Zoe’s Christmas List is one of the Zoe and Beans series by Chloe and Mick Inkpen.   Chloe is the daughter of Mick Inkpen (of Wibbly Pig fame) and the talent has clearly stayed in the family.

Zoe has only one thing on her Christmas list; a sparkly Kylie Kurlz doll.  With a determination worthy of an Olympic athlete, Zoe decides to stick her list to the North Pole to make sure Father Christmas sees it.   She and Beans, her very obliging dog, make the trek to the Arctic and on the way, find and lose a little polar bear.  In the hunt for the little bear, Zoe decides that she is not so bothered about Kylie Kurlz after all, and maybe it’s better to get a surprise from Father Christmas.  There are all sorts of ideas in here about being so focussed on what you want that you lose perspective, and the pleasure of a surprise gift.  There’s a nice ironic twist as on Christmas day Zoe opens her Kylie Kurlz after all!

This book has a really warm feel; the illustrations are sweet, vibrant and humourous, making it appealing to kids aged between 3 and 8.    The four year old has enjoyed reading this book this week, and said his favourite bit was when Zoe got her Kylie Kurlz at the end.  I liked the North Pole, a red and white painted pole helpfully placed in the Arctic to help Zoe identify it,  and giving life to kids’ questions about why isn’t there a real pole at the North Pole?

You can find more about Chloe and Mick Inkpen’s father -daughter partnership here . You can read reviews of other Zoe and Beans stories on Library Mice blog, or on Life Ninja Killer Cat blog here.

What other books about Christmas do you and your kids enjoy?  We liked Aliens love PantaClaus reviewed here, and of course, Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas.

You can find Zoe’s Christmas List in the UK and in the US.  Even better, try your local library or independent bookshop.

Zoe and Beans Zoe’s Christmas List by Chloe and Mick Inkpen is published by Macmillan Children’s Books Oct 2011.

Kids Book Review | Zoe’s Christmas List by Chloe and Mick Inkpen is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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You will always find a few in our Tidy Box.

As a parent to a young boy – one pretty reluctant to reading – I think comics are a fabulous way of engaging children into reading.

Due to their ‘busy’ nature, having lots of characters and colour, coupled with their stories generally being short and having fewer words than traditional tales, they are a winner for me, and us.

However, and if I’m being cynical, the comic industry has become a sea of gimicks, competitions and a form of advertising for children’s brands.

It has been a struggle to convince my son of the genius of the Beano, versus an army of ‘brand-name’ comics with sweets or plastic rubbish sellotaped to the front of them.

Which is another reason I love the inventiveness of the David Fickling Books.

They are the company behind the creation of The DFC Library.

The DFC Library is perfect for reluctant readers. If you know a child that struggles to engage with ordinary fiction, place a DFC Library title in their hands, and watch as they learn to love books. This growing collection, full of hilarious plots, will appeal to anyone aged 9-90 – so feast your eyes on The DFC Library!

In a world where comic sales may be ailing, perhaps due to the nature and selling tactics mentioned above, this library consists of hard back books, serialising comic strips rather than the reader having to buy a weekly comic to keep up with the goings on of their favourite characters.

Super Animal Adventure Squad

The title we were sent, Super Animal Adventure Squad by James Turner, is about a collective of special agents that are charged with two different world saving tasks.

There’s ‘The Tea Time of Doom’ that deals with a level six cake emergency, as well as the gang having to find the world’s most valuable treasure, the Jade Baboon of Rangoon, in ‘The Case of the Baboon Bandit’.

Its characters are brilliant, and the stories are a great read for children and parents.  The words are very descriptive, fun and sure to extend and challenge a child’s vocabulary and understanding of it without turning them off literacy.

The Squad in action

James Turner is a prolific creator of comics, and his won acclaim and a giant online audience for his web comic The Unfeasible Adventures of Beaver and Steve.

Super Animal Adventure Squad first appeared in The Times and Guardian newspapers before becoming part of the DFC Library.  Turner is currently working on a series of books about the adventures of a group of half-dog, half-bean creatures called Mameshiba.

Sound more than interesting.

Much like the Super Animal Adventure Squad.

