reviewed by Jennifer, Minnie (2) and Bebe (1)
Wimpy Shrimpy is too scared to play with his friends and shies away from joining in for fear of something bad happening! I have a child who can be overly sensitive, so this was nice to read as we saw how Shrimpy was missing out on having lots of fun by being so scared of things that in all probability wouldn't happen! It's a riot of colours and different sea animals and it's well drawn and well written, it kept both of them engaged and it was nice when wimpy finally overcame his fears and went and had fun with his friends! Photograph: Guardian
reviewed by Marzena, Dominic (3) and Daniel (1)
The book tells the story of a little dinosaur hatchling who assumes that the big and impressively scary T-Rex he runs into is his Dad. This is one of those books which can help children understand the complexities of step-families, foster families, adoptive families etc. I would definitely use it to explain things when he's older and if he wanted to ask me about why the little dinosaur has a daddy who isn't his real daddy. As it is, we just read it as a simple story and somehow, possibly as a reflection of his fixed and innocent perception of the world that he himself is dealing with, he didn't question little Rex's attachment to the gigantic T-Rex. Dominic enjoyed the story and liked the illustrations but the concept behind the story is a difficult one to present to a small child. Photograph: Guardian
Reviewed by Emma, Reilly (3) and Cian (10 months)
I was keen to read this book as we are going through a “muddled up” phase in our house, with my three year old overcome with giggles when he makes silly word substitutions and this lift the flaps book about animals all in the wrong places did not disappoint. The rhyming text written in capital letters of varying sizes but is surprisingly easy to read and there are extra rhymes that can be read or omitted without affecting the flow of the book. Reilly enjoys looking at the colourful pictures and pointing out all the details. His favourite part is the page set in space complete with aliens and rockets and a giraffe in a flying saucer. An enjoyable read- we recommend this book! Photograph: Guardian
Reviewed by Emma, Rosie (5), Samuel (3) and Charlotte (1)
This book was a post bath treat. The whole family cuddled up in bed to read before bedtime. These illustrations felt cosy and familiar which is down to Helen Oxenbury's beautiful illustrations. I wanted this book to be as good as it looks but it felt quite lackadaisical. The story starts with a letter from Henry to his Granpa and Granpa's response. It then spends a lot of time describing the journey to meet Granpa from the station and Charley's movements. Then Charley saves the cap and Granpa loves Charley. This book felt uneven and wasn't as comforting as I had hoped. The children were captivated by the illustrations but didn't seem to discuss or question the story throughout or after we had read it. Photograph: Guardian
reviewed by Corinne and Millie (5)
This is a very girly book about two little girls who have a picnic to celebrate a new frock and a pair of sparkly shoes. Disaster follows when their large dog demolishes the picnic and runs away with a shoe - but all is made well by their mothers. For some reason the book includes some notelets and envelopes, which is odd as there are no letters in the story. Millie was very taken by the lovely pastel illustrations. "This book is soft" she said. "The paper is soft and so are the pictures." She was pleased with the notelets. This would be enjoyed by girls age 5-7. Photograph: Guardian
reviewed by Damyanti and Bryn (6)
This is a glorious little book full of vibrancy, rhythm & colour. It's a story about a girl exploring a market with a pocketful of change to spend and a head full of ideas of what to buy. Set in India she darts around the market from bangle stall to flower stall to a stall selling livestock & another selling spices having lots of fun. I love the vivid detailed illustrations and how the text on the page mirrors the quirky rhyming narrative. The kids were equally intrigued and had plenty of questions about what they could see in the pictures & some of the words that were used. A perfect glimpse into another country & culture. Photograph: Guardian
reviewed by Emma, Rosie (5), Samuel (3) and Charlotte (1)
The story is about Marmaduke who is different to the other dragons due to his large ears and strange wings. All the other dragons look after princesses and Marmaduke is desperate to find a princess, but alas the other purple dragons tell him he is different. However his large ears help him hear princess Meg (a rebel princess) in distress and his amazing wings can whisk her away. Hoorah! This story is good yarn - with the all important lesson that it doesn't matter if your different because it means you are special in your own way and shouldn't stand in the way of friendship. The illustrations in this book are magical and captivating. A good length and clear font makes this an ideal book for all ages. Photograph: Guardian
reviewed by Philippa, Leo (6) and Ella (3)
We're not big footballers in our family, but that really doesn't stop us enjoying this great rhyming picture book from the incomparable Alan Ahlberg. The simple joys of just kicking a ball, alone or together, against a wall or into a goal are all beautifully portrayed in the verse and the pictures, and the perpetuity of these simple pleasures, handed on from generation to generation, is what it's all about at heart. A lovely book, beautifully illustrated, that our 6-year-old and 3-year-old both find captivating, and whose rhyme makes it a joy to read out loud. Photograph: Guardian
reviewed by Marzena and Dominic (3)
This is the story of little Amelie who shares her bathtub with a ferocious but perfectly friendly French-speaking T-Rex called Pierre. This causes all sorts of mayhem, but fortunately only Amelie can actually see the dinosaur. Firstly, thanks to a certain episode of Peppa Pig (the one about a French pen-pal), Dominic recognised the word Bonjour and for some reason found it hilarious to see it in the story! He then commented on how he would love to find a Pierre in our bathtub and later in the evening it took some convincing to keep his cuddly toy Mr Dinosaur out of his bath (it takes forever to dry). All in all, a fun book that definitely appealed to Dominic's cheeky nature as well as his love of dinosaurs. Photograph: Guardian
reviewed by Jennifer, Minnie (2) and Bebe (1)
We love Emily Gravett in this house and are big fans of all her books; this new addition to the family is great, Bear and Hare beautifully but simply drawn go on a fishing trip. This is written in the same capacity as her work for younger children so it's very subtle humour, bear fished and he fished and he fished, not quite catching anything that he really wanted and there lies in the excitement, as it's fun to laugh at what bear has caught, trying and failing to catch a fish! He gets a bit of help in the end and there is a nice big moment where the fish does appear! So all is not lost! Photograph: Guardian
