Definitely a family favourite! It has touchy-feely bits, and a brilliant pop-up on the last page.
So... Little Piggy is convinced that Wolf is somewhereDefinitely a family favourite! It has touchy-feely bits, and a brilliant pop-up on the last page.
So... Little Piggy is convinced that Wolf is somewhere on the farm (don't ask me why, the kid had a hunch, just roll with it...) So he wanders around sticking his hand into hiding places to see if Wolf is there (surely that's just asking for Wolf to bite his hand off?) Each one is a hidden touch-panel (eg, this one is soft, this one is smooth, this one is rough, etc) and it turns out each time to be a different animal that Little Piggy is unknowingly groping - Kitten's fur, Frog's back, Chicken beaks, etc. Except for the last one, of course, which really is WOLF! AHHHH! WOLF! BIG POP-UP BITEY SNAPPY WOLF!
At which point my two year old, Fin, goes "Oh no, Wolf! Hide!" And throws the duvet over his head and sits there giggling while I wrestle the Big Bad Wolf away. Winning.
Fin gets to chose two stories for both naptime and bedtime, so he gets through (at least) four stories a day. There are some that are, quite frankly, rubbish - but he likes them. You just throw in some silly voices and try and make it fun. Then there are others, like this, which are just a pleasure to read every time.
Recommended if you know a little one in need of a present!
We have four Meg & Mog books now - and the only one I don't like much.
Fin, my 2 yr old son, loves it just as much as the others but he can't write revWe have four Meg & Mog books now - and the only one I don't like much.
Fin, my 2 yr old son, loves it just as much as the others but he can't write reviews yet, so you've only got my word to go on.
Meg, Mog and Owl go to stay in a castle. Just because. They get haunted by a ghost - fair enough. Meg does a spell on the ghost and it turns into a white knight... OK, let's just roll with it. Then a green knight shows up and attacks the castle. The white knight enlists the gang to help defend the castle (bonus points for getting in the word portcullis - and Fin likes the bit where Mog's arrow goes through Meg's hat). They repel the mysterious green night, then have a feast (the white knight is called George) and then they go home.
Now... kid's books don't exactly need an ironclad plot line, but still... WTF?
They were scared of George as a ghost. They were coerced into helping him defend the castle because he had a sword. They have no understanding of the dispute between George and the green knight... old George could well be the evil conqueror who murdered all who called the castle their home, and the green knight is just trying to reclaim is rightful home... But somehow fighting alongside each other and experiencing the thrill of victory they all become buddies...
I can't help but feel there are many shades of grey beneath all this, that Nicoll's just not telling us about... Perhaps I've read too much George RR Martin recently...
Butterworth wrote the first Q Pootle 5 book, which featured the little green man visiting Earth. He then went away andThis Q Pootle 5 book baffles me.
Butterworth wrote the first Q Pootle 5 book, which featured the little green man visiting Earth. He then went away and developed the TV series (with his son, I think?) - and the TV series is great, one of my toddler's favourite shows and something I thoroughly approve of as a young child's sci-fi primer (along with Little Robots).
Now, I met the TV show before the books, so the first book disappointed me because it's not really set in the same universe as the show, it was the inspiration but it's not tied into the same location, supporting cast, type of adventure, etc.
This second book is tied into the same universe as the show - it features Q Pootle's best friend, Oopsy, and also Planet Dave from the telly. And yet.. somehow it doesn't exhibit the same charm and gosh-darn-likeability of the show. It gets a big *shrug* from me, because it would have been so easy to lift-and-drop one of the TB episodes featuring the whole gang from Planet Okidoki, which would have been much more satisfying than this lightweight little tale.
An opportunity missed, Mr Butterworth, sir. Please try again.
Anyone who doesn't have a child addicted to CBeebies (the 'early years' BBC channel) may not have heard of Q Pootle 5. I've become rather fond of him.Anyone who doesn't have a child addicted to CBeebies (the 'early years' BBC channel) may not have heard of Q Pootle 5. I've become rather fond of him. He's an affable little green alien who lives on the planet Okiedokie, and potters around having gentle adventures with his alien buddies.
Having seen the show so many times, when I spotted this book amongst the large box of kids books we were given, I was rather chuffed. I'm a sci-fi geek, and there's just not enough good sci-fi for toddlers!
Unfortunately, I'm kind of disappointed with this one - and it's not really the book's fault - but it no longer sits right with the TV series.
Nick Butterworth initially wrote two Q Pootle 5 books, and then went on to develop the TV series. The TV series is massively more fleshed out and... different to the books. It's a coherent little universe - and this book now kind of jars with that.