Book Review: Super Animal Adventure Squad by James Turner is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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The Fudgy Bear books are aimed at pre-school children, and the range of titles includes ‘Count with Fudgy’,  ‘Fudgy goes to the Farm’, and are factual rather than a story.   What makes these books stand out is that they come with a very lovable teddy bear called Fudgy.  Children get to cuddle Fudgy bear while they read the book in which he features.

The idea is very simple,    Fudgy goes to the farm or the zoo, learns what the animals are, counts them, and says what colour they are.  There is a slightly formulaic feel to them, rather like Thomas the Tank Engine or Topsy and Tim.  The book that works best in this format is ‘Count with Fudgy’.  It’s a tried and test formula too, which goes down well with nursery age children.   The three year old has very much enjoyed counting the penguins with Fudgy, and doing the quizzes at the end of the story.

And of course, there’s the bear.  Fudgy was an instant hit, and has become part of the family of animals in our house, and the three year old had to fight off the seven year old for a while in a competition over who got the bear.   My three year old instantly ‘got’ that the bear and the books went together, saying “Fudgy likes to read about himself in a book.” And the seven year old, after reading the books said they were “good information books for learning about lots of different things.”

The Fudgy Bear books are great for building up knowledge of colours, animals, counting, and for getting the less eager young readers to sit down with a book, and a cuddly teddy.   Fudgy has also been part of a literacy campaign in London with the Evening Standard to help young children with difficulties with reading, along with Volunteer Reading Help. Fudgy Bear, I can imagine, could have a great impact  in encouraging young children to enjoy books.

You can find out more about Fudgy Bear books, devised by Sarah Marley here.

Fudgy Bear and his books were given to Tidy Books to review.   The views expressed are my own on behalf of Tidy Books.  Thanks to Sarah Marley for inviting us to review her books, and of course Fudgy Bear.

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In the meantime, there is an online game, the History Keepers online character generator  as a fun way for young readers to engage with this new fiction series.  You can choose which era you travel back to and what type of hero you want to become if you upload a picture of yourself.  You can then share the results – a picture of yourself as a Roman soldier or Aztec princess – with friends via Facebook or email.

Let us know what you think of the game and we’ll be back with a review shortly!

The History Keepers: The Storm Begins by Damien Dibben is published by Doubleday, September 2011

Tidy Books received a complimentary copy of the book to review.

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Box of Tricks begins as Eva is given a very special cardboard box for her birthday, and as any self respecting child would do, she jumps in, and her imagination  takes over.   Eva is transformed to a master magician and conjures up what she wants most; a pet who turns out to be rather large, rabbits pulled from hats, weightlessness, and a fantastic party!  When’s everyone’s danced till they can dance no more, Eva clicks her fingers and makes everything disappear, just about!

The appeal of this book is in the illustrations which bring Eva’s magic to life.  Katie Cleminson’s striking illustrations are black and white, and it is only when she becomes a magician and the musicians and dancers flow around her that the colour bursts from the page, using vibrant paint splodges and splats in a Jackson Pollock way.  The illustrations and the story are kept spare and pretty minimal, with lots of white space to let the reader use their own imagination to fill it out.  There is an interview with the author on the Booktrust site where she explains how she paints with a pipette. And the ever inventive Playing by the Book describes a Box of Tricks related art project.

The three and the seven year old sat down to read this together quite a few times during the summer.  It is too young for the seven year old, but the three year old has been found ‘reading’ this on his own, and the simple story and energetic illustrations make it an appealing one for children to look at independently.

We’ve enjoyed another of Katie Cleminson’s books ‘Wake Up’  and you can read the review here , while you can get an immediate flavour of the illustrations over at the Library Mice review.

Box of Tricks by Katie Cleminson is published by Red Fox 2010.

You can find it in the UK here or in the US here where it is has also been published as Magic Box,  or support your local independent bookshop in the US or the UK!

http://www.tidy-booksblog.com/reviews/book-review-wake-katie-cleminson/

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Tidy Books are off on their hols for a couple of weeks now, but before we go, I wanted to share what’s in our pile of books to curl up in a deckchair with.

The seven year old has chosen Dr Proctors Fart Powder by Jo Nesbo, a crazy adventure involving gunpowder, fart powder and space travel, and David Walliam’s Billionaire Boy, reviewed here by Active Dad.  And, finally, there is the ubiquitous, and child centred humour of Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney reviewed on Childrens Books.

