Newest For Sharing Reviews
For sharing
This Book Belongs To Aye-Aye by Richard Byrne
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. Full review...
The Animal Bop Won't Stop by Jan Ormerod and Lindsey Gardiner
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). Full review...
Snow White by Sally Gardner
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. Full review...
Bouncy Bouncy Bedtime by David Bedford and Julian Russell
At the very start of this book it is bedtime, but before going to sleep, the author asks the young reader:
'Have you ever wondered what the animals do?
Do they go to bed like me and you?'
and then we are asked to imagine... Full review...
Stanley's Stick by John Hegley and Neal Layton
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). Full review...
The Little Mermaid by Laura Barella
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 ending. Of course that means that usually the ending gets altered, to make it palatable for little ones. This 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. Full review...
Snug! by Carol Thompson
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. Full review...
The Scarecrow Who Didn't Scare by Neil Griffiths and Vicki Leigh
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... Full review...
Ants in Your Pants! by Julia Jarman and Guy Parker-Rees
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. Full review...
Richard Scarry's Funniest Storybook Ever by Richard Scarry
This new edition of Richard Scarry's Funniest Storybook Ever includes eleven 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). Full review...
Mrs Rainbow by Neil Griffiths
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! Full review...
The Wheels on the Bus by Britta Teckentrup
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. Full review...
Elmer and the Hippos by David McKee
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 crowded. Elmer was instructed to go and tell them to go. Elmer 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 river. Elmer went off to investigate the problem. Sure enough the hippos' river was completely dry. Full review...
The Hill And The Rock by David McKee
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. Full review...
The Bear and the Wildcat by Kazuni Yumoto and Komako Sakai
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. Full review...
One World by Michael Foreman
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. Full review...
The Golden Goose by Roberta Angeletti
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? Full review...
One Two That's My Shoe by Alison Murray
We've met Grace and Georgie before, in the excellent 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. Full review...
The Fearsome Beastie by Giles Paley-Phillips
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. Full review...
Good Little Wolf by Nadia Shireen
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? Full review...
Gobble! Gobble! Gobble! by Simon Mayor and Hilary James
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. Full review...
The Nanny Goat's Kid by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
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. Full review...
Just One More by Joy Cowley and Gavin Bishop
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! Full review...
Kitty Kool's Beauty School by Michaela Morgan and Katherine Lodge
Kitty Kool has a new beauty school, and she's very excited about her opening day. However, 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! Full review...
A Day with the Animal Doctors by Sharon Rentta
It is going to be a very busy day for the animal doctors. There'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 day. Terence packs his first aid kit (some VERY useful toys in there!) and off he goes to the hospital with Mummy. Full review...
Please Bear's Birthday by Avril Lethbridge, Diana Mather and Mary-Ann Mackenzie
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. Full review...
Mrs MacCready Was Ever So Greedy by Julie Fulton and Jona Jung
Mrs McCready was ever so greedy. She was a cheerful, red-headed lady who simply loved her food. She 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… Full review...
I'm A Parrot by Simon Mayor and Hilary James
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. Full review...
You Are Very Special by Su Box and Susie Poole
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! Full review...
From the Day You Were Born by Sophie Piper and Kristina Stephenson
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. Full review...
Play With Colours (The Happets) by Laurence Jammes and Marc Clamens
The Happets are a friendly looking bunch of animal friends all made of different coloured fabrics. In 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. Full review...
We Love Bears by Catherine Anholt and Laurence Anholt
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. Full review...
Oomph! (Preston Pig) by Colin McNaughton
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. Full review...
Elmer's Special Day by David McKee
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. Full review...
Little Princess: I Want A Party! by Tony Ross
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. Full review...
Tales From The Deep by Cerys Matthews and Fran Evans
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. Full review...
Daisy Plays Hide-and-Seek by Ellie Sandall
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. Full review...
Pandamonium by Dan Crisp and Mark Chambers
At the start of 'Pandamonium' by Dan Crisp and Mark Chambers, everything is very quiet at the zoo. In fact, it is so quiet that the zoo keeper is taking the opportunity to put his feet up and to have forty winks. Once the octopus spots this though, he reaches over with one of his long tentacles and borrows the keys that have been left on the table. Before long, he has opened all the cages and freed the animals who decide that it is time to have a party. Soon there is a lot of noise and partying but somehow the zoo keeper manages to sleep through it all. That is until the skunk disgraces himself by making an extremely nasty pong to all of the animals' eyes. It even rouses the zoo keeper who surprisingly does not realise that all of animals have been out partying because the awful smell has made them all return to their cages. As far as he is concerned, it's just another quiet night at the zoo. Full review...