In this book, Pootle crash lands on Earth. One of his rocket boosters is busted, so he goes looking for a replacement. He asks a frog (because the frog is green) and some birds (but they don't need rockets to fly) - and then a cat called Colin, who lets him use his empty tin of cat food as a new rocket booster. With the spaceship repaired, Pootle flies off to his friend's party and at the end we get a nice, big, fold-out pic of the party.
The pictures are crisp and lovely and my boy, Fin, loves the big swooping words that go right across the page at the start for when the spaceship crashes - he's a fan. The story/language was OK, but a bit so-so (I prefer kids books with rhyme, or at least funny words, funny voices, etc).
As far as Fin is concerned, that's all there is to it.
But I can't help doing a compare and contrast with the TV show. In the book, Pootle has gone to Earth. On TV, Earth is never mentioned. In the book, Pootle repairs his spaceship with a tin can. On TV, the components for the ships are all sensible spare parts. In the book, Pootle is going to a party for Z Pootle 6. On TV, no such character exists.
It's not a bad book, but it lacks most of what makes the TV show good, so fans are bound to be a little dissapointed. It's easy to see how the basic concept presented here helped inspire the show, but I think it's fair to say that if Nick Butterworth were to write a Q Pootle 5 book now, it would be very different. Unfortunately, that is the book I hoped to share with my son.
As far as kids picture books go, this is probably the oddest one I've met so far... but also the most beautiful.
Most kids books are light and fun - plAs far as kids picture books go, this is probably the oddest one I've met so far... but also the most beautiful.
Most kids books are light and fun - playful - which makes sense.
Rabbityness... has a very mature edge to it.
The story is about a rabbit who likes to do rabbity things (burrowing, eating, etc). He also likes doing un-rabbity things (art and music). The other rabbits love him for these unrabbity things, because he fills the woods with sound and colour.
Then one day... rabbit is gone. And the woods are dark and quiet. And all that's left is a deep, dark, hole. Down the hole the other rabbits find his art and music supplies, and they pick them up in his memory and fill the woods with sound and colour once more.
We never find out what happened to rabbit.
So basically it's a child's primer for dealing with loss - a pretty sombre message for a toddler! My son is nineteen months old, and just likes to point at all the 'babbits' and say 'bouncey-bouncey!' But the sombre message definitely influences the way I read it aloud - it's hard to do silly voices and sing-song rhythms for a story like this...
But the artwork is gorgeous! Very modern, stylised and all-round excellent. I'd very proudly put a print of rabbit playing his didgeridoo on my wall.
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So a very comfortable four-star recommendation as it's a very special little book...
But Rabbityness is never going to be my first choice when Fin asks to read a book, because it's not as fun to share as something like Room on the Broom - so no fifth star from me.
A few months ago my mother-in-law dropped off a huge box of kids books for Fin. My wife's youngest sibling is 12 years her junior, so while some of thA few months ago my mother-in-law dropped off a huge box of kids books for Fin. My wife's youngest sibling is 12 years her junior, so while some of these books have been in the family since my wife was herself a wee nipper, many others are more modern - it's a pretty great spread of stuff.
There's not much mystery to this one - this title pretty much gives it away. This is a story about a fish who can wish. He wishes all kinds of crazy things, and the pictures to accompany those wishes are pretty cool - the art is more detailed than most picture books I've met so far, which I liked - and the wishes are told in an easy to read-aloud, rhyming story.
And then, one day, the magic fish wishes he was just like a normal fish. And that was the last wish he ever did wish. The end. It's not exactly a tale with a beginning, a middle, and end. He just wishes a series of funny wishes, with no consequences, and then the wishing abruptly stops forever. It's a kind of melancholy moral with little room for a sequel.
I leave you with this picture, because I'd be a pretty grumpy looking fish if I lost my power to wish and wish and wish: [image]
OMG this book is cute! Karen already did the perfect review. Seriously. Check it out.
Sometimes I like to Curl Up in a Ball is a list of a baby wombaOMG this book is cute! Karen already did the perfect review. Seriously. Check it out.
Sometimes I like to Curl Up in a Ball is a list of a baby wombat's favourite things to do. The artwork is... sumptuous and gorgeous.
My little boy, Fin, is only eighteen months old, but he loves this one as much as me. When the wombat pulls funny faces, Fin pulls funny faces. When the wombat gets covered in mud, Fin says "Oh-no! Dirty!" When the wombat curls up in a ball with his Mum at the end, Fin strokes the book and curls up on my lap.
Break-my-heart cuteness.