In the three year old’s holiday reading bag is a classic; Elmer and the Wind by David McKee, and the even more classic The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark reviewed here on Goodreads , which I was a bit dubious about when my three year old pulled it off the shelf until I saw it way by Jill Tomlinson.  And from Playing by the Book’s recommendation, we also splashed out on newly released Thank You For Looking After Our Pets by Tim Hopgood.

I’m hoping that this will keep them quiet enough for me to get further into Michelle Paver’s Wolf Brother Series.  Have ploughed through books 1-3 and hooked already.  They are fantastic for children and adults alike, and remind me of Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials Trilogy.

Have a fantastic time with what’s left of the summer.  And we’d love to hear what you’ve all been reading.  Happy reading!

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As with most good books, its the title that first intrigued me and the kids, and the play on a traditional favourite.  And of course, for any small child,  pictures of scary creatures with big teeth are a sure winner! 

But, its the twists, and the laugh out loud ending that make this book a great read for 3 to 5 year olds.

Good Little Wolf, Rolf,  likes baking, and being kind to his friends ( a little pig) and helping his friend, grandmother Mrs Boggins.  When the big bad wolf appears and challenges Rolf to become a real wolf, Rolf tries out all the wolf ‘stereotypes’; howling, huffing and puffing to blow houses down, and eating up grannies.   But Rolf’s just not ruthless enough.  As my 7 year old pointed out;  he doesn’t get the

bad wolf tied up tightly enough, and then he asks him to tea! Rolf is just too nice for his own good!

The three year old enjoyed this, particularly the close up of the big bad wolf’s teeth, but he was bemused by the ending on first read; couldn’t work out where Rolf and Mrs Boggins had gone!   I’ll leave the ending for you to discover.

I couldn’t help but think that Mrs Boggins looked like she’d been drawn by the South Park team, and read with interest Playing by the Book’s interview with new author and illustrator Nadia Shireen .

Good Little Wolf is also released in an ebook format too,  Would you buy this in an ebook or hard copy for your child?

Good Little Wolf by Nadia Shireen is published by Jonathan Cape, Random House Children’s Books, June 2011.

You can find it here on Amazon in the UK and the US, or support your local independent bookshop in the US or the UK!

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Our small city garden has to multi-task furiously as somewhere to hang the washing, store the bikes, be a football pitch and lastly, somewhere to grow things.

Charles Majuri is a family therapist who has been using gardening as a way to get children and adults doing something constructive together.  His book, Growing up Green, gives a month by month plan of activities to get your vegetable and fruit garden started.   The book is a collation of gardening ideas, from famous quotes, to activities to do together with your child such as looking at butterflies, making a salad with what you’ve grown or learning about what birds do in winter.  I thought it would be a good place to start in getting the kids interested in growing some fruit and vegetables.

By May, we’re somewhat into the gardening calendar, so we bypassed the planning stage, and I managed to get hold of some strawberry plant bulbs, a cucumber plant and some lettuce seeds, and a few flowers from the local market.   This is our ‘ vegetable garden.’

As a family therapist, the author is keen for you to think about your relationship with your child.  He cites a theme for each month, such as love or wisdom and how working on the garden can bring you closer. I think that most parents, will do these things instinctively and doing the garden together is, like baking, that you can chat about as you get on with the job.

Growing up Green had a sort of grandfatherly feel, caring, with lots of commonsense advice, if slightly eccentric, in the way that Dr Spock, childcare expert is.  For me, the family therapy bits felt a bit out of place, though I understand why the author included them.  If you really are going to start a garden from scratch, then you’ll ideally need another gardening book to go alongside this one, to give you more information on plants, what to look for and what to do if there are problems.

There are sections that the children can read for themselves and fill in answers, but they are not enticing enough for most children to want to engage with.

Finally, my 3 loved the Wibbly Pig ‘Flowerpots’ clip on CBeebies , which sums up perfectly author Charles Majuri’s advice to be ‘patient, patient, patient’!

Growing Up Green is published by PSI Press Dec 2010, and kindly sent to Tidy Books for review by Cadence Marketing Group. You can purchase it on Amazon here in the US, and here in the UK.

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Orla Kierly like design

Spot it Again is like beautiful, graphic wallpaper.   Its is a series of visual puzzles, prompting children (and adults!) to look carefully to find the hidden creatures.  The patterns and graphics are Orla Kierly like, and they are also incredibly clever and witty.

