REVIEWERS IN THIS ISSUE BfK


Brian Alderson is founder of the Children’s Books History Society and a former Children’s Books Editor for The Times. Gwynneth Bailey is a freelance education and children’s book consultant. Clive Barnes, formerly Principal Children’s Librarian, Southampton City is a freelance researcher and writer. Jill Bennett is the author of Learning to Read with Picture Books and heads up a nursery unit. Rebecca Butler writes and lectures on children’s literature. Jane Churchill is a children’s book consultant. Katie Clapham runs specialist children’s bookshop Storytellers, Inc. in Lancaster. Caroline Downie has been a Children’s Librarian for over 20 years, working in a variety of settings. Stuart Dyer is an Assistant Head Teacher in a Bristol primary school. Sean Edwards is Haringey’s Principal Librarian for Children and Youth. Anne Faundez is a freelance education and children’s book consultant. Janet Fisher is a children’s literature consultant. Geoff Fox is former Co-Editor (UK) of Children’s Literature in Education, but continues to work on the board and as an occasional teller of traditional tales. Ferelith Hordon is a former children’s librarian and editor of Books for Keeps Matthew Martin is a primary school teacher. Sue McGonigle is a Lecturer in Primary Education and Co-Creator of www.lovemybooks.co.uk Margaret Pemberton is a school library consultant and blogs at margaretpemberton.edublogs.org. Val Randall is Head of English and Literacy Co-ordinator at a Pupil Referral Unit. Sue Roe is a children’s librarian. Elizabeth Schlenther is the compiler of www.healthybooks.org.uk Lynne Taylor is Schools Programme Manager, Paper Nations. Nicholas Tucker is honorary senior lecturer in Cultural and Community Studies at Sussex University. Sue Unstead is a writer and publishing consultant


Under 5s Pre – School/Nursery/Infant Bedtime with Ted HHHH


Sophy Henn, Bloomsbury, 24pp, 978-1-4088-8079-1, £6.99hbk


Sophy Henn’s adorable illustrations find their perfect home in this chunky board book perfect for a tiny tot’s bedtime routine. Ted keeps being told it’s bedtime, but he’s just so busy; having a bath with some splashy penguins, brushing his teeth with a snappy crocodile, slurping his milk with a stripy tiger and jumping out his fidgets with a kangaroo. Finally everything is done and Ted is ready for bed. The final fold out shows Ted in bed with all of his cuddly toys – the same animals who were helping him get ready.


pages with big flaps for little fingers and


Sophy’s delightful


A vintage palette, sturdy characters


make this a pretty perfect little book. Look out for Playtime with Ted, and the forthcoming Dress Up with Ted and Time to Go with Ted. KC


Tiger Tiger HHHH


Jonny Lambert, Little Tiger Press, 978-1-8486-9443-9, £10-99 hbk


Little Tiger Press have chosen an apt and engaging book to celebrate their 30th anniversary. The illustrations are bold and stylish, full of light and colour and jungle happenings, each double page spread bearing repeated scrutiny. The story line spans the generation gap, featuring an old tiger and a young cub. Cub grows bored whilst Tiger snoozes all day: ‘Don’t sleep all day! Get up! Wake up! I want us to play!!’ Tiger agrees to a slow walk through the jungle, where humming birds Dart! Dash! Rush!, Tiger wanting nothing but home and a long nap. Flit! Float! Flutter! Cub is fascinated by a butterfly, then Chit- chat! Yatter!, monkeys swinging to and fro. Cub catches their energy and sense of fun. Tiger just about remembers the monkeys’ antics. But as Cub discovers more and more excitement in the jungle, old Tiger gradually warms to the thrill of the fauna around them, eventually joining Cub in tree climbing and announcing it was fun. By the end of the book, the old and young are united in the excitement of their jungle frolic, and have a friendship we feel will endure. A good book to share within the family. GB


Hug Me, Please! HHH


Przemyslaw Wechterowicz. illus Emilia Dziubak, Words & Pictures, 32pp, 978-1-7849-3775-1, £11.99 hbk


This award-winning Polish picture book combines stunning illustrations with the simple story of Daddy Bear and Little Bear who spend a happy day walking through


the 20 Books for Keeps No.224 May 2017 forest dispensing hugs to all the creatures they meet. The startled recipients


include Mr Beaver, Miss Weasel, the Big Bad Wolf, Ms Anaconda and even a hunter. The two bears finally realise that the only creatures left un-hugged are themselves.


