1838226834
|author=David Bedford and Julian Russell
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|title=Carried Away With the Carnival
|title=Bouncy Bouncy Bedtime
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|author=Ed Boxall
|rating=5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=At the very start of this book it is bedtime, but before going to sleep, the author asks the young reader:
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|summary=It was one of those memories we treasure from our childhoods: an outing with our grandparents. They're there to undo all the good that parents do, so the trips out were always so much fun.  A young boy was going to the carnival with his Grandad, who told him:
 
 
'Have you ever wondered what the animals do?<br>
 
Do they go to bed like me and you?'
 
 
 
and then we are asked to imagine...
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405257423</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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''It'll be brilliant, just remember, don't let go of my hand.''
|author=John Hegley and Neal Layton
 
|title=Stanley's Stick
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Stanley loves his stick and carries it everywhere. He loves to play with it and finds all sorts of uses for it. Forget all those expensive plastic toys; the stick is the best toy he could have. (It is nice to see a child in a book playing with something that doesn’t cost money).
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340988185</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B09MYXSRV4
|author=Laura Barella
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|title=Otter's Coat: The Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit: A Cherolachian Tortoise and Hare
|title=The Little Mermaid
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|author=Cordellya Smith
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I've always found the story of the Little Mermaid to be a rather strange choice for a toddler's picture book since it doesn't have the expected happy endingOf course that means that usually the ending gets altered, to make it palatable for little onesThis particular retelling for younger children is unusual as it steers clear of a romantic happy ending in Disney-style and actually ends on quite a solemn, sad note.
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|summary=When the world was made, the animals were given gifts.  Bear was given strength so that he could become a protector.  Water Spider received a strong web that even fire could not burn.  Owl had excellent sight so that he could see the present ''and'' the futureRabbit developed intelligence - but, unfortunately,  not the ability to use it wellHe liked to trick other animals.  He was also jealous which was how he came to be in a race with Turtle.  You might think that's not a fair contest but wait and see.  Things are not always as they seem.  I'll tell you how it came about.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846433258</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Rob Keeley
|author=Carol Thompson
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|title= Carrots Don’t Grow On Trees!
|title=Snug!
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|rating= 4
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=What makes you feel snug? Tucked up like a bug in a rug?  Being as snug as a mole in his underground hole?  This story looks at all different ways that make us feel cosy and warm.
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|summary=  Lily loves eating fruit and vegetables. She likes carrots, broccoli, cabbage and aubergines. When her friends at school turn up their noses, Lily is keen to explain how good they are for you and how nice to eat. One day, poor Lily gets tricked by Jordan, who tells her that carrots grow on trees. Infuriated, Lily checks with the teacher, who explains that fruits grow on trees and vegetables, like carrots, grow in the ground. Jordan says, "I did try to tell her, Miss!" and everyone laughs at poor Lily.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846433738</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B09HHN541V
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B09FFJF8YS
|author=Neil Griffiths and Vicki Leigh
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|title=You Can't Wear Panties! (No More Nappies!)
|title=The Scarecrow Who Didn't Scare
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|author=Justine Avery and Kate Zhoidik
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Farmer Wallace makes himself a scarecrow, but the crows and rabbits and mice take no notice of it, eating the seeds and shoots and ears of corn so that when the farmer comes to harvest his crops he finds nothing.  He throws his scarecrow into the hedge in a temper and there poor scarecrow lies...  
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|summary=''For the big, grownup girls out there, the potty masters in training, "You Can't Wear Panties!" is a cry (the big-girl kind!) of toilet triumph and persevering panty pride.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1905434928</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|author=Julia Jarman and Guy Parker-Rees
 
|title=Ants in Your Pants!
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Leopard is having a birthday party but he has very clear ideas about who should and shouldn't be invited. Specifically, he doesn't want to invite
 
Aardvark - I really wondered what the poor animal had done to be so maligned. Aardvark isn't really too bothered, but Big Ant is very offended, and he brings all his friends to bite the party guests' bottoms. Who will come to the rescue and save Leopard's party? Why, Aardvark of course. There is a moral here - don't exclude people from your party because they're not cool enough.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408305259</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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And so it is! This latest book from Justine Avery celebrates a little girl's final goodbye to nappies and pull-ups and graduation to "proper" pants by following her around as she proudly explains to her dog, her cat, her stuffed rabbit and her baby sibling that ''she'' can wear super-duper proper pants, while they cannot. Neither can the flowers, nor the fish, nor the birds. Boy's certainly can't. She's a big girl now and she wants everyone to know it!
|author=Richard Scarry
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}}
|title=Richard Scarry's Funniest Storybook Ever
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{{Frontpage
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|author= Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
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|title=Everybody Toots! (Everybody Potties!)
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=This new edition of Richard Scarry's Funniest Storybook Ever includes eleven
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|summary= Toots, trumps, farts. Whatever your word for them, find us a child that doesn't find them irresistibly funny. Funny to talk about and joke about, that is. But horribly embarrassing if you let one go at the wrong time. In class, say, when everyone will hear it and everyone will laugh. At you. Justine Avery's latest entry in her ''Everybody Potties!'' series takes aim at any shame associated with tooting and gently and calmly, with the familiar humour attached, explains that tooting is perfectly normal. Everybody does it: ''Everybody Toots''!
stories about the inhabitants of Busytown. These "people" are drawn as various animals, and many of them appear in several stories. The local policeman, Sergeant Murphy is a dog wearing a helmet, riding round on a motorbike, and he is kept busy investigating everything from theft to talking bread. He is often assisted by his friends Huckle (a cat) and Lowly (a worm).
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|isbn= B09C2RVJ2W
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007413556</amazonuk>
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{{Frontpage
 