This book made me think of childhood visits to older relatives houses, who tended to have wallpaper, and (perhaps a bit bored) looking for the patterns and tiny details, and making up stories about the things on the wallpaper.

The seven and the three year old both sat with me, carefully examining each page, and picking out the minute animal that is hidden in the pattern.  The book is probably a bit difficult for a three year old, as mine couldn’t find them, but he seemed captivated by the patterns.  The seven year old was still challenged, as there were some puzzles he couldn’t do right away.  He enjoyed the book more, I think, and has come back to it a few times over the week.

This is his favourite page

I think this is the sort of book you’d want to keep after the children have grown out of it, as it is gorgeous.

This book is just out in the UK, but has been available in the US and France for a couple of years.  What do you think?  Is it you or your kids who love this one more?  This of course, is a sequel to Spot It!

You can find it here on Amazon in the UK and the US, or support your local independent bookshop in the US or the UK!

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In Miss Breakbone’s class, it’s war.   The children, who she calls ‘Dunderheads’ are an eclectic collection of talents: distance spitting, cycling, movie buff and dustbin scavenging.   Miss Breakbone is truly evil; giving herself a gold star every time she makes a kid cry, and had bought her electric chair funded by confiscating everything in class.  So, when ace scavenger, Junkyard, has his prize find confiscated, they band together in and set out on a Bond style mission to retrieve it from Miss Breakbone’s house (read fortress.)

It’s a fabulous tale of team work and individual talents (perhaps not recognised in the national curriculum!) and that has jokes built in all the way through.  There’s a real dark side to this book (electric chairs for example) , and jokes which perhaps only older kids and adults will get: I particularly loved the posters in the movie buff’s house; saying ‘East Side Anecdote’ and ‘An American Werewolf in Luton’ which is completely over my seven year old’s head.   But, there’s plenty in this for children to enjoy; a fast paced story, suspense and fun.

This book has the feel of a heist movie, where the characters are quirky caricatures, and talk short, snappy sentences.  The kids are incredibly individual, with unlikely talents, but all work together to outwit their teacher and help Junkyard get his prize back, so that he can give it to his mum on her birthday.  My seven year old loved it, and enjoyed it being read to by us and read it by himself several times, and thought  it very funny.

The illustrations are fantastic, slightly quirky and sophisticated for a children’s book.  There’s lots of detail, in the ink line drawings, with beautiful colours, and patterns picked out.  They reflect the subversive humour in the book perfectly.   I can also recommend the review by 100 Scope Notes whose review comes in the form of a comic strip – very pertinent to the feel of the book.  Paul Fleischman is a Newbery Medal Winner, and illustrator David Roberts has created another of my favourites; The Troll, written by Julia Donaldson. I can also second the request for a sequel made by blogger Books4yourkids. It would make a school series; a classier version of Captain Underpants.

I can recommend this one for your fluent reader as an alternative to chapter books, or for your older, more reluctant reader. Do you know of similar books that you’d recommend?

You can find this on UK Amazon here and US Amazon here, or of course, ask your local bookshop UK  or  US for a copy!

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But Enid Blyton’s language also had a darker reputation, of being racist, sexist and expressing class snobbery, which meant that I was not particularly encouraged to read them as a child, (but read them anyway), nor had I thought of offering them to my child.

However, I was offered a smart box set of ten of Enid Blyton’s ‘The Famous Five’ books just before Christmas to review, and thought that my six year old would enjoy getting his teeth into them over the holidays.  The books, published by Hodder Children’s books have been revamped, with some of the most old fashioned language, and or offensive language being revised.  We were sent the classic version, with the original language intact, so I was interested to see what my son made of it.

It’s also recently been done with Huckleberry Finn too, to make the story accessible to younger readers, by removing the language now generally agreed to be offensive.

The Famous Five (and their younger cousins The Secret Seven) were a staple of our parents’ libraries as children.  They are fantastic adventure stories, of a group of four cousins  and a dog who are generally left to roam about without grown-ups around, employing bikes, boats and picnics with ‘lashings of ginger beer’ to solve the mysteries that they unearth.  The appeal of these books is that the children are incredibly independent and resourceful, and their adventures are genuinely exciting. It helps too that one of them, George, owns her own island.  Enid Blyton was able to build up suspense well, and the stories crack along at a pace, keeping young readers engaged.

