reviews


different coloured shoes and sporting a multi-coloured-patterned umbrella   tumbling from the cloud. Big drifts       deep, bee buzzing by on bicycle, cat’s tail sticking out of a snowdrift. Maybe symbolism is intended; that attachments to people and inanimate  visible? The book would make a good introduction to the concept of the water cycle. Whilst there are lots of little mysteries in the illustrations, the quirkiness therein demands not only subsequent reads, but careful study of the characters and setting on each and every spread. GB


Everybody Feels…Sad 978 1-78493 425 5


Everybody Feels…Angry 978 178493 427 9


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Moira Butterfield, illus Holly Sterling, QED Publishing, 48pp, £9.99 each hbk


Children’s feelings are sometimes hard to understand. Even children        series of four books (the other two are about feeling happy and feeling scared) may help in the understanding       ‘Sad’ we meet two children who are  ways. Chloe has lost her toy elephant Beebee, and this has made her very unhappy. She can’t tuck him under her pillow at night or take him to school as she usually does. When  is happy again. Omar has a special cat called Socks, and when Socks dies, Omar is seriously unhappy. His parents help him to remember Socks and help him to understand that Socks won’t be coming back. But when they give him two new kittens, he learns that he can love them while still remembering and loving Socks. So, two very different reasons       carefully and thoughtfully.


Sophie gets very angry when her dog chews up her trainer, and her little brother draws on the picture she had been working on; Ethan gets angry when his brother eats the chocolate bar he has been given. Both children suffer all the consequences of anger  about to burst or a kettle on the boil,          they cool off together in the garden  friends again with their siblings, all is well.


had gone!’ In both books, after the children’s stories, we are given a résumé of each event intended for use in schools to help children understand how such events sequence. This is part of notes for parents and teachers. There are also two pages of ‘Story      that uses pictures as well as words  coloured and very accessible pictures add greatly to the whole.


ES ‘Angry Girl and Angry Boy In’Anger’,


Under 5s Pre - School/Nursery/Infant contd. Pass It On


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Sophie Henn, Puffin, 32pp, 978-0-7232-9986-8, £6.99 pbk


Not so much a story, more an        book from World Book Day illustrator Sophie Henn. Life is so much more          the ordinary everyday things of life – a smile, a chuckle or a hug for instance. But thereafter, even better is to pass it on to those around you.


wonder or those that amaze? They              up and, no less important, pass it on … Perhaps even more rewarding ultimately are those uplifting things that need a bit of seeking out – a hum or happy face maybe and you can even have one of the latter on          respond appropriately ‘splash a smile and pass it on. ‘ What goes around, comes around, so the saying goes, and all this paying              moments. That’s the essence of this unashamedly cheery


better thing to have to hand on a dull day when you, or those in your     not to with Sophie Henn’s stylish       carnival colour and a riot of hues. And, I’m sure when you share this one, you’ll soon have your young  message; mine certainly did.


JB


A Beginner’s Guide to Bear Spotting


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Michelle Robinson illus David Roberts, Bloomsbury, 32pp, 978-1-4088-4555-4, £12.99 hbk


We have all been on a bear hunt – and arrived safely home. But it is good to be prepared! Here Michelle Robinson, ably assisted by David Roberts, sets out to ensure the young bear hunter         guarantees - though taking Teddy could be a life saver. Taking the stance of the teacher, the author addresses the young reader directly. This works on a number of levels since it allows a degree of adult collusion - note the reference to    of factual information together with a lot of fun. The bears are given their       suspect bubble gum is not a reliable defence. How to disentangle this  It is the genius of David Roberts’s illustrations that provide the clues, as he cleverly ranges from images that reference the style of an artist’s       of the picture book. His little bear


book. What Then what about those things of


spotter, clutching his Field Notes, gazes out at young readers, placing them in the position of the instructor, the one in-the-know. Against a plain white background, the narrative of the images, cleverly acting as a      drama as well as humour. The design   clear narrative vignettes, enhanced by Roberts’s unfussy palette, itself       and brown bears. Complementing       presented in an attractive font that has a matching clarity. Bloomsbury are to be commended for ensuring the artist and designer have been given the space to make an impact. This is a book to raise a smile with


both adult and child reader; a book  witty illustration. This is the picture book for those Early Years readers who want more than the cosy bunny - a cautionary tale to stand beside Belloc’s Jim. FH


Blue and Bertie 


Kristyna Litten, Simon and Schuster, 32pp, 978-1-4711-2374-0, £6.99 pbk


Bertie the giraffe lives a predictable       slurping water and snoozing with his herd. Every day is like the last, until that is one morning he oversleeps  bereft and unsure what to do with no herd to follow. Then Blue arrives, a  blue! After initial hesitation Blue and Bertie make friends and Blue        of the day Bertie feels he must go back to his herd but invites Blue to          more variety in the way they spend their days.


A picturebook debut with delightful illustrations in a fresh and appealing style. There are some deft touches such as the way the giraffes’ legs are splayed when drinking from the watering hole. The varied use of the picturebook format makes for     readers are invited to rotate the book for one illustration emphasizing height as the giraffes look up towards the canopy of tall trees. One


double page spread includes a truly stunning image of the two giraffe friends running with a herd of zebra. The font choice is delicate and in keeping with the illustrations though sometimes a little hard to read on darker backgrounds. There are some nice touches with the language with onomatopoeia for munching the leaves ‘crunchity crinch’ and       they


developed at the end of the book the story touches on important themes of acceptance and belonging. A picturebook maker with a light touch, SMc.


I Love You Already! 


John Jory illus Benji Davies, Harper Collins Children’s Books, 978-0-0081-6599-4, £12.99 hbk


Every parent will recognise the situation        himself; Duck, like any active child, has other ideas. Underlying the narrative is the child’s need for reassurance – tell me how much you love me. 


to bring us Goodnight Already appearance of Bear and Duck. It is an ideal partnership – both of creators and  dialogue between Bear and Duck, neatly differentiated by very clear fonts. While this does not make it easy to share with a large group, the potential for action and voices – or even participation is attractive. Taking the narrative off the page are the illustrations. This is       between writer and artist. Bear and Duck are distinct characters revealed through their words and through the visual presentation. But here is no            the underlying storyline through the            While the limited palette – soft saturated colours – creates visual interest without  clear and legible throughout.


FH  


Ame Dyckman, ill. Zachariah OHora, Andersen Press, 32pp, 978-1-7834-4386-4, £11.99 hbk


       wolf outside their house, Mama and Papa immediately fall in love with him, but their daughter Dot does not; she’s heard enough stories about wolves to know that it is more than likely that this new arrival will eat them all up one day. However her parents won’t listen to her protests, or those of her friends when they come to play. Dot has to put up with her new brother following her around wherever she  all the carrots in the house and getting bigger and bigger. Even though he hasn’t shown any signs of switching from eating carrots to eating people Dot doesn’t completely trust him and keeps a close eye on him. Then one   can save him. Dot discovers she has grown to care for her rather unusual brother more than she realised and that he is devoted to her too.


Books for Keeps No.217 March 2016 21 liked it’. Although not fully


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