reviews Kangaroo Kisses


Under 5s Pre - School/Nursery/Infant contd. in the illustrations, I


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Nandana Dev Sen, ill. Pippa Curnick, Otter-Barry books, 978-1-9109-5900-8, £11-99 hbk


In a mix of fantasy and real life, one


procrastinating role as she extends bedtime, experiencing some amazing wildlife encounters along the way. Reading aloud well, the rhymes jump off the page as listeners join in and enjoy the illustrations. These begin with intriguing endpapers; creatures large and small, from blue whale to frog, each drawn with a cheeky gleam in the eye. As we move through the book, we realise each of her mini adventures is sparked by her cuddly toys, bathmat, or towel hooks. As the child slowly gets through bathtime, she also learns to fly with geese, cuddle in a puddle with sleepy hippos and race with an alligator. Mum shows incredible


tickles a giraffe to make it laugh….. patience whilst the girl mischievous child plays a illustrations


admire. Written in rhyming couplets, the story is a simple one of three different children getting ready for bed. They think of the day past and all the happy things they have done; they have baths while feeling the warmth of the water: ‘I wash my feet, I wash my toes, I wash my face, I wash my nose.’ The emphasis is on feeling things with different parts of the body at a particular moment and on breathing and listening – all things to prepare us for sleep. It is the illustrations, though, that make this book come alive. Gentle and calm in colour and in detail, the sometime-swirling movement – even the text rises and falls gently – is what makes the book special. My one caveat is that the text goes a tad too long in explaining the details of using mindfulness. Young children could find this a little overpowering. However the basic idea is an excellent one, and the book can be used in parts or as a whole. Some pages at the beginning explain mindfulness to parents, a useful tool for those of us not acquainted with the system. ES


Lottie Potter wants an Otter


Jeanne Willis, ill. Leonie Lord, HarperCollins, 32pp, 978-0-0075-0133-5, £6.99 pbk


and everywhere the child goes, so too does her little white rabbit cuddly, met on page one. The pictures are full of humour, showing the growing exasperation of Mum and the seemingly boundless energy of the child. Finally, Mum says, ‘You KNOW it’s bedtime!’ ‘But I MUST hug my pup!’ ‘And I MUST tuck you up!’ Mum wins eventually as the girl is tucked in bed…. with her white rabbit….along with hugs, kisses and goodnights. The penultimate kisses are for kangaroo, whilst Mum gets the final ‘I love you.’ The illustrations match this bedtime scenario perfectly and further reads will reveal the skills of Curnick, winner of the Seven Stories Illustration Competition in 2012.


GB


My Mindful Little One: Bedtime


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Dr Bernadette Carelse, ill. Paula Bowles, Scholastic, 32pp, 978-1-4071-6718-3, £6.99 pbk


I have to confess to some suspicions when picking up this book for the first time. Mindfulness is the latest in a long line of systems intended to help us relax and make our lives more worthwhile, and while this is an admirable goal, it can sometimes seem as though the systems themselves are the goal rather than helping our lives to be better and more focused. However, in reading the book, and particularly


Lottie Potter decides she wants a pet otter (could this be something to do with her name perhaps?). She goes off in search of the perfect specimen and finds a shop devoted to otters. After deliberating with the amazing choice on display she accepts Mr Trotter the owner’s suggestion and is soon the proud owner of her very own otter. However, she soon finds she has made a bad choice (this otter turns out to be an absolute rotter!) and she has to part company with him. After toying with the idea of having a pet beaver instead (no good as they are such terrible divas) she settles for a grizzly bear. Obviously! This is a rhyming picture book with a satisfying rhythm which skips along delightfully making it a great book to read aloud (be wary, it’s a bit of a tongue twister though!) and fun for children to join in with too. The story is joyfully ridiculous and very amusing. The illustrations are full of humour as well with lots of detail to spot and a varied page design. This book by award winning writer Jeanne Willis will soon become a favourite with parents and children. SMc


Tiny Cops and Robbers HHH


Joel Stewart, OUP, 32pp, 978-0-1927-4452-4, £6.99 pbk


Big Ted narrates this story of the tiny cops and robbers that live in the house. The robbers are always looking for things to take – like Dad’s sock, Mum’s glasses, even Grandpa’s wig – while the cops do their best to catch them and lock them up in the mobile jail. The robbers even steal Big Ted himself from Baby Jack’s cot, but luckily he’s saved and returned before Baby Jack notices anything’s amiss. The detailed


Ahlberg-like HHHH found much to robbers provide much of the


although occasionally I found them rather confusing – for instance where vignettes were not clearly defined as depicting separate scenes. The additional words in speech bubbles from various cops and robbers are a nice touch, encouraging readers to try out different voices.


entertaining book – and blaming tiny robbers when anything goes missing is very appealing to me.


