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Revision as of 10:22, 6 September 2008
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{{infoboxsort
|title=A Hero's Birthday (Melrose & Croc)
|author=Emma Chichester-Clark
|reviewer=Magda Healey
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A stylish and exciting new instalment in the series that explores the meaning of friendship in elegant, dreamy tales of a big yellow dog and a little green crocodile, this time in a French seaside resort. Recommended for fans and newcomers.
|rating=4
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|format=Paperback
|pages=32
|publisher= Harper Collins Children's Books
|date=July 2008
|isbn=978-0007258666
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007258666</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0007258666</amazonus>
|sort= Hero's Birthday (Melrose & Croc), A
}}
Melrose and Croc met [[Melrose and Croc: Together at Christmas by Emma Chichester-Clark|one lonely Christmas]] and have been best friends ever since. ''A Hero's Birthday'' is the sixth book in the series and it continues the exploration of the friendship theme, this time in a rather adventurous setting.
It's Croc's birthday and Melrose has organised a stay at a French villa by the sea, a festive tea and a special surprise. Croc stays in and waits as Melrose goes out to finalise arrangements. But as hours pass, Melrose is not back and a storm comes, Croc starts getting worried.
It's all distinctly upper-middle class (I suspect Melrose is seriously rich) but it doesn't matter at all. The landscapes are archetypal, the humans that inhabit them accept a dog-and-croc couple as perfectly reasonable neighbours or visitors and the world Melrose and Croc inhabit has a wonderfully dreamy quality.
The illustrations are instantly recognisable and as elegant as ever; clear, vivid and charming.
The story is exciting - the peril Melrose gets into very real, and Croc's heroism matches it. Strangely, it's Melrose that gets a bit reckless this time and it's little Croc that saves the day (and on his own birthday!). The final scenes provide a very satisfying ending, both emotionally and visually (fireworks!) and it's touching without getting too mawkish. But beyond the exciting adventure, the underlying message is the same: friendship, what friends feel, what they do for each other and why it's good to have them.
As other Melrose and Croc books it will be most suitable from about 3 years of age, when children start to play with rather than next to their peers and develop first friendships and with that, the need to work our the rules for conducting this new and difficult kind of relationship. There is a little bit more of a story in ''A Hero's Birthday'' than in some other Melrose and Croc books and thus even some five or six year olds might enjoy this one.
The review copy was end to the Book bag by the publisher - thank you!
[[It Was You, Blue Kangaroo! by Emma Chichester-Clark|Blue Kangaroo]] books by Emma Chichester Clark also explore friendship as do Helen Cooper's [[Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper|Pumpkin Soup]]
and [[The Velveteen Rabbit by Marjery Williams|The Velveteen Rabbit]].
{{amazontext|amazon=0007258666}}
{{commenthead}}
|title=A Hero's Birthday (Melrose & Croc)
|author=Emma Chichester-Clark
|reviewer=Magda Healey
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A stylish and exciting new instalment in the series that explores the meaning of friendship in elegant, dreamy tales of a big yellow dog and a little green crocodile, this time in a French seaside resort. Recommended for fans and newcomers.
|rating=4
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|format=Paperback
|pages=32
|publisher= Harper Collins Children's Books
|date=July 2008
|isbn=978-0007258666
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007258666</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0007258666</amazonus>
|sort= Hero's Birthday (Melrose & Croc), A
}}
Melrose and Croc met [[Melrose and Croc: Together at Christmas by Emma Chichester-Clark|one lonely Christmas]] and have been best friends ever since. ''A Hero's Birthday'' is the sixth book in the series and it continues the exploration of the friendship theme, this time in a rather adventurous setting.
It's Croc's birthday and Melrose has organised a stay at a French villa by the sea, a festive tea and a special surprise. Croc stays in and waits as Melrose goes out to finalise arrangements. But as hours pass, Melrose is not back and a storm comes, Croc starts getting worried.
It's all distinctly upper-middle class (I suspect Melrose is seriously rich) but it doesn't matter at all. The landscapes are archetypal, the humans that inhabit them accept a dog-and-croc couple as perfectly reasonable neighbours or visitors and the world Melrose and Croc inhabit has a wonderfully dreamy quality.
The illustrations are instantly recognisable and as elegant as ever; clear, vivid and charming.
The story is exciting - the peril Melrose gets into very real, and Croc's heroism matches it. Strangely, it's Melrose that gets a bit reckless this time and it's little Croc that saves the day (and on his own birthday!). The final scenes provide a very satisfying ending, both emotionally and visually (fireworks!) and it's touching without getting too mawkish. But beyond the exciting adventure, the underlying message is the same: friendship, what friends feel, what they do for each other and why it's good to have them.
As other Melrose and Croc books it will be most suitable from about 3 years of age, when children start to play with rather than next to their peers and develop first friendships and with that, the need to work our the rules for conducting this new and difficult kind of relationship. There is a little bit more of a story in ''A Hero's Birthday'' than in some other Melrose and Croc books and thus even some five or six year olds might enjoy this one.
The review copy was end to the Book bag by the publisher - thank you!
[[It Was You, Blue Kangaroo! by Emma Chichester-Clark|Blue Kangaroo]] books by Emma Chichester Clark also explore friendship as do Helen Cooper's [[Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper|Pumpkin Soup]]
and [[The Velveteen Rabbit by Marjery Williams|The Velveteen Rabbit]].
{{amazontext|amazon=0007258666}}
{{commenthead}}