The stories, written in the 1940s and 50s, express many of the attitudes of the time: girls are generally inferior to boys, and class snobbery. They were also mercilessly mocked in the 80’s in the Comic Strip presents Five Go Mad in Dorset. The language too, is old fashioned and patronising, and you’ll recognise it if you watch old British movies from the era too, like the Ealing Comedies.

However, the language is pacy, and the plots are exciting, yet simple enough for good comprehension.  There is also a likeable wholesomeness about the books, where kids go outside with no adult supervision, and behave responsibly.  They are a refreshing  antidote to computer games and some of the more fantasy related stories that are being written for kids currently.

My nearly- seven year old has positively yomped his way through The Famous Five books.  He’s been deeply drawn into their world, settling down to read for an hour at a time, and then getting into character…as Timmy the dog.   He also asked me if we could go for a hike one day! His favourite book is Five Go Away in a Caravan, and rates them all as “very very good”.   He’s not had a problem with the language, but that is because he skim reads, and ignores the things he doesn’t understand.   So, I would recommend The Famous Five for your child as long as you understand their context.  Or look out for the updated language version.  The language and values are of their time (hopefully), but the adventures and excitement for children are timeless.

What do you think?  Would you give your child an version of any story with updated language, or go for the original and explain the context?

The Famous Five, by Enid Blyton is published by Hodder Children’s Books .  My review copy was sent courtesy of KidsIQbooks who have this message:  Visit http://www.kidsiqbooks.com online bookshop to see their huge range of discounted chidren’s titles.

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If you’re looking for a Christmas themed story to help your little ones into the Christmas mood, then Aliens Love Panta Claus is a good bet.   It’s Christmas and the aliens are invading Earth to spread goodwill, giving pants rather than stealing them.  They pitch up at Santa’s house on Christmas Eve to help the elves pack the presents, and when Santa discovers his sleigh has broken down, the aliens come to the rescue.  Santa Claus becomes Panta Claus as he delivers the children’s toys by alien spaceship, and a rope of pants elastic to bungee down chimneys on!

It’s great fun, and my three year old has been bringing this one to me twice a day for a week, so it has some repeat value.  My six year old gave his usual one line answer: “It’s good”.  So I think it means it’s really quite good.  It has bouncy rhyming text, which doesn’t always quite scan, and my 3 year old enjoys spotting all the things that are wearing pants.

My favourite children’s Christmas story remains Raymond Briggs’ classic story ‘Father Christmas’ who is determinedly gloomy but very appealing, and with a lovely sense of realism in a fairy story.  I only recently realised there was a sequel to it ‘Father Christmas on Holiday’ which is encapsulated in the animated film ‘Father Christmas’.  The book is available in the US on Amazon here.

Another Christmas favourite is ‘Cops and Robbers’ by Janet and Allan Ahlberg which has the robbers of London town stealing the children’s presents on Christmas Eve.  It fantastic lines in it such as “There are toys going missing galore.  From the size of the job, We suspect it’s a mob.  What they need’s the strong arm of the Law!”  It has  a long shelf life way past Christmas.  You can find it in the US here.

Aliens love Panta Claus by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort is published by Simon &Schuster Children’s Books, Oct 2010.

You can find it in the US via Amazon here

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Which of course is actually a very good reaction.

For a five-year-old boy, the graphic inner workings of the human body are a subject thoroughly enjoyable.

The grosser, the better.

I am not usually a huge fan of ‘pop-up’ books, because largely to this point, my robust child has make short work of making these sometimes delicate books a mess, or inoperable.

However, now he is less like a house brick going through a window in how he handles everything, we can enjoy them more.

The pages of this book really do bounce out at you.

Being a pop-up and interactive experience is no gimmick or token gesture with this book.  It really wouldn’t work anywhere near as well if not presented in this way.

Each double spread depicts a different part of the human body, and as mentioned, the opening pages cover how we grow within our mothers.

The sections have various different activities around a central interactive focus.  And there are little tasks to discover, and gems of knowledge to unearth in a variety of flaps, pull-outs, fold-outs, knobs and whistles.

The boy’s favourite section is ‘All About My Bones’.

He really was engrossed in this part, after I got him passed the inner workings of ‘All About My Wee and Poo’ of course.