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|isbn= B09BG8V3Q6
{{newreview
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|title= Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! (Everybody Potties!)
|author=Neil Griffiths
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|author= Justine Avery and Seema Amjad
|title=Mrs Rainbow
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|rating=4.5
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Mrs Rainbow lives in Rainbow cottage, an amazing brightly coloured country cottage.  On the inside every room is a different colour, whilst Mrs Rainbow herself wears colourful outfits and dyes her hair amazing shades from beautiful blonde through to peacock green! One day, however, she receives a visit from the local planning councillors and is told she must paint her house to match the rest of the village...grey!
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|summary= ''Who Needs Nappies? Not Me!'' is the latest release in the ''Everybody Potties!'' series from Justine Avery. This series of fun picture books aims to take the pain out of potty training children and replace it with some fun. It's a worthy aim, as any frustrated parent will tell you. .
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1905434936</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B07GZ81J7C
|author=Britta Teckentrup
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|title=When Fred the Snake Got Squished and Mended
|title=The Wheels on the Bus
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|author=Peter Cotton
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=I doubt that there are many parents who've not sung ''The Wheels on the Bus'' to their child at some point.  I've heard it chanted in an attempt to get a fractious child to settle and I've often wondered why it is that no one seems to know all the words.  Most parents never seem to get past the wheels going round and round but Britta Teckentrup has produced a book with cut-outs to take us through all the words as all the animals take the bus to the playground.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408314401</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=David McKee
 
|title=Elmer and the Hippos
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=One day, just as Elmer was having a chat with Lion and Tiger, three angry elephants came by.  The hippos had come to live in their river and they were worried that it would be crowdedElmer was instructed to go and tell them to goElmer the patchwork elephant isn't like that though.  He went to chat to the hippos and found that they'd come to this river because their river had dried up – and they really did need a riverElmer went off to investigate the problem.  Sure enough the hippos' river was completely dry.
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|summary=Meet Fred.  Well, actually, you're going to be meeting Fred-Fred for reasons which will become all too obvious very quicklyBut I'm getting ahead of myself: I'd better tell you a bit more about FredFred is a snake and even those of us who have a phobia about snakes are going to warm to him.  He arrived as a present in a box with holes so that he could breathe and immediately became part of the family, to the extent that they would take Fred out with them when they went out for a walkAnd that was where the problem startedFred didn't have any road sense.  Or brakes.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184270981X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author= Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
|author=David McKee
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|title= Everybody Pees! (Everybody Potties!)
|title=The Hill And The Rock
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|rating=4
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=The Hill and the Rock is a very funny book that is based on one very quirky idea. Mr and Mrs Quest are an ordinary couple but their home gets many visitors as it is at the top of the only hill for miles around. Everyone admires the view, but as Mrs Quest spends much of her time in the kitchen, her view is blighted by the large rock that stands tall just outside the window. Mrs Quest is also extremely good at nagging and she pesters her husband every day until he agrees to dig the ground that surrounds the rock so that it eventually rolls down the hill. That night Mrs Quest is much happier but is puzzled by a hissing noise that stops her from sleeping. The next night they both hear it and it slowly dawns on them that now the rock is no longer in place, all the air is seeping out from inside the hill.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849393052</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Kazuni Yumoto and Komako Sakai
 
|title=The Bear and the Wildcat
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=This lovely picture book dives in at the deep end with its opening sentence of 'One morning, Bear was crying.  His best friend, a little bird, was dead.'  I must admit I initially wondered what on earth I was reading to my four year old and regretted not skimming it first to check, but as we read on together we discovered a beautiful story of friendship and loss, grief and hope.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1877467707</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Michael Foreman
 