This is a slight, feel-good story,


although not all of the animals look as though they want to be hugged by a bear, and the beautiful, detailed and expressive illustrations compensate for the lack of plot. The intricate forest setting effectively fills the double page spreads, the characters’ eyes and body language are very expressive and the inventive ways in which the differing sizes of the characters are presented adds to the humour. The opening illustration of the sun brushing its teeth is both a delight and a fitting beginning to this eye-catching translated picture book. SR


There’s a Walrus in My Bed! HHHH


Ciara Flood, Andersen Press, 32pp, 978-1-7834-4492-2, £11-99 hbk


With an intriguing cover illustration showing a small boy in pjs, along with a bulgy balloon-type being, this story starts with the delivery of a new bed for the boy Flynn, by Wally and Russ Beds. Come bedtime, Flynn goes to tell his parents that there is a walrus in his bed, which, of course, they do not believe. Flynn tries to squeeze into the bed, but the walrus is either hungry, catching a cold, thirsty… or just plain has an unreachable itch? Flynn does all he can think of to relieve walrus’s problems preventing them going to


sleep. The single


response he gets from the beast is ‘HARRUMPH!’ whilst his parents go along with his story with disbelief. The illustrations show how much discomfort all four characters suffer, in a muted colour palette, on thick paper. Flynn thinks he has cracked the going to sleep problem when he decides what walrus needs is a cuddle!


The


with a cunning plan? Using a simple rhyming text Biddulph captures the fun of playing at pirates – yes, it is a game – the final spread confirms this when we see the pirate ship transformed


appropriate and neatly played out.


Playground. What fun. The theme of cooperation entirely


are, as always, beautifully designed. His bold, uncluttered images and clear, saturated


colours demand


the attention of the young audience at whom this is aimed. The cover is an invitation in itself. Penguin Blue and his quirky adventures are fast becoming a staple at Storytime. We must hope he has plenty more. FH


My Tail’s Not Tired! Little Monster’s HHHHH


Jana Novottny Hunter, illus. Paula Bowles, Child’s Play, 32pp, 978-1- 846-3986-5, £5.99 pbk


tail certainly isn’t


tired, and neither is the rest of him! Over and over again, Big Monster (could be either mum or dad) patiently watches the antics of an excited toddler who really doesn’t want to go to bed. Firstly, there are his knees: ‘My knees have lots of bounces in them.’ ‘Show me,’ says Big Monster. And he does. Then his bottom wants to ‘wiggle-jiggle’, his tail wants to swing, his back wants to roly poly and most of the rest of his body gets into the act. Patient Big Monster tiredly continues to say ‘Show me’ until the inevitable happens and Little Monster falls asleep in mid-action. The lovely, crayon-y,


child-like drawings are a


treat, and show perfectly the lovable antics of the toddler and the loving acceptance of the parent. Somehow, in the midst of all this chaos, the bedtime


routine manages to get surprising resolution


shows walrus tucked up in mum and dad’s bed, with the parents horrified by the vision of a walrus overflowing in their own bed. The first end paper shows Wally and Russ


delivering


the child’s new bed, and the last…. Whaley Big Baths are delivering a new bath, their van logo showing … Lots of room for imaginative talk about this story line, familiar in homes all around the world! GB


Sunk HHHHH


Rob Biddulph, HarperCollins Children’s Books, 978-0-0082-0739-7, £12.99 hbk


Penguin Blue, star of Blown Away, is back. He and his friends are pirates, sailing across the seas in search of treasure. But what happens when they are shipwrecked? Will Penguin Blue be able to come to the rescue


done. The youngest children will enjoy the repetition and fun and may try out this technique when told that bedtime is near! A really super picture book which could result in parents saying, ‘Show me’ a lot! ES


Quiet! HHHHH


Kate Alizadeh, Child’s Play, 32pp, 978-1-8464-3888-2, £5.99 pbk


This is a book about noises, ordinary, every-day noises at home. If there is a mum, we don’t meet her, but there is a cheerful dad, a baby brother, and a child who could be either male or female; I’m opting for a girl. It is she who notices and identifies all the noises in the house. In the kitchen, there’s the click of a toaster, a burbling kettle, a humming fridge, and a pinging microwave. At dinner, the baby burps and bangs his spoon, the cat munches, and dad laughs. Through the evening we hear different noises in different rooms, and as it wears on, there are bathroom noises


into an Adventure and friendship is


Biddulph’s illustrations


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