With thanks to Marianne Adey, mothers and young children of Aldbourne Children’s Book Group across the outback meeting a variety of animals, discovering what they eat and bragging about his diet of flies until he meets ... . This book created the perfect opportunity to bring out the artistic flair of the narrator causing great merriment for the readers, especially at the end. The old ones are always the best! Victoria Parmiter
Winston the Book Wolf
Written by Marni McGee Illustrated by Ian Beck Bloomsbury £10.99 ISBN: 0 7475 7977 6 Winston is not welcome in the library. He eats words, as the large bite in the book’s cover confirms. Fortunately, Rosie, wearing a red hoodie, rescues him and teaches him to read or ‘eat words with his eyes.’ Wonderful words, story book details to look out for and a message that reading is what a wolf (or child) really needs. An absolute charmer. Pat Thomson
What Do You Do?
Written and illustrated by Mandy Stanley Harper Collins £5.99 ISBN: 0 00 716579 X
Who’s Hiding on the Fa rm ?
Written and illustrated by Debbie Tarbett Little Tiger Press £4.99 ISBN: 1 84506 234 5
Who am I? The question appears on each page of this enjoyable slide and seek book easily and equally accessible for babies and toddlers. Guess the animals from the clues in the onomatopoeic text and then slide the doors to see who is hiding behind the windows. The colourful, vibrant illustrations will engage small children, the text will hold their interest and the surprise at the end will create lots of giggles. Angela Steel
colour and the varied settings will enormously appeal to young children. Ringo Rabbit can juggle and he proudly thinks that he is the only one that can do it. Then he discovers all his friends can juggle too. A simple, moralistic tale that introduces young listeners to the concept that it’s good to be able to share and do things with your friends. They will also love the unusual names in the book – they make the characters all the more memorable. Jude Edmondson
A fun board book for an inquisitive pre-schooler. On each page there is a familiar animal presented as a simple, bold, bright and cheerful character. The accompanying text encourages young children to play the guessing game ‘What do you do?’ The lyrical nature of the text gives the book a good flow and begs the reader to turn over the next page. You’ll be amazed at what a beetle does! Pauline Beresford
Cleo’s Colour Book
Written and illustrated by Caroline Mockford Barefoot Books £10.99 ISBN: 1 905236 29 8
One Big Building Site
Written by Elinor Bagenal Illustrated by Dubravka Kolanovic Ragged Bears £3.99 ISBN: 1 85714325 6
This Little Chick
Written and illustrated by John Lawrence Walker Books £4.99 ISBN: 1 84428 042 X
A beautiful board-book presentation of the traditional nursery rhyme ‘I went to visit a farm one day’. The eponymous little chick leaves his siblings behind to explore his environment - playing with pigs, swimming with ducks, lazing with cows and skipping with lambs as he learns the various sounds the animals make before r eturning home to mother. Brought to life with accurate pictures made from water colour washes and printed wood textures very young children will love to hear the rhythmic tale while toddlers will delight in joining in with the animal sounds. Rachael Howard
A hardback companion to Cleo’s Alphabet Book and Cleo’s Counting Book which is a celebration of colour. A simple rhyme accompanies big and bold pictures that take you on a journey with Cleo in her exploration of colour and colour mixing. They are bright and straightforward yet sensitively portray the gentle cat, her little owner and the warmth of the relationship they share. A repetition of the colours at the end of the book avoids having to break the rhythm of the rhyme during sharing, and allows the readers to reinforce their awareness of the colours before introducing the idea of mixing them. Jane Renwick
A sturdy board book for those little children who are fascinated by dumper trucks, diggers, cranes and lorries. The simple text is accompanied by captivating illustrations and the book would be a great way to get reluctant boys, and digger-loving girls, into counting. It culminates with a double spread composite picture where all the previously mentioned elements can be found on One Big Building Site. Rachael Howard
Hello Dudley!