|title=One World
 
|rating=5
 
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=In 'One World', a young girl is found staring up at the sun and watching it go down at the end of the day. She then watches the moon and stars come out. Although no further comment is made, she obviously finds it most awe inspiring. This makes the reader think about the sheer magnitude of the world we live in especially when we are reminded of all the creatures that share it with us.
+
|summary= Can potty training ever be joyous? It often isn't, as any parent will tell you. But really, why shouldn't it be? We all have to learn about our bodily functions just as we have to learn about everything else when we are small. Why shouldn't potty training be as much fun as, say, learning about why the sun and the moon take turns in the sky?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849393044</amazonuk>
+
|isbn= B098BJZYHH
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Justine Avery and Naday Meldova
|author=Roberta Angeletti
+
|title=No, No, No!
|title=The Golden Goose
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=The eldest of the three brothers set off to cut wood and on the way he met an old man who asked if he had any food.  The brother refused as he would need what he had for his lunch.  He gave the same answer when he was asked for water – but as he cut wood he injured his finger and had to return home, wondering all the time if the old man had anything to do with his injury. The next day the second brother went to cut wood – and much the same thing happened, only this time it was his toe that was injured.  There was but one brother left and the two older brothers thought that he was too weak to cut wood.  But when the brother met the old man he was happy to share what food and water he had and – well you don't really need to tell me what happened next, do you?
+
|summary=They say the best picture books are the simplest ones. And nothing could be truer of this latest from Justine Avery, a Bookbag favourite.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184643324X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Alison Murray
 
|title=One Two That's My Shoe
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=We've met Grace and Georgie before, in the excellent [[Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray|Apple Pie ABC]]. She's the owner of the scampish dog, who then snaffled her apple pie and now is skedaddling with her shoe. As with the earlier book, Alison Murray takes a familiar rhyme (this time ''One Two Buckle My Shoe''), tweaks it slightly, and tells a fresh story through her fantastic illustrations.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408311968</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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''No, No, No!'' is based around the simplest text imaginable.
|author=Giles Paley-Phillips
 
|title=The Fearsome Beastie
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=When night comes, the fearsome beastie roams the streets, looking for children to eat. He's quite the monster and gobbles up some little 'uns, but doesn't notice little Pete, who enlists some help to do battle with the beastie.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848860668</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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''No, no, no! Okay, okay. Yes, you may.''
|author=Nadia Shireen
 
|title=Good Little Wolf
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Rolf is a good little wolf. He always eats up his vegetables. He is kind to his friends, including Little Pig and Mrs Boggins - who looks a lot like Little Red Riding Hood's grandma. One day he runs into the Big Bad Wolf, who opens Rolf's eyes to the kind of shenanigans that most wolves get up to. Will Rolf give in to his lupine heritage, or will he stay true to his well-behaved self?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780080018</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
That's it! But, like all the best picture books, this tiny snippet of text is a veritable tardis - so much bigger on the inside that it appears on the outside.
|author=Simon Mayor and Hilary James
+
|isbn=1638820457
|title=Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=In Gobble! Gobble! Gobble! we meet a turkey who lives in a farmyard and is afraid of Christmas dinners; another who gets married to a duck and a third who buys a car that never goes anywhere. The one thing that they all have in common though is that they all like to gobble a lot and there is certainly a great deal of gobbling going on in this book. There isn't a great story but the idea of the turkeys doing all of the things that I have mentioned had my daughter smiling.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849563179</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=194812467X
|author=Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
+
|title=The Farm Shop
|title=The Nanny Goat's Kid
+
|author=Devon Avery, Justine Avery and Ema Tepic
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Nanny Goat really wanted a kid – more than anything else in the world, but it wasn't possible.  Her sisters told her kids weren't all they were cracked up to be and she should be grateful. Eventually she decided that she would adopt a kid. Now, we all noticed that the kid didn't really look like a kid at all. In fact he looks suspiciously like a tiger and as Nanny Goat struggled to bring him up the differences became more and more obvious. Matters came to a head when Nanny Goat's sisters' kids went missing and the sisters blamed Nanny Goat's kid. Nanny goat might not have given birth to the kid but she still saw him as her child and when the sisters said that he should leave the herd she decided to go with him.
+
|summary=Kirelle and her best friend Sam the cat decide to go for a walk. Kirelle is dressed for all weathers in her bright yellow wellies and Sam is perfectly turned out as ever in his smart grey fur coat. As they walk to the top of the hill, they see a big barn with a sign outside. It's a farm shop! But this is a farm shop with a difference: all the stallholders and customers are farmyard animals. There are sheep and ducks and cows, goats and chickens, and even some mice. Excited, Kirelle and Sam go shopping.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849390789</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
What will they buy?
|author=Joy Cowley and Gavin Bishop
 
|title=Just One More
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Confident Readers
 