For one page (sometimes I like to stand still as a tree) Fuge did a vertical picture, so you have to turn the book around to make it tall - that's a lovely touch.
It's simple, it's sweet, and there's a real joy and love of life splashed across the pages. Who doesn't love wombats? Perfect.
Popular kids books are powerful vehicles of merchandise.
Take The Hungry Caterpillar (as just one example) - you can buy the book, the cardboard book,Popular kids books are powerful vehicles of merchandise.
Take The Hungry Caterpillar (as just one example) - you can buy the book, the cardboard book, the cloth book, the colouring book, the pop-up book, the touch-and-feel book, the finger-puppet book, the audio book, the baby 'development toy', the plushy toy, the 'big apple' toy, the play floor tiles, the bedspread, the toothbrush, the body-wash, the bubble-bath, the playroom stickers, the height chart, the calendar, the garden water toy, the memory game, the seat-belt strap covers, the baby vests, the kids t-shirts, the welly-boots, the backpack, the lunchbox, the pencil case... that's just off the top of my head - I'm sure there's more!
I remember that book from my own childhood, and I don't find this grating - it's sweet, it's unisex, the art style is lush and I don't mind seeing it splashed around.
But I was 15 when The Gruffalo was published... listening to Rage Against The Machine and lamenting the over-commercialised tat we peddle to our children... To my teenage self, The Gruffalo was just another hook to get parents buying their kids more crap: a symbol of a broken system. Obviously, I never read it - but I was aware there was a TV adaptation made (with much fanfare) and a sequel book, etc.
The Gruffalo has become a 'standard' (one of those books every kid should have...) and I was surprised to find how much I liked it!
The rhythm and rhyme is perfect - it's heavily structured, but flows naturally, so even the most stilted beadtime-story reader is guided smoothly into a sing-song cadence. The story itself is clever and fun. The art style is very modern and clean - a touch generic for me (which is why it doesn't get 5 stars) - but overall The Gruffalo is a great bedtime story, and certainly one of Fin's favourites.
We have the paperback and the noisy-hardback - the one where you press the buttons for Gruffalo's growl, or Owl's hoot, etc. We also have a Gruffalo flannel... but aside from that we've avoided any more of the merch!
We also have many of Donaldson & Scheffler's other books - and I'm pleased to say that they're consistently good. The Gruffalo's Child, Room on the Broom, The Smartest Giant in Town, A Squash and a Squeeze, Charlie Cook's Favourite Book, and Superworm all have my little boy's seal of approval.
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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of lif
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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my BEDTIME STORIES list.
I have a little boy and love reading to him, so this reading list will cover the classic (and new) children’s stories we’re enjoying together.
This is currently my eighteen month old son's favourite book (displacing Room on the Broom and the one about the Monkey which makes noises when you push the button).
Meg and Mog go to the moon for Mog's birthday treat. They meet some astronauts and have dinner in their lunar module. Then they come home and have a picnic with owl. Their spaceship goes "put-put".
I could easily write more words about this book than are contained within this book. The pictures are bright primary colours and I find them charming. It was given to us a gift as I am a well known sci-fi fan. It has made me want to buy more Meg and Mog books.
I mean... this is a baby book with the words 'lunar module' in it. Too cool.
Also Fin keeps pointing at Owl and saying "Ducky!" All birds are ducks to him. He shouts "Ducky!" at the pigeons when we're shopping.
When I do the countdown to the ship taking-off he nods his head with each number very seriously.
Yesterday he decided to read Meg On The Moon by himself; he was quite clear that he didn't want my help. He then read the book cover to cover, one page at a time. I was very proud. I mean, the book was upside down, but he was so close.
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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of lif
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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my BEDTIME STORIES list.
I have a little boy and love reading to him, so this reading list will cover the classic (and new) children’s stories we’re enjoying together.
My wife is the oldest of three siblings - each six years apart - so her little brother is twelve years younger than her. He's now a teenager, which means he doesn't want his kiddie-books any more - but because he's not too old they're still in good nick. My mother-in-law (she of the Samurai tea-spoons) dropped off a big box of books for my baby son, Fin a few weeks ago.
Most of them are really too old for Fin (he's currently 16 months) but nobody's told him that, so he loves to pull them off his shelf (he has his own bookshelf at ground level) and wave them at us to read for him. Amongst them there are some great additions - Dr Seuss, Meg & Mog, Q-Pootle, Gruffalo, etc - but also many that I'd never heard of before (such as this).
Fin has recently become fond of Animals Scare Me Stiff - it's running third this week behind the noisy monkey book (you press a button, it makes monkey noises) and Room on the Broom (which I really like reading to him). I'm not quite so enamoured with this one - it's not bad - but I'm a sucker for fun, rhyming read-aloud like Room on the Broom (which this is not) - but Fin really likes the pictures in this one.