Cinderella by Sally Gardner
Most little girls must surely know the story of Cinderella by heart. My little girl likes nothing better than putting on her princess dress and parading around the house talking about pumpkins and lost shoes. This version of the familiar story is written specifically for early readers and manages to capture the magic of this wonderful fairy tale. I once got to be Cinderella, in my very last year at school before I left for University (surely just on the verge of being too old!) It is a wonderful, magical story and I never get tired of hearing it and it is, fortunately, my daughter's favourite too so we both sat down eagerly to try out this new retelling by Sally Gardner. Full review...
Queen Victoria's Knickers by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley
A message from the palace has arrived! It's from Queen Victoria, and as mum reads it she cries out 'The Queen wants my knickers!' Queen Victoria, ruler of the British Empire, has riches galore, but she has no knickers, so the dressmaker's family set about making her some. Full review...
My Ballet Dream by Adele Geras and Shelagh McNicholas
Tutu Tilly really loves ballet. She's been learning for about a year now, and her ballet school is about to put on its end of year show. She is both excited and nervous. But, of course, disaster strikes...the wrong costumes are sent and the tutus and shoes aren't pink...they're blue! Full review...
Hic! by Jaclin Azoulay and Fenix
When Snuffletrump woke up on the morning of his birthday, he felt very sad. No one seemed to have remembered and he had been given no cards and no presents. The only thing he had got for his birthday was the hiccups. His mum and dad were very busy and told him to go off and play but that is a difficult thing to do when you have hiccups. He wondered off and went to visit Cow who was sympathetic and suggested drinking a glass of milk whilst standing on his head! Unsurprisingly, when he tried this, Snuffletrump was covered with milk and he still had the hiccups. Other farmyard animals offered well meaning suggestions too but nothing seemed to cure them and the poor little piglet became messier and messier as he juggled eggs and fell in mud and straw. Finally though, there was a very happy surprise in store for Snuffletrump and, as everyone knows, that really is the best cure for hiccups! Full review...
Naughty Toes by Ann Bonwill and Teresa Murfin
This dancing story is told to us by a little girl called Trixie. She tells us that her sister, Belinda, is a ballerina but that she, Trixie, is not. We see Trixie shopping for dancing clothes and being drawn to bright colours rather than the pretty pink of the other ballerinas, then in class her toes won't point like the other girls (hence the 'naughty toes'). She's dancing off the beat to her own jazzy rhythm...just what kind of a dancer is she? Full review...
Don't Worry Douglas by David Melling
Some of you may have already met Douglas, the rather dopey, yet endearing bear, in his first adventure Hugless Douglas. Here he's back again, this time the proud recipient of a brand new woolly hat, a gift from his Dad. But what should he do when he has a bit of trouble and the hat starts to unravel? Full review...
When I Woke Up I Was A Hippopotamus by Tom MacRae and Ross Collins
A small boy goes through the day imagining that he is a variety of different creatures, everything from a grumpy hippo who doesn't want to get up, to a Robot who can't eat cornflakes or a statue who can't move, can't blink, can't do anything at all! But when he imagines his parents are fierce dragons he finds things have gone a little bit too far... Full review...
Mimi and Momo: No More Kissing! by Emma Chichester-Clark
Momo is one puzzled little monkey. 'Why does there have to be so much kissing?' he asks. We travel with him through the jungle, seeing all the kissing that's going on. It seems to especially be, as Momo notes, Mummies kissing babies. Momo does not want to be kissed, by his family or by people he doesn't know, but no one seems willing to listen to him... Full review...
Hullabaloo! by Gordon Volke and Fenix
In 'Hullabaloo!' the reader meets a host of animals that all seem intent on making a huge amount of noise. First, there is a donkey named Drew who is soon joined by a cockatoo who squawks out 'Boo!' There are also twin chimps called Daisy and Maisy enjoying their tea as well as hopping bunnies, a calf called Cassie (who moos a lot), downy ducklings, a kangaroo with her little joey, as well as many many more. As you can imagine, when they all get together they make an incredible hullabaloo as they get up to their varied antics. It's a great deal of fun and is a story that builds in such a way that it will really appeal to young children. Full review...
