BfK 5 – 8 Infant/Junior continued


What Does the Crocodile Say? HHHHH


Eva Montanari, Book Island, 978 1 911496 11 3, £10.99 hbk


This book, in English translation, is published by the small, independent publishing house, Book Island, a company specializing in children’s books, based in Bristol. Older Nursery children will just love it as well as school age children, and will be swept along with the emotions of the one small crocodile in the title. From the dringg dringg of the alarm clock, through breakfast, munch, the little Croc is being prepared for nursery school. Mother and young croc sit in the car (vroom vroom), both looking glum. Little croc gets more and more clingy as separation from Mum becomes nearer and nearer, even when greeted cheerily by Elephant teacher, ‘Peekaboo!’ Lots of reader anticipation is called for as parent croc and child enter the room full of different creatures, all engrossed happily in play. ‘WWWWAAH’ screams young croc, as


Mum prepares to leave, one large tear slipping down Mum’s cheek. Elephant and story-time come to the rescue. ‘The book goes once upon a time….,’ reassuring and diverting little croc and drawing in all the other creatures to listen. Mum returns at pick-up time, and what does youngster say? ‘Mwah Mwah Mwah!’ Mother still has a tear to shed. The book closes with cheery goodbyes, and ‘See you tomorrow!’


It


is cleverly told in a repeated format of object and its sound, e.g. The door goes wumpth. The text is deceptively simple and the author/illustrator gives lots of opportunities for readers to join in all the sounds, and to talk more about the story elaborated in her splendid pictures. Each object/croc is outlined in soft black crayon, and then carefully coloured in, all the pencil strokes clearly showing. The text, entirely in upper case letters, will soon be learnt by small children, as they read the pictures and provide the text themselves on further reads. Lots of fun. GB


The Mud Monster HHHHH


Jonnie Wild, ill. Brita Granstrom, Otter-Barry, 978 1 91095 986 2, £6-99, pbk


Looking much like a muddy Loch Ness monster, the image on the cover


will intrigue the reader. It


appals the monkey, clinging to a vine! Everyone in the forest knows the Monster lives amongst them, a huge and horrible beast, but no- one has ever seen it. One day when there’s a gurgling in the water-hole, the monkeys scream for HELP! But the scary creature screeches back; ‘We are NOT the muddy Monster! We are 5 flamingos. We are MUDDY AS MUDDY CAN BE.’ They ask the monkeys to carry them to the river for a bath. They all meet Warthog who is horrified by this doubled vision until he is informed the huge, horrible monster is really five flamingos and four monkeys! So, a galumphing something across the plain meets


the rhinoceros who roars, ‘Please don’t eat me!’ How 8 – 10 Junior/Middle of Dith’s life,


determination that


to aligned survive,


with her ensures


readers empathise with her


from the beginning. The story has a mythical quality and genuinely feels as if it could have been passed down through the ages. I was particularly struck by the way that it takes a fresh look


at humans the and


relationship the


between natural world. The Eel Question HHHH


Nicola Davies, illus Beth Holland, Graffeg, 40pp, 9781910862520, £8.99, hbk


The Eel Question is a delightfully dark short story from the prolific Nicola Davies. It tells the story of Nant, a young girl, and Dith, her cruel and violent master, who work alongside each other capturing eels on the marshland near their village. One morning Nant discovers a baby otter that has been caught in an eel trap and rescues it from certain death. She works hard to raise the cub away from Dith’s prying eyes and explosive temper but her behaviour soon raises suspicion among the villagers, who decide that they must take action. Can Dith escape her fate and find the freedom that has eluded her for so long? I was drawn into this unusual book almost immediately. The harshness


Nicola’s use of language (…the only comment that the marsh ever made was an eternal shushing…) is as powerful as ever, and increases the sense of foreboding that develops as the story moves rapidly towards its slightly shocking conclusion. Beth Holland’s illustrations give a clear sense of Dith’s confusion and panic as events escalate out of her control. The target age for The Eel Question


is 7-9 years but it will be enjoyed by children across Key Stage 2. Although short, at only 32 pages, it provides several opportunities for discussion about the way that both humans and animals are treated, and could perhaps


be read alongside


Pocket Guide to Turtles, Snakes and Other Reptiles


HHHHH


Amy-Jane Beer, illus Alice Pattullo, Lincoln Children’s Books, 64pp, 9781786031112, £8.99, hbk