RW I Will Not Wear Pink HHHHH


Joyce Dunbar, illustrated by Polly Dunbar, Otter-Barry Books, 40pp, 978-1-9109-5952-7, £11.99 hbk


Plunkett Pig is an exhibitionist, one who in his own words is ‘The Toff who shows off,/ stands out in a crowd. He also – and he has my sympathies here – objects to being told what to do, or what to wear. Imagine his reaction then when he receives an invitation from one Priscilla, another porker, asking him to a pink themed party and demanding frills, no less. Protestations


in pink, popsy pink I WON’T be seen dead,’ he declares for ‘there is one sort of pink/ so divine, so sublime, / and the best of it is / that it’s already mine, /from the tip of my tail/ to the snoot of my snout, /pink is the shade of the skin that I’m in. /Pink’s where I end and where I begin.’ What wonderful lyrics Joyce Dunbar writes.


aplenty ensue: ‘… Our porky pal then scoots


confront his host and suggest a spot of canoodling, after which he urges fellow guests too, to be in the buff and join in with the wallowing and whooping down at – and in - the pond, whereafter a terrific time is had by all. Polly Dunbar’s exuberant scenes


are as wonderful as Joyce’s zippy text – I’m sure they both had fantastic fun


collaboration. over


panache, it’s a supremely assured celebration of self-expression and individuality; it reads aloud like a dream and is enormous fun to share with audiences of all ages. This is one of the first releases from


the new Otter-Barry imprint and sets the bar very high for what might follow.


JB 5 – 8 Infant/Junior The Tree HHHHH


Neal Layton, Walker Books, 32pp, 978-1-4063-5821-6, hbk £11.99


The Tree is home to all sorts of animals but the excited couple that want to build a house there don’t know that when they cut it down. The animals find themselves with nowhere to live and the couple are distraught they’ve taken it away. They set to work building new homes for the animals, and a new home for themselves along the way that means everyone can live together in harmony, with the tree still standing. Minimal text supports Layton’s lovely


Cretaceous period and to accompany a young Microraptor, Neffy, on the day when she takes her first flight. As well as the narrative, each double spread has information about the weight, size, diet, habitat and location of the dinosaur type Neffy has just encountered as she makes her way through ancient landscapes.


drawings that feel warm, true and from the heart. Excellent page design and production from Walker Books makes it feel special. It’s a worthy book with a substantial message about respecting nature, told simply and gently to introduce young readers to the idea of preservation and conservation


. KC


Neffy and the Feathered Dinosaurs


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Joe Lillington, Flying Eye Books, 40pp, 978-1-9092-6389-5, £11.99 hbk


Children love books about dinosaurs and I have used many of them in the classroom over the years. But this one, based on exciting scientific evidence about feathered dinosaurs, stands out as one of the very best. It is structured by an information story which allows young readers to journey back into the


are also descriptions which will interest and sometimes amuse young readers. The Nothronychus, for example, ‘was a strange looking dinosaur. As well as its long thin claws, it had a large pot belly, a long neck and arms, and leaf-shaped teeth!’ This author knows just what to include to intrigue; a Sinosauropteryx was found with its last meal ‘the fossilised remains of a small mammal’ still in its stomach. But this, like so much of the information, is more than just an interesting snippet as it shows how palaeontologists find out about ancient forms of life captured in fossils. Fossilised tracks of dinosaurs can indicate their likely speed and gait as well as their size.


There


this mother/daughter Delivered


with off to It’s an


tiny cops and humour,


tone and the way the author presents knowledge not as static but as ever changing as new evidence is found. While scaled dinosaurs were dominant for thousands of years it was the feathered dinosaurs that seem to have been better adapted to changes in their environment and which are related to modern birds. The book is aesthetically pleasing:


large and atmospheric illustrations show towering trees and rich dark green and brown primeval vegetation


Books for Keeps No.219 July 2016 23


I like the speculative


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