|summary=What happened when a dragon moved into the town's library? Or when Cowgirl Katie's horse went shopping and rode on the escalator?  This fun collection of short stories is unusual, odd and very entertaining!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1877467677</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=0995647895
|author=Michaela Morgan and Katherine Lodge
+
|title=Sadie and the Sea Dogs
|title=Kitty Kool's Beauty School
+
|author=Maureen Duffy and Anita Joice
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Kitty Kool has a new beauty school, and she's very excited about her opening dayHowever, when her makeovers for a grumpy crocodile, messy rabbit and spider don't go quite as they expected she worries that perhaps her beauty school isn't as fabulous as she'd first thought!
+
|summary=Sadie's mother always said that she was a dreamer, her mind never on what she should be doingShe lives by the River Thames at Greenwich and she loves to spend hours at The Maritime Museum or gazing at Cutty Sark.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340989920</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
''Her class had gone one rainy afternoon''<br>
|author=Sharon Rentta
+
''When all the houses cowered in the gloom,''<br>
|title=A Day with the Animal Doctors
+
''To the Maritime Museum''.
|rating=5
+
|genre=For Sharing
+
Her imagination was fired.  She'd love to sail the oceans on an ancient sailing ship and went back regularlyOne day she fell asleep under a glass case (it's the one where Nelson's Trafalgar breeches are on show) and missed the closing bell and the attendant's warning shoutWhen she woke (hard floors don't make comfy beds) she was in the midst of an adventure that she could never have imagined in a world of dolphins, pirates, mermaids and treasure.
|summary=It is going to be a very busy day for the animal doctorsThere's a snake that needs unknotting, a leopard who has lost his spots and the inevitable dog who has swallowed an alarm clock.  But today is going to be an important day for Terence too as he's going to be a doctor – just like his Mummy, who is a doctor every dayTerence packs his first aid kit (some VERY useful toys in there!) and off he goes to the hospital with Mummy.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1407116444</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1782227741
|author=Avril Lethbridge, Diana Mather and Mary-Ann Mackenzie
+
|title=Little Gold Ted
|title=Please Bear's Birthday
+
|author=Vanessa Wiercioch, Poppy Satha and Sasha Satha
|rating=3
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Please Bear is having a birthday party and all the bears, both the nice ones and the naughty ones, are invited. In a delightful sing-song rhyme we see Please Bear writing his invitations, the preparations for the party, and the party itself. Some bears are very good, helping other bears if they are a little shy or helping mummy Bear to set the table. Unfortunately, other bears are not so good. They boast, they scream, their greedy and downright unreasonable.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848860676</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Julie Fulton and Jona Jung
 
|title=Mrs MacCready Was Ever So Greedy
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Mrs McCready ''was'' ever so greedy. She was a cheerful, red-headed lady who simply loved her foodShe would eat absolutely anything – sometimes it was quite healthy, such as the berries, especially cherries, but she didn't even worry if there were ''worms'' inside.  She didn't even worry too much about whether the foods she ate tasted good together – she just loved to ''eat''. This caused something of a problem with clothes, as absolutely nothing would fit her – not even the wedding marquee or the hot air balloon. Eventually she met her fate…
+
|summary=One day, Gold Ted falls into a puddle. It's quite a deep puddle and the water is swirling. Poor Ted starts to spin around and around and is sucked down a drain on the side of the street. Finding himself down in the sewer, Ted starts to panic. ''OH HELP ME PLEASE'' he cries and alerts the attention of Reg the sewer rat, who plucks him out of the dirty water using his cane, which might look just a bit like an old cricket bat. Reg is a kind soul and he dries Ted off and warms him up with a nice bowl of broth.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184886065X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=B08R7LXQ9S
|author=Simon Mayor and Hilary James
+
|title=Remy: A book about believing in yourself
|title=I'm A Parrot
+
|author=Mayuri Naidoo and Caroline Siegal
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I think that most small children will love the friendly, chatty parrot who speaks to them in 'I'm a Parrot'. From the very start of the book, the parrot chatters on, talking what can only be described as nonsense – but it is very amusing nonsense even though he claims to enjoy intelligent conversation. He talks about the different places he would or wouldn't live and the things that he might do. There are many puns and some play on words such as living in 'Polly-nesia' and becoming a 'parrot-trooper'. My daughter also found it quite comical the way the parrot keeps repeating particular words, although I can imagine that if we were to read the book a few times, it might become a little annoying to say the least.
+
|summary=Remy is feeling miserable. He's let himself down ''again''. The school bully Jayden,  together with his sidekicks Ryan and Brandon, have been laughing at Remy, calling him names because he is short and has small eyes. They are mean but they are not stupid. They are careful to wind up Remy when nobody can see and then push him just that little bit further when the other kids are around. So, when Remy reacts, it looks as though he was the instigator. And then he gets into trouble at school and the teachers don't believe him when he tries to explain what happened.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849563187</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1471191303
|title=You Are Very Special
+
|title=The Invisible
|author=Su Box and Susie Poole
+
|author=Tom Percival
|rating=3.5
+
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=''You Are Very Special''  introduces the idea of individuality, of how we're all different and how we're all special. This isn't really a story as such, but rather a book that invites further discussion. Written in occasionally clunky rhyme, it investigates how everyone is different, all different shapes and sizes.  It suggests how miraculous our bodies are, breathing and working through the day and also through the night, even when we're asleep!
+
|summary=This is the story of Isobel, a little girl who made a big difference. Isobel lived with her parents in a house - a very cold house, because her parents couldn't afford to put the heating on:
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0745963005</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
''Ice curled across the inside of the window and crept up the corner of the bedpost.''
|title=From the Day You Were Born
 
