View source for Ants in Your Pants! by Julia Jarman and Guy Parker-Rees

{{infobox2
|title=Ants in Your Pants!
|author=Julia Jarman and Guy Parker-Rees
|reviewer=Luci Davin
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Birthday fun and frolics are disrupted by some pesky gatecrashers, but good-natured Aardvark comes to the rescue.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=32
|publisher=Orchard	
|date=June 2011
|isbn=978-1408305256
|website=http://www.juliajarman.com/
|video=
|aznuk=1408305259
|aznus=1408305259
|cover=1408305259 
}}


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.

There is lots going on here for children to enjoy. Leopard plans a birthday party with all the food, including the yummy looking chocolate cake.

Julia Jarman's text is a four line verse on each page, with 1st and 3rd
lines rhyming, as do lines 2 and 4. I like the way she chooses shorter and
longer, more unusual words to create the rhyme - feast and wildebeest. So
it is fun to read aloud for parents too.

Guy Parker-Rees is such an entertaining illustrator, and the pictures here
are bright and colourful and witty. The words and pictures work well together to sustain all the jokes and the giggles. I particularly liked the llustration of all the gatecrashing ants sitting round a big table to tuck into the party food.

There's also a hint of mischief and naughtiness - the ants' party game is Who can bite the most bums? Then there are lots of fancy party pants flying everywhere.

Finally, the story ends with a touching apology, graciously accepted. There is plenty here to appeal to both our 2 and 4 year old, and - the text is not too complicated nor too long, and I think it will get regular rereadings in our house.

Thank you very much to Orchard Books for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

Julia Jarman and Guy Parker-Rees have also worked separately on many other
books, and Bookbag recommendations include [[Big Blue Train by Julia Jarman and Adrian Reynolds]], and [[Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees]], reviewed here in the magnet book version.

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[[Category:Julia Jarman]]
[[Category:Guy Parker-Rees]]