BfK Under 5s Pre - School/Nursery/Infant contd.


one which makes it stand out from the crowd, is the art work. Images are bold, in rich reds and greens, with foil patchwork. Pop artist Peter Blake meets the surrealists to create a series of dream like images as the Monster shape shifts across each opening. It is not only a book to share at bedtime, but also a book to prompt the reader’s own imagination – what would their perfect pet look like and what adventures could they embark on


books take children beyond their pages and into their own imaginative world – this one is no exception. GR


the Queen when a swan swoops by and snatches her handbag. Determined to retrieve it, the intrepid Queen pursues the sneaky swan across Great Britain – travelling by land, sea and air in a range of vehicles including an Aston Martin sports car, one of the Red Arrows’ aircraft and a speed boat. Her mission takes her from the Giant’s Causeway to Edinburgh Castle; Stonehenge to the Angel of the North. Along the way, one of the royal corgis keeps the Queen company and a chaotic constabulary is in hot pursuit. Eventually she succeeds in retrieving her hat, at the finish line of the London marathon. Following Steve Antony’s celebration


of London in The Queen’s Hat, this new


Britain as the picturebook


retrieve her handbag takes her to key British landmarks. The story is simple, humorous and highly effective. The illustrations are detailed and amusing; it is fun to discover the antics of the police and spot the corgi on each page. The limited red, blue, black and white colour palette is perfect for the British theme. The Queen’s Handbag is a


wonderful picturebook guaranteed to make you smile, enjoyable for children (and adults!) of all ages. SMc


My Bedtime Monster


Annelies Schwarz illus. Kveta Pacovska, Minedition, 40pp, 978-9-8882-4047-0, £14.99hbk


The rain is coming; the porcupine can Rikki longs for a pet – any pet, as long as it can do anything she wants it to. It might be cuddly or it might be fierce. It might be large or it might be small. It might even be able to swim or fly. Rikki isn’t convinced by her mother’s assurance that no such pet exists and sure enough, as she falls asleep that night, her dream pet materialises. Rikki is a little bit scared of this new


HHH Queen’s quest to celebrates Great Fairy Tales for Mr Barker HHH


Jessica Ahlberg, Walker Books, 32pp, 978-1-4063-5588-8, £10.00, hbk


Even if Jessica were not the daughter of Janet and Allan, their influence would still be apparent. This “peep- through” story follows Lucy and her dog, Mr. Barker, through five, or maybe six, fairy tales familiar to the youngest children.


has one or two double page spreads in which Lucy and Mr Barker arrive at a moment of jeopardy for the protagonists and exit page right with the would-be victims, pursued by a growing queue of fairy tale villains: including a witch, a giant and a big bad wolf. This isn’t at all scary. The detailed spreads are in muted shades which tone down the drama and in which pastel pink, orange and green are strong presences. Lucy is always unflappably in charge and her smile never wavers. Even the villains look cuddly and the giant is sporting a fetching pair of rabbit slippers. And there’s a lot to look at and chuckle about in the pictures, including the giant’s recipe for “Bone Bread”. It’s a tale likely to send even the most timid child fast asleep with a face beaming with fun and reassurance.


CB Robin’s Winter Song HHHH


Suzanne Barton, Bloomsbury, 32pp, 978-1-4088-5914-8, £10.99 hbk


When Robin first encounters a change in autumn, it is clear that he is quite a young, naive bird. For, never having experienced the colder season, he assumes that ‘winter’


pet – it becomes a giant, wrestling monster. It sprouts broad and beautiful wings, soaring and swerving with her, into the night sky. Then her monster becomes a tiny fish, swimming past clams and seaweed. Just in time they manage to evade the sea ogre, before embarking on the long journey home. Then, as Rikki snuggles down into her own bed, the monster promises to stay and guard her through the rest of the night. Oddly, Rikki’s mother doesn’t seem to believe her story the next morning, which all goes to show the magic that some adults miss.


cold and scary creature, capable of all the harsh and terrible things of which the animals hint. But it is not until he feels the joy and beauty of a snow covered world that Robin is truly bedazzled by this wondrous season. A very simple story told in easy,


evocative language of the coming of


smaller than themselves is a good way for the very young to access information about the world, and it makes children


in command when the hero is more unknowing than they. For this story works on the premise that little ones are apt to build a picture based on their previous experiences and this can often be the wrong picture. Charming, decorative images with


22 Books for Keeps No.216 January 2016 feel superior and winter. Using someone even is a greedy, Each fairy tale The great strength of this book, and together? Many good picture


a vintage feel use a limited colour palette sparingly. The influence of Japanese prints is also present in the sense of airiness and flat pattern, while a combination of collage and drawing demonstrates a delicate and skilled hand. There’s an engaging quality


and a heartfelt community spirit is demonstrated as they nestle down together to keep warm.