|author=Sophie Piper and Kristina Stephenson
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=This lovely little story looks at parental love, of that special bond that grows between parents and children, how babies grow and develop as they get older, and how that love is ''for ever and for always.''
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0745962378</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
+
The family didn't go to the cinema or on holidays but they had each other and they were happyThen the day came when they couldn't afford the rent for the house and they had to move to the far side of the cityThis part of the city was cold, sad and lonely and Isobel felt invisible.
|title=Play With Colours (The Happets)
 
|author=Laurence Jammes and Marc Clamens
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=The Happets are a friendly looking bunch of animal friends all made of different coloured fabricsIn this story we're introduced to each character and told about its colour, for example Milo is green like ''gorgeous green apples, gorgeous green clover, gorgeous green balls.'' Each page has a fabric tab, to match the character in question, making it a lovely book for babies to touch and play with.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444904078</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=Nick Jones and Si Clark
|title=We Love Bears
+
|title=One Night in Beartown
|author=Catherine Anholt and Laurence Anholt
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Two young children wake up one morning to find their teddy bear has come to life and is waiting to take them on an outing to a Teddy Bear Town. The simple text makes for a short and sweet bedtime read, always useful in our house. There are just a couple of lines of rhyming verse on each page, with a nice rhythm for easy reading aloud, and I think it could be enjoyed by quite young toddlers. However, I liked the amusing pictures, with lots of detail to look and discuss with slightly older siblings.
+
|summary= Many children have an obsession and Sandy Lane, who lives in Beartown, is obsessed with bears. She collects books about bears. Her favourite toy is Berisford, a teddy bear passed down by her grandmother. Every night, she looks out of her bedroom window and says goodnight to the bear statue outside. Every morning she says hello to Bee Bear, a colourful painted bear that lives at her school. She even has bears on her bedroom wallpaper!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408311682</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=B08NFH7H9X
}}
+
}}
  
{{newreview
+
Move on to [[Newest General Fiction Reviews]]
|title=Oomph! (Preston Pig)
 
|author=Colin McNaughton
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Preston Pig is a charming and somewhat lucky character who features in quite a few of Colin McNaughton's picture books. In ''Oomph!'', Preston and his family go to the seaside for their holiday where he makes a new little friend called Max. They have great fun together all week but are blissfully unaware that there is someone a bit sinister lurking in the background. With this book, as well as reading the words, make sure that you pay close attention to the illustrations where there is a slightly different story being told.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849392617</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=David McKee
 
|title=Elmer's Special Day
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=My daughter has grown up loving the Elmer the Elephant stories and even though she is now six, he still remains one of her firm favourites. His brightly coloured patchwork skin, along with his wise words and thoughts, is particularly appealing. In 'Elmer's Special Day', all of the elephants become as bright and colourful as Elmer, as this is their one opportunity to paint and decorate themselves as brightly as him. They do become rather noisy and excitable though which causes some of the other jungle animals to complain. Elmer is both wise and resourceful though and soon realises that the way to keep all of the animals happy is to invite them all to join in. He does this and the outcome is truly colourful with lions, monkeys, giraffes, as well as elephants and many more animals, all uniquely decorated and wearing elephant masks. All except one elephant that is. Because this is the day when all of the other animals can shine, Elmer goes and rolls in elephant coloured berry mud until he is the one that looks like an ordinary elephant. At that moment the parade begins and it is truly enjoyable and spectacular.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1842709852</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Tony Ross
 
|title=Little Princess: I Want A Party!
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=The Little Princes is quite a famous character among young children having starred in many stories as well as her own TV series. In her latest book, 'I Want a Party!', she is set on having a do even though there is nothing to actually celebrate. And of course, if you are familiar with this series of books, you will know that what the little princess wants, she usually gets. Having brushed aside her parents' objections, she sets about writing invitations, preparing party food with the Cook, making party hats with the Prime Minister and planning games with the General.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849392684</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Cerys Matthews and Fran Evans
 
|title=Tales From The Deep
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Cerys Matthews has adapted two Welsh legends - ''Cantre'r Gwaelod'' and ''The Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach'' - for a young and modern audience. The first tale from the deep, ''The Ghost Bells of the Lowlands'', tells of a drunken watchmen whose carelessness leads to the destruction of a village. The second tale, ''Myddfai Magic'', sees a man marry a beautiful lady of a lake, with the promise that she will leave him if he hits her three times.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848513127</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Ellie Sandall
 