Turtles, Snakes and Other Reptiles is part of an exciting new series of non- fiction books about the natural world. It’s small and compact, but packed full


of 26 Books for Keeps No.234 January 2019 interesting information and


trivia. The first few pages introduce the concept of classification and


the


excellent Think of an Eel by Karen Wallace. JB


how reptiles fit into the wider animal kingdom. It then describes how they can be identified and explains their unique


body of


characteristics. The main the book looks in detail


at each of the four reptile groups, which are testudines (tortoises and turtles),


squamates (snakes and


lizards), crocodilians (crocodiles and alligators) and


rhynchocephalians


(tuataras, which only exist in isolated areas of New Zealand). Examples are given for each of the groups, with each animal covered having its own Did You Know? information section, as well as a Top Trumps style collection of facts and figures. I was hugely impressed with the


layout of the book, as well as the clear and concise style in which it is written. The text is easily accessible to children across Key Stage Two, but also provides readers with opportunities to expand their


vocabulary. The


welcome page explains how it is set out and would be of assistance to children trying to navigate this type of book for the first time. The information provided


about each reptile will


appeal to animal enthusiasts as well as to the more casual reader. I particularly enjoyed learning about the differences between pythons and boas, and about the frightening power contained in the jaws of the saltwater crocodile.


It has a high-quality


hardback finish, with the strikingly colourful illustrations on each page complementing


the accompanying


black and white photographs. It is the kind of text that should be


dipped into repeatedly, rather than read from cover to cover, and would sit well in the Natural History section


of any primary school library. Having already enjoyed the other book in the series, Whales, Dolphins and Other Marine Mammals, I am delighted that this is of an equally high standard. JB


Mossbelly MacFearsome and the Dwarves of Doom


HHH


Alex Gardiner, Andersen Press, 223pp, 978 1 78344 791 6, £6.99, pbk


Alex Gardiner’s new fantasy adventure chronicles the heroic exploits of a warty, bearded warrior called Captain Mossbelly


MacFearsome (Moss


for short). His sudden arrival in a small town in the Scottish Highlands surprises local lad, Roger, and marks the beginning of an almighty war that could spell the end for the entire human race! Moss is captain of the subterranean


race of dwarves who, through carefully maintained alliances with dragons and ogres, help ensure the survival of their unenlightened cousins - the human beings. But the secret alliance is under threat from the vengeful intentions


of a furious, red-eyed


dwarf - Leatherhead Barnstorm - who is hell-bent on destroying Mossbelly, whatever it takes. Leatherhead is flanked by an army of ‘gorefiends’: hilariously polite miniature demons made from the expelled gases of corpses. They may chop off your head but will complement your attire first! Amidst all this mystical mayhem is an ordinary schoolboy called Roger who, for all sorts of convoluted reasons, is destined to destroy Leatherhead’s doomsday sword and save humanity. Roger and Moss hurtle through the


could this accumulative tale end? A huge and horribly Muddy Monster gurgles and burbles into view, as 5 elephants laughingly insist ALL of the creatures just need a bath. The author has had a life time of experience of forest conservation and tree planting projects, mainly in Tanzania. His close affinity with the landscape and its creatures is apparent in the text. The award winning illustrator worked as an illustrator with a flying doctor in Africa, so her illustrations


give


great authenticity to the colourful life of this continent. Look for the three monkeys – See no, hear no, speak no evil – in one of her many creative pictures. This delightful, humorous story is about helping each other and overcoming imaginary fears. As the second in the Five Flamingos series, it shows us that wild animals need places and spaces to live their lives. The author’s royalties will be donated to


support the wildlife habitat


conservation projects in Africa. The author and illustrator have worked together to produce a brilliant book. It is well worth seeking out. GB


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