JNH Snow Bear HHHH


Tony Mitton illus Alison Brown, Bloomsbury, 32pp, 978-1-4088-5334-4, £6.99 pbk


In a charming tale of love and friendship, Snow Bear trudges through a huge expanse of snow, unable to find refuge. Each warm, dry nest he finds is already occupied by snug creatures, and there is no room for a poor lonely bear. But lo, what is that cosy cottage in the distance! Here’s a chance


human child to save the bear from his struggles. And it is a child who needs the bear just as much as he needs her. Shown in reassuringly homely interiors the bear is welcomed into the warm. Told with freshness and vivacity by the ever clever Tony Mitton, the rhyming never feels forced, remaining easy for the child to understand. Finding new ways to make familiar rhyming words sound new within a much covered context is much harder than you might think, but Mitton does it every time: “The girl gets a book and she reads him a story,/till both of them start feeling sleepy and snorey.” The pictures are a delight. Vast


swathes of snowy mountains made by creamy brushstrokes, conjure up a lush world full of rich colour. And the winsome little creature with stick-like legs, may be a bear but he is never threatening, especially when dwarfed by the huge snowy masses around him. A treat.


JNH 5 – 8 Infant/Junior


Animal Camouflage: Search and Find


HHHHH


Sarah Dennis (ill) and Sam Hutchinson, b small publishing, 32pp, 978-1-9097-6772-0, £12.99 hbk


Pick up this book and the cover attracts immediately with the distinctive cut paper style illustrations which are a feature throughout. Seven regions – Africa, Asia, Europe, Polar Regions, North America, South America and Australasia- are explored through the animals that inhabit their landscapes and seascapes, which include jungle, desert and ocean. Each section begins with vignettes of the animals native to the region together with some succinct information. Turn the page and there is a double spread scene with the animals camouflaged in a restricted palette depiction of a land or seascape. Each section has questions suitable for the age group to help structure young readers’ observations. So, for example, in the ’South American


for a solitary


Triangles, board book


HHH


Yusuke Yonezu, Michael Neugebauer Publ. Ltd., 28 pp., 978-9-8882-4015-9, £7.99 board book.


to the animals interaction


This simple but imaginative board book shows very young learners that we can spot shapes everywhere in our world. Using cut –outs to home in on the triangle, the illustrations show how we can see one in a house roof, a hat, a sail, a crown, an umbrella and a carrot. Triangles can be so many things: they can even be seen on the faces of animals – a fox, a mouse or a pig with stylised ears and nose for example.


make the book highly tactile – little fingers can explore the shapes whose bright colours shine out against a sparkling white background. In short, this is a splendid book on shape to help the under-fives to expand their powers of observation.


MM Twit to Who? HHH


Smriti Prasadam-Halls, ill us Sebastien Braun, Boxer Books, 978-1-9101-2655-4, £11-99 hbk


The first endpaper shows us young owl and the full moon; the last, in contrast, a city scape, high clouds, and owl floating by. Young owl bounces on his branch as he practises his call, “Twit- to-woo. Twit-to-moo.” It is dusk and the farm animals are preparing to sleep. His call changes as he flies abroad; to the bus, car and train gleefully he calls, “Twit-to-BEEP, Twit-to-HONK, Twit- to-CHOO!” Owl hoots to all he meets, animate or not, and the colour palette is rich and glowing. Finally the moon murmurs, “Twit to WHO?” The owl replies in a happy universal greeting to all about to go to sleep. A perfect goodnight book for sharing at bedtime GB


The cut -away triangles


Animals’ region we find jaguars, sloths, alpacas and llamas and the question is: ‘Two of these animals are very similar. Can you find them in the scene and count them?’ The


designed and the illustrations are captivating- the


is likely to sharpen response to shape and pattern. Perhaps the end pages might have included a map of the continents with the location of


book is imaginatively restricted palette


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