|title=Daisy Plays Hide-and-Seek
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Jake's friend, Daisy, is a cow.  In fact, she's a very special cow.  If we were a little older than Jake we'd call her a chameleon because she's not black, or black and white, or brown.  Wherever Daisy goes she can take on the colours of what's around her.  So when she stands in front of the stone wall she's a mottled grey colour but when she's in the field of corn she turns golden.  Funniest of all is when she stands in front Mum's washing and is the colour of the sheets which she has hung out on the line.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>140525419X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 

Latest revision as of 09:24, 2 December 2023

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Review of

Murray and Bun by Adam Stower

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

Murray is supposed to be a humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to sleep and eat and eat and sleep and, well, whatever takes his fancy next of the two. But he's a bad magician's cat, so his favourite bun has been turned into a hyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and the catflap they both use can chuck them out, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure and whiffs. This time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to be honest, but he's turned up and he'll have to do… Full Review

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Review of

The Adventures of Birpus and Bulbus: Book One: The Sour Milk Dragon by Wynn Everett-Albanese, Michael Albanese and Indre Ta (Illustrator)

4star.jpg For Sharing

When we first meet Birpus and Bulbus they're running for their lives in the Forest of Fine Repute. Their greatest fear has come about: the Sour Milk Dragon is chasing them. He's right behind them, spewing hot, sour milk from his nostrils. (Please don't try this at home: it won't end well.) Fortunately, they were nearly at Nobby Lob-lolly - and when a ladder of moss and vines was lowered for them, they escaped. They climbed up to the Tree Wee homes high up in the tangled woods where they lived with their Grand Wees, Nester Nook and Granny Cranny. Full Review

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Review of

On the Beach: The Winter Visitor by Chris Green and Jenny Fionda

5star.jpg For Sharing

Kit and Teal were just beginning to wonder whether it was better to be at home, bored but warm, or frozen cold and building sand sculptures on a snowy beach when a large slab of silvery ice drifted onto the shoreline. On top of the ice was a polar bear. As the ice bumped onto the sand, the bear woke and with wobbly legs moved from the ice. Kit was all for making a run for it, but Teal knew that the bear was hungry and gave him one apple and then another. He obviously needed to be taken home on the bus and given a good meal and somewhere to sleep. What else would you do? Full Review

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Review of

Let's Celebrate Being Different by Lainey Dee

3.5star.jpg For Sharing

Todd was excited about spending the weekend with his grandmother, not least because she made the best beetle juice. He packed two pairs of dungarees and his favourite hat and then gathered together his button collection to show his grandmother. She had promised to take him to the Friday Night Club at the local community centre and Todd was pleased about this as he wanted to make new friends. At home, his only friend was his mum and he wondered why that could be. Grandma thought that it might be because he looked different. Full Review

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Review of

The Toy Bus (The Repair Shop Stories) by Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Elsie and her little brother David loved to go to the park and watch the red buses drive past. Elsie would race the buses along the side of the park but David couldn't - he'd been born with cerebral palsy and even just standing up was very difficult. One day Elsie spotted a bus in the toy shop window which would help David - and was happy to use the coins from her money box to pay for it as cash was tight at home. Gradually, David learned to stand up, use the bus for support, and walk behind it. Many decades later, Elsie brought the bus, now damaged and rusted, to the Repair Shop, hoping that the experts there could make it so that her grandchildren could play with it. Full Review

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Review of

The Christmas Doll (The Repair Shop Stories) by Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey

5star.jpg For Sharing

Susan was very young when she was evacuated from London in 1939 and nervous about how she would be greeted when she got to her final destination. She needn't have worried though as she went to the home of Mr and Mrs Russell, who couldn't have been kinder to her. She even had her own room - all to herself. Gradually she relaxed and began to enjoy her life. She'd help Mrs Russell with the baking and when it came to Christmas Eve Susan and Mr Russell put the decorations on the Christmas tree. The best surprise happened the following morning. Full Review

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Review of

Squeakily Baby by Beth Webb

4star.jpg For Sharing

Much as mothers love their babies, there's something they all dread - a squeakily baby. He's so tired but he can't - or won't - go to sleep: instead, he just lies on his blanket and wails. The sea offers to help. It rocks Baby gently and the waves sing hush, hush. Think of gentle wavelets falling onto a sandy beach and you have the sound perfectly. The mermaids join in - la lou, la lay... And for a moment it seems to have worked as Baby closes his eyes. Then a seagull shouts and we know exactly what's going to happen next. Full Review