It's a story about a little boy who's scared of animals and page by page more and more animals start following him - a dog, a horse, a bull, a snake, birds, spiders, and bats - until eventually our young hero takes... 'drastic action' and scares them all away. Fin likes to point at all the animals on each page - especially the horsey! (cos it's like his rocking horse, which is also called Horsey, yo)
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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of lif
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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my BEDTIME STORIES list.
I have a little boy and love reading to him, so this reading list will cover the classic (and new) children’s stories we’re enjoying together.
A really good read-aloud story, with great rhythm, rhyme and repetitive elements. My son is 16 months old, and Room on the Broom is currently his second favourite book - he goes and gets it himself from his book shelf most days, which is really cute.
Admittedly his favourite book in the whole wide world is a bland little story about monkeys - but it does have a button which makes monkey noises when you press it, so I can see the appeal!
Noisy books aside, this is the best. He likes to point at the witch and the cat and the dog and the bird and the frog. He likes to mimic the dramatic, booming, Brian Blessed-esque voice I used for the 'down came the broom' line, around which each verse hinges.
And you can never get them started on fantasy too young - good witches and bad dragons - perfect! We'll get him reading Tolkien before he's ten...
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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of lif
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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my BEDTIME STORIES list.
I have a little boy and love reading to him, so this reading list will cover the classic (and new) children’s stories we’re enjoying together.
A family of rabbits is getting ready for bed: the sun goes down, the birds sing, they tidy up and eat their dinner, calm down, brush their teeth, cuddle their toys, etc. It's a short poem - 12 pairs of rhyming couplets - with soft words and gently rhythm, and it's dead easy to slip into a dreamy sing-song sort of recitation. The pictures are very sweet - almost too sweet, but just about bearable, like a builder's cup of tea, with so much sugar the spoon stands up straight - that's how sweet it is. And I don't even take sugar in my coffee, I like it black and bitter.
I've never been a big fan of rabbits. I've never understood them as pets - if you're going to step away from cats and dogs, then rats and ferrets have far more personality than rabbits. And in the wild... well. The fact that fast-breeding is their primary survival tactic says a lot about them as a species. I've seen a fox walk through a field full of rabbits at twilight, and there was this gentle rippling motion as the rabbits shuffled away from the fox. "As long as I'm not the closest rabbit to the fox, he probably won't eat me..." -- all the fox had to do was break into an unexpected sprint and he had dinner in his jaws! Wind in the Willows got bonus points from me for depicting the rabbits as cowardly simpletons who are dumber than a box full of hair.
So - having demonstrated my animosity to rabbit kind - the fact that this particular picture book still gets four stars from me is testament to quite how adorable this fuzzy little rabbit-people family is.
When the World Is Ready for Bed comes highly recommended. I'm sure when my boy is more interested in hearing the story than eating the book, he'll love it as a classic.
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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of lif
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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my BEDTIME STORIES list.
I have a little boy and love reading to him, so this reading list will cover the classic (and new) children’s stories we’re enjoying together.
It was my son's first birthday last week and the boy got so many presents we're struggling to find space for them in our little house!
The funny thing about reviewing toddler books is that you could easily use more words in the review than there are in the book itself!
It's a lovely little poem about a dog (Hairy Maclary) who takes himself for a walk and gets joined, one at a time, by his pack. Each dog has it's own rhyming couplet (eg, Hairy Maclary, from Donaldson's Dairy - Hercules Morse, as big as a horse) and as each extra dog joins we start the cumulative list again from the top, in the same way as There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly.
The pics are very cute and reading the rhymes aloud made me smile. Finley (my kiddo) is still too young to really appreciate it, but we've made the bedtime story a sacrosanct part of our routine since he was born, so at the moment it's more about which books we like more.
My wife and I both like dogs - which probably helps us enjoy this one! We don't have a dog at the moment (we have three cats) but we're currently planning to get a puppy for Fin's 5th birthday. If anyone's interested, we're hoping to get a Toller retriever.
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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of lif
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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my BEDTIME STORIES list.
I have a little boy and love reading to him, so this reading list will cover the classic (and new) children’s stories we’re enjoying together.
I'm currently reading The Magic Faraway Tree to my son as his bedtime story. He's nearly one year old and I enjoy doing the voices and dramatic intonation while he has his last bottle. I couldn't find his book tonight - my wife had tidied up the baby's room - so I grabbed this as a back-up book.