I can see this book being useful for a long time, as the information it holds, whilst enjoyable and incredibly well presented, will actually become more relevant as my son’s formal learning expands to include more details of human biology.

It’s stuffed full of information presented in very straightforward, but not at all bland, words.

This is a book by the multi-faced Jennie Maizels and William Petty, is published by Walker Books, and I found it available on Amazon at the keenest price.

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Daisy is unnerved by her big new bed in a new house, and unable to sleep in the first few nights is visited by the Beasties.  Daisy doesn’t see the Beasties arrive, but she listens to their stories which soothe her as she floats off to sleep.  Until one night, there is no story and bravely, she looks under her bed to discover the where the story tellers have gone, and finds the Beasties.   They encourage her to tell her own story, and as Daisy tells her own story and drifts asleep, their work is done and they pack up their storytelling ‘treasures’ and creep away.

By chance this week, my two year old, went into a big new bed too, and this book gave us a nice prompt to talk about being small in a big bed.   He has brought this book to me most days this week, and has been able to follow the storyline.  Sadly it hasn’t encouraged him to stay in his bed after lights out!

This book has a magical, fairytale quality, without being sentimental or scary.   It’s wonderfully illustrated, with beautiful detail and colours, perfectly matching the text.  The text has a lovely pace, which sounds great read aloud like a fable or traditional tale.  The six year old picked up the book and unprompted, told me that he ‘liked it’.  I think this is pretty high praise from a six year old, but also reminds me that the stories he liked best as a toddler were the ones we made up, just like Daisy does.

Another story, about the power of stories that we’ve enjoyed is ‘Tiddler ‘by Julia Donaldson.  This modern classic has been regularly requested in our house by the two year old.

Are there bedtime stories which regularly help your child to sleep?

If you like the sound of ‘The Beasties’, you can find it here in the UK, and here in the US

The Beasties by Jenny Nimmo and Gwen Millward is published by Egmont Books, Oct 2010

We’re reading…”The Beasties” by Jenny Nimmo and Gwen Millward is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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It’s a slightly eccentric, but classic story of an elephant offering a ride one day to a bad baby.  We’re not told why the baby is bad, nor why the elephant is intent on stealing snacks, but as with many of the best children’s stories, you have to suspend credulity.  As the elephant takes a succession of pies, biscuits and lollies, it is chased by an ever-growing horde of angry shopkeepers.  And as the elephant runs, it goes ‘rumpeta, rumpeta, rumpeta all down the road’ which is a wonderful rollicking repetition for kids to join in with.  The list of angry shopkeepers grows, and is another source of repetition, along the lines of “Chicken Licken” or the memory game ‘I went to the market and bought some…’   The elephant realises that the bad baby has forgotten his manners; (he forgot to say ‘please’) and sits down with a bump, making the baby fall off.  Nothing is mentioned however, about the elephant’s lack of manners!  The story ends well with the baby’s mummy making everyone pancakes at home for tea.

This book has a sweetly dated feel, similar to that of  ‘The Tiger who came to Tea’ which was written about the same time.  The illustrations by Raymond Briggs (of The Snowman and Fungus the Bogeyman), show people in hats and shopkeepers in aprons, however, they’re witty and expressive and the two year old enjoyed picking out the different items he could see in the shop.   The book was first published in 1969, although I found a much later edition in my local library.  I believe that it has not been reprinted in the US, but there are copies available on Amazon in the US.  It is available in the UK from the publishers or Amazon.

The Elephant and the Bad Baby by Elfrida Vipont and Raymond Briggs, published by Puffin Books, 1969

We’re reading…”The Elephant and the Bad Baby” by Elfrida Vipont and Raymond Briggs is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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The Beachy Books website explains what they are hoping to achieve.

‘Beachy Books is a small family run publishing company. We are passionate about books, especially children’s books. Our first book is a picture book called Jack & Boo’s Bucket of Treasures. It has been written, illustrated, designed, typeset and published by us. We plan a whole series of Jack & Boo adventures in 2010, as well as publishing other books for older children.’

It is evident from reading their début book that they do not lack passion.  Jack and Boo’s adventures on the beach are lovingly regaled, and the illustrations are a mix of colourful drawings placed upon actual pictures that I believe are actually ones taken by the illustrator.