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Review of

A Practical Present for Philippa Pheasant by Briony May Smith

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Philippa Pheasant was tired of nearly getting squished as she tried to cross the Old Oak Road. She wrote to the mayor about the problem but didn't even get a reply. Philippa wasn't a bird to sit back on her tail feathers when there was a problem which needed solving: she saw the benefits of the lollipop lady at the school crossing and decided that she would set up something similar herself. Her uniform and lollipop stick were both a little amateur to start with but the benefits were obvious. All the animals used the crossing and Hedgehog was even trained up to provide a safe path overnight. Full Review

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Review of

Leilong's Too Long! by Julia Liu and Bei Lynn

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Every morning Leilong, the brontosaurus school bus, makes his way through the city, picking up children as he goes. Children who live at the top of tower blocks don't even need to go downstairs – they simply climb out of the window and slide down his neck. It's perfect, isn't it? What could be a more fun way of going to school? There is a problem, though. Leilong isn't happy in the city: he's always having to be careful about where he puts his feet and – because he's longer than a tennis court – he often causes damage without intending to and traffic regularly gets snarled up. The school decides that he can't be the bus anymore. Full Review

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Review of

Bumblebee Grumblebee by David Elliott

4star.jpg For Sharing

I love a good board book! Bumblebee Grumblebee is aimed at quite a niche market: it's for the child who still enjoys board books (er, see my first sentence) but has mastered sufficient language skills to have realise that you can play with words and make something quite different from each one. We have the elephant who dons a tutu - and becomes a balletphant. The buffalo who has had a bath (complete with yellow duck) and then dries off with a hair drier becomes a fluffalo. The rhinoceros who drops his ice cream cone is a crynoceros (think about it!) The pelican who sits on his potty changes into a sm....... OK, let's not go there Some people are eating! Full Review

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Review of

Carried Away With the Carnival by Ed Boxall

4star.jpg For Sharing

It was one of those memories we treasure from our childhoods: an outing with our grandparents. They're there to undo all the good that parents do, so the trips out were always so much fun. A young boy was going to the carnival with his Grandad, who told him:

It'll be brilliant, just remember, don't let go of my hand. Full Review

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Review of

Otter's Coat: The Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit: A Cherolachian Tortoise and Hare by Cordellya Smith

4star.jpg For Sharing

When the world was made, the animals were given gifts. Bear was given strength so that he could become a protector. Water Spider received a strong web that even fire could not burn. Owl had excellent sight so that he could see the present and the future. Rabbit developed intelligence - but, unfortunately, not the ability to use it well. He liked to trick other animals. He was also jealous which was how he came to be in a race with Turtle. You might think that's not a fair contest but wait and see. Things are not always as they seem. I'll tell you how it came about. Full Review

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Review of

Carrots Don’t Grow On Trees! by Rob Keeley

4star.jpg For Sharing

Lily loves eating fruit and vegetables. She likes carrots, broccoli, cabbage and aubergines. When her friends at school turn up their noses, Lily is keen to explain how good they are for you and how nice to eat. One day, poor Lily gets tricked by Jordan, who tells her that carrots grow on trees. Infuriated, Lily checks with the teacher, who explains that fruits grow on trees and vegetables, like carrots, grow in the ground. Jordan says, "I did try to tell her, Miss!" and everyone laughs at poor Lily. Full Review

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Review of

You Can't Wear Panties! (No More Nappies!) by Justine Avery and Kate Zhoidik

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For the big, grownup girls out there, the potty masters in training, "You Can't Wear Panties!" is a cry (the big-girl kind!) of toilet triumph and persevering panty pride.


And so it is! This latest book from Justine Avery celebrates a little girl's final goodbye to nappies and pull-ups and graduation to "proper" pants by following her around as she proudly explains to her dog, her cat, her stuffed rabbit and her baby sibling that she can wear super-duper proper pants, while they cannot. Neither can the flowers, nor the fish, nor the birds. Boy's certainly can't. She's a big girl now and she wants everyone to know it! Full Review

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Review of

Everybody Toots! (Everybody Potties!) by Justine Avery and Naday Meldova

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Toots, trumps, farts. Whatever your word for them, find us a child that doesn't find them irresistibly funny. Funny to talk about and joke about, that is. But horribly embarrassing if you let one go at the wrong time. In class, say, when everyone will hear it and everyone will laugh. At you. Justine Avery's latest entry in her Everybody Potties! series takes aim at any shame associated with tooting and gently and calmly, with the familiar humour attached, explains that tooting is perfectly normal. Everybody does it: Everybody Toots! Full Review

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Review of

Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! (Everybody Potties!) by Justine Avery and Seema Amjad

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Who Needs Nappies? Not Me! is the latest release in the Everybody Potties! series from Justine Avery. This series of fun picture books aims to take the pain out of potty training children and replace it with some fun. It's a worthy aim, as any frustrated parent will tell you. . Full Review