Bear's Magic Moon is a sweet little story, with lots of nice action words for emphasis during a read-aloud. Little Polar Bear is scared of the dark and wont go to the full-moon party. But then the Wise Old Bear makes her see the magic of the moon and she has a great party. The End. The pictures are very pretty.
I had two issues with the book. The story is so short, that I could have read it twice before the baby finished his bottle, and that's with taking it slow with my best gentle-narrator voice.
And the blurb on the back is gibberish! It's the same blurb that's listed for the book on Amazon (and here).
Little Polar Bear is afraid of the dark. He won’t even go outside to see the moon with his dad. Wise Old Bear explains that the night can be very beautiful. But will Little Polar Bear believe him? Come and see how brave a bear can be in this magical, moonlit story.
1.) Little Polar Bear is a girl.
2.) Wise Old Bear explains nothing. He just says, come outside into the dark and the little girl trusts him enough to face her fears. Only after she's already amazed by the full moon does the Wise Old Bear explain anything.
3.) The question of whether Little Polar Bear does, or does not, believe the Wise Old Bear is never raised. It's a moot point. So why it features so prominently in the back-cover is beyond me.
Madness, I tell thee. Udder madness.
We have a few of these Igloo picture books that were given to us as a present for the baby and I'm looking forward to when he's old enough to look at the pictures with us - at the moment he quite likes turning the pages, but would rather tear them out than look at Bear's Magic Moon.
My review-soon shelf is getting out of control again - been finishing more books than I've been reviewing! - best crack-on...
So I didn't love this oneMy review-soon shelf is getting out of control again - been finishing more books than I've been reviewing! - best crack-on...
So I didn't love this one at all. Part of that's personal, and part of that's critical. Let's do the personal first...
When my son was a tiny baby and my wife was on maternity leave from work, we had a lovely bedtime routine. While Fin had his last feed I would read him a story. We worked our way through Winnie-the-Pooh and Wind in the Willows amongst others. I loved it. I'd never really read stories aloud before, and it was a really special time, every evening. It didn't matter if there were chores to do or friend visiting, bedtime story always took priority.
And then, eventually, my wife had to go back to work, and life immediately became busier and more complex. Frequently, only one of us was available at a time to put Fin to bed - and I found it hard to read him a story while also giving him his bottle and the lovely routine slipped away (and I missed it).
Then my wife changed work and we had more opportunity for bedtime story again - but now Fin was older and didn't want to lay back to hear the story, he wanted picture books he could look at with me. So the classics have been put aside, until he's old enough to want to listen to the words, and understand them all.
We were halfway through The Magic Faraway Tree when the routine changed, and it then took forever to finish it. I can't help but feel a little sad, for a special time which has passed, when I think of this book. So that's my personal reason for the low score.
With my critical hat... I just don't like this series very much, and honestly don't think it's very good!
They were my wife's choice to read as her childhood favourites... but I find them repetitive and boring, with inconsequential action, no character depth and only a thin veneer of 'charming' imagination as their saving grace.
After two books, I still can't tell you the difference between the two sisters. After two books, I still couldn't give a damn if The Magic Faraway Tree got chopped and carved into wooden haemorrhoid applicators (as seen on QI). Moon Face is still creepy as frak.
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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of lif
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Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my BEDTIME STORIES list.
I have a little boy and love reading to him, so this reading list will cover the classic (and new) children’s stories we’re enjoying together.
This books was given to Fin (my baby son) as a Christmas present. He's still at the age where books are good teething material (and he gave this one a damn fine gumming), but I still enjoyed reading him the story and showing him the pictures.
It's a simple tale about a scared Goat who hears 'burglars' downstairs. He seeks the comfort of his friend, Donkey - but with Donkey missing poor little Goat leaps to the conclusion that Donkey must have been stolen by the burglars! Scared as he is, Goat plucks up his courage and goes bravely forth to confront the burglars (waving a stuffed Rabbitty) and rescue his missing friend. Of course, Donkey is just up getting a midnight snack - there were no burglars! Oh, how they laughed! The final illustration - the midnight feast they had to celebrate - is my favourite image of the book.
The illustrations are quite lovely; pastel, beautifully shaded, and with a touch skill for expressive animal faces that reminded me of Nick Aardman's Grommit character (from the Wallace & Grommite claymation movies).
The moral (as I see it) about childhood night-fears being groundless and worth facing down is a good and valid basis for a children's book, clear and well executed.
I have no real complaints with the book. It's a good kids picture book - I just didn't love it enough to give it any more than three-stars. But if we do pick up the rest of the series I could easily see G&D's adventures growing on me.
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