Written and illustrated by Sam Lloyd Templar Publishing £8.99 ISBN: 1 84011 588 0
The Big Wide-Mouthed Frog
Written and illustrated by Ana Martin Larranaga Walker Books £4.99 ISBN: 0 7445 7037 9
Four Red Apples
Written and illustrated by David McKee Andersen Press £9.99 ISBN: 1 84270 544 X
This is a charmingly illustrated book. The details of the eccentric animal characters, the lively use of
This board-book has the added attraction of a simple jigsaw on every page: easyto-handle size with joyous illustrations of Australian animals for a change. The Wide-Mouthed Frog travels
An interactive book which teaches good manners in a funny and quirky way. Dudley is a purple monster who slurps and burps his way through each day and the young readers have to decide what sort of behaviour Dudley should have on each occasion, be it cleaning his teeth, deciding what to have for breakfast or blowing his nose. Under
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threes will particularly enjoy Dudley’s cloth mouth and tongue, which through use of the hole in the middle of the book, can be seen on each page. By putting their hands in Dudley at the back of the book, the readers can make Dudley’s beak move. Great fun. Jude Edmondson
performing a musical of what they want to be when they grow up and the reader is sitting in the audience. The simple, but witty, words make you smile and slip off the tongue effortlessly. It gave my daughter plenty of career ideas and she chose to share it of ten because it made her laugh every time – which says it all. Victoria Parmiter
rabbit ears
Written by Amber Stewart Illustrated by Laura Rankin Bloomsbury £10.99 ISBN; 0 7475 8207 6
Dinnertime Rhyme
Written by June Crebbin Illustrated by Ana Martin Larranaga Walker Books £4.99 ISBN: 0 7445 7041 7
Hopscotch is a wilful little rabbit with which any young child will be able to identify. He knows what he likes and what he doesn’t enjoy – and he most certainly does not like having his ears washed! He will go to great lengths to avoid this, much to his mother’s dismay. Only when his big cousin, Bobtail, comes to stay does Hopscotch realise that washing ears may not be so bad af ter all. The many colourful and comical illustrations support the story and provide plenty to discuss and laugh about. Pauline Beresford
A delicious fir st story jigsaw book containing a selection of amusing food rhymes. ‘Hetti likes spaghetti. How about Jake? Jake likes cake! The simple vocabulary complemented by bold, engaging illustrations make this a great book for sharing with young children. The ending is guaranteed to raise a happy response and prompt children to come up with their own food rhymes. They will soon be pretending to read it aloud themsel ves and sharing it with their peers. Pauline Beresford
only one wing and therefore cannot fly. Teased by his brothers he feels he does not belong in the country so he heads off for the city. Although initially scared and alone he is reassured when he meets a female bird who also has only one wing. Together they realise that it’s not always bad to be different. They have lots of fun and eventually fall in love. The pictures are natural and effective; the wonderful use of colour conveys the different moods and settings throughout the story. An unforgettable book to keep on the shelf for future generations. Jude Edmondson
Peephole Pirates All Aboard!
Written by Laura Hancock Illustrated by Joanne Partis Egmont £3.99 ISBN: 1 4052 2305 7
When I Grow up
Written and illustrated by Colin McNaughton Walker Books £5.99 ISBN: 1 4063 0041 1
B ro ken Bird
Written and illustrated by Michael Broad Puffin £10.99 ISBN: 0 141 38158 2
Another wonderful book full of illustrations that reveal more every time you study them. The format is clever – the children are
A wonderful, heart-warming story which will enthral both two to five year-olds. Broken Bird has
Young children cannot resist the invitation to peep through the holes in the pages of this small hardback book to find out what’s coming up! Clever illustrations are designed to link the pages and are full of interest and colour. Simple piratey sentences extend the s tory and the book doubles up as a counting experience with items to find on each spread. Jane Renwick
Meeting Spot and his creator, Eric Hill
hloë and Charlie, six and three years old, were the winners in our pre-school Fun with Spot online competition, in conjunction with Penguin. They enjoyed a most wonderful tea-party with Eric Hill and his wife at the famous Savoy Hotel in London. Sadly, Spot the dog had to stay outside to eat his meal, but both before and after tea the winners loved romping with him in the Embankment Gardens. It was a non-stop fun day for everyone. The train journey from Lincolnshire to Kings Cross had been exciting, the trip to Buckingham Palace will be talked about to everyone. But the highspot was meeting Eric Hill – the man who made their favourite book character. It was a dream come true. Eric Hill was the perfect host: he chatted and played with the girls, signed their books, drew pictures and praised their work, then presented them with certificates. Whilst keeping him supplied with a neverempty tea cup he told us that the first Spot book was just for him and his young son to share. It was gratifying to know that the character had delighted many, many more children for over twenty years. Chatting with this charming octogenarian (whilst the girls danced to the grand piano accompaniment) I asked about this lasting quality. He considered it was partly because an animal was involved, an animal most
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children loved. A dog that could be both real pet and make-believe, a dog that could make children laugh and was always involved in activities with which they could easily identify. An aside here – there may be a new title, all about shopping and a lost list. Another simple, but winning, concept. Eric Hill’s pictures are simple too, as are his words. Simple but not unsophisticated. The pages of his books are clean, with plenty of room for the reader’s imagination to work. Spot is always a direct image. He always seems to be looking at each child viewer. And that is what remains for children – and adults – who share his books. A direct and meaningful contact with something that is fun and satisfying. Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Eric Hill. Thank you to Penguin for organising the competition. And thank you to all the families who took part with special thanks to our lovely winners. Families in Surrey, Norfolk and Midlothian all received Spot goody bags as runner-up prizes.
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