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Review of

When Fred the Snake Got Squished and Mended by Peter Cotton

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Meet Fred. Well, actually, you're going to be meeting Fred-Fred for reasons which will become all too obvious very quickly. But I'm getting ahead of myself: I'd better tell you a bit more about Fred. Fred is a snake and even those of us who have a phobia about snakes are going to warm to him. He arrived as a present in a box with holes so that he could breathe and immediately became part of the family, to the extent that they would take Fred out with them when they went out for a walk. And that was where the problem started. Fred didn't have any road sense. Or brakes. Full Review

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Review of

Everybody Pees! (Everybody Potties!) by Justine Avery and Naday Meldova

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Can potty training ever be joyous? It often isn't, as any parent will tell you. But really, why shouldn't it be? We all have to learn about our bodily functions just as we have to learn about everything else when we are small. Why shouldn't potty training be as much fun as, say, learning about why the sun and the moon take turns in the sky? Full Review

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Review of

No, No, No! by Justine Avery and Naday Meldova

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They say the best picture books are the simplest ones. And nothing could be truer of this latest from Justine Avery, a Bookbag favourite.

No, No, No! is based around the simplest text imaginable.

No, no, no! Okay, okay. Yes, you may.

That's it! But, like all the best picture books, this tiny snippet of text is a veritable tardis - so much bigger on the inside that it appears on the outside. Full Review

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Review of

The Farm Shop by Devon Avery, Justine Avery and Ema Tepic

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Kirelle and her best friend Sam the cat decide to go for a walk. Kirelle is dressed for all weathers in her bright yellow wellies and Sam is perfectly turned out as ever in his smart grey fur coat. As they walk to the top of the hill, they see a big barn with a sign outside. It's a farm shop! But this is a farm shop with a difference: all the stallholders and customers are farmyard animals. There are sheep and ducks and cows, goats and chickens, and even some mice. Excited, Kirelle and Sam go shopping.

What will they buy? Full Review

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Review of

Sadie and the Sea Dogs by Maureen Duffy and Anita Joice

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Sadie's mother always said that she was a dreamer, her mind never on what she should be doing. She lives by the River Thames at Greenwich and she loves to spend hours at The Maritime Museum or gazing at Cutty Sark.

Her class had gone one rainy afternoon
When all the houses cowered in the gloom,
To the Maritime Museum.

Her imagination was fired. She'd love to sail the oceans on an ancient sailing ship and went back regularly. One day she fell asleep under a glass case (it's the one where Nelson's Trafalgar breeches are on show) and missed the closing bell and the attendant's warning shout. When she woke (hard floors don't make comfy beds) she was in the midst of an adventure that she could never have imagined in a world of dolphins, pirates, mermaids and treasure. Full Review

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Review of

Little Gold Ted by Vanessa Wiercioch, Poppy Satha and Sasha Satha

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One day, Gold Ted falls into a puddle. It's quite a deep puddle and the water is swirling. Poor Ted starts to spin around and around and is sucked down a drain on the side of the street. Finding himself down in the sewer, Ted starts to panic. OH HELP ME PLEASE he cries and alerts the attention of Reg the sewer rat, who plucks him out of the dirty water using his cane, which might look just a bit like an old cricket bat. Reg is a kind soul and he dries Ted off and warms him up with a nice bowl of broth. Full Review

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Review of

Remy: A book about believing in yourself by Mayuri Naidoo and Caroline Siegal

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Remy is feeling miserable. He's let himself down again. The school bully Jayden, together with his sidekicks Ryan and Brandon, have been laughing at Remy, calling him names because he is short and has small eyes. They are mean but they are not stupid. They are careful to wind up Remy when nobody can see and then push him just that little bit further when the other kids are around. So, when Remy reacts, it looks as though he was the instigator. And then he gets into trouble at school and the teachers don't believe him when he tries to explain what happened. Full Review

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Review of

The Invisible by Tom Percival

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This is the story of Isobel, a little girl who made a big difference. Isobel lived with her parents in a house - a very cold house, because her parents couldn't afford to put the heating on:

Ice curled across the inside of the window and crept up the corner of the bedpost.

The family didn't go to the cinema or on holidays but they had each other and they were happy. Then the day came when they couldn't afford the rent for the house and they had to move to the far side of the city. This part of the city was cold, sad and lonely and Isobel felt invisible. Full Review

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Review of

One Night in Beartown by Nick Jones and Si Clark

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Many children have an obsession and Sandy Lane, who lives in Beartown, is obsessed with bears. She collects books about bears. Her favourite toy is Berisford, a teddy bear passed down by her grandmother. Every night, she looks out of her bedroom window and says goodnight to the bear statue outside. Every morning she says hello to Bee Bear, a colourful painted bear that lives at her school. She even has bears on her bedroom wallpaper! Full Review

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