This style reminded me of another book I recently reviewed: George and Flora’s Secret Garden published by a wing of the Eden Project.

Personally I am not entirely sure I like this style, but it is definitely one that children relate to and enjoy.  I could see my five year-old boy getting taken in by them, and picturing himself in scenes of his own beach adventures.

The text has a whimsical edge, and anyone who has fond memories of the beach will have those happy thoughts brought right back to them.

Its narrative gets smoother as the books goes on, and small illustrations of the items featured within it offer additional interest and an excellent first point of reference for a inquisitive child wanting to know what ‘bladderwrack’ is for example.

As well as the story of Jack and Boo’s discoveries the book also carries a ‘Beach Spotter Guide’ and ‘Family Beach Ideas’.  I found the guide in particular useful. With a child learning to read having a checklist of items you may find on a beach, as well as in this story, makes for an excellent aid.

This book has a cover price of £7.99, but I found it cheaper on Amazon.

Some of those that have already bought this book via the giant of online book sales left favourable Amazon reviews, and it reads like this may be an excellent book to buy as a gift.

You can find more about Beach Books on their website, and also follow Beachy Books on Twitter.

Don’t forget you can follow Tidy Books on Twitter, and that all sorts of news and reviews can be found on the Tidy Books Facebook page.

Book review: Jack & Boo’s Bucket of Treasures is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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The six year old, on picking up the book for the first time, instinctively sang it to the tune of (you guessed it) ‘Sing a song of Sixpence’.  The two year old has brought it out regularly to be read, and has also been heard around the house singing it to himself.

This is an easy book to read out loud; its rhyming text bounces along and is perfect for kids to join in with after a few reads.   The illustrations are a great fit with the text; they’re perky and mildly cheeky, and remind me of the sweetest of the Disney cartoons.

The author knows she is on to a winning streak here with the perennial humour of bums and pants.  Jeanne Willis, has won lots of awards for her other titles which include ‘Bottoms Up’ and ‘Who’s in the Loo?’ The latter is a favourite in our house, and has fantastic, witty drawings.   ‘Sing a Song of Bottoms’ is cross between two other books which have a familiar format:  ‘Pants’ by Nick Sharratt  and Giles Andreae which features a talent show of animals in pants and is genuinely funny,  and ‘Doing the Animal Bop’ by Linsdey Gardiner and Jan Ormerod which has a lovely swinging beat and celebrates what each animal can do.

Sing a Song of Bottoms has instant appeal for children aged 2-5, perfect for a having bit of a laugh and improving the mood.  It is quick to read and is great for a quick story time when time is tight.

Sing a Song of Bottoms by Jeanne Willis and Adam Stower is published by Puffin Books, June 2010.

You can get hold of this book from most bookshops.  We’ve provided a link to Amazon to make it easy if you’re interested in it for both our customers, in the UK and in the US.

We’re reading.. “Sing a Song of Bottoms” by Jeanne Willis and Adam Stower is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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This book is a re-read and returned to favourite with the two year old and the six year old, and is probably perfect for four year olds.  It has also added to our vocabulary at home.  The “Wendelbot”, the robot who goes on a tidying rampage and throws everything out, has become a term of friendly abuse.

Maybe it’s the robots and the brilliant Heath Robinson-esque drawings that have made this such a favourite.  Or that there’s a classic mix of humour and sadness.  Or that it’s a multi-layered book; there’s a relatively simple story that can be enjoyed by a two year old, with lots more in-depth ideas to talk about with an older child.

Wendel is an inventor with a draconian mind; if his invention doesn’t work exactly, he throws it onto the scrap heap and starts again. Soon his workshop is piled high with rubbish, and he creates a robot to deal with the mess.   “Clunk”, his creation doesn’t work too well, getting teacups, wellies, and bed making hopelessly mixed up.  Poor Clunk is quickly despatched down the rubbish chute.  Wendel tries again, making the Wendelbot.   The Wendelbot works perfectly, but doesn’t stop tidying.  Soon Wendel is the untidiest thing in the room, and he’s thrown down the rubbish chute, where he bumps into Clunk.   As the Wendelbot starts upon world domination, he is only stopped by Wendel and Clunk’s gaggle of imperfect robots they’ve salvaged from the rubbish.   As the story ends, Wendel learns to be patient with the failings of his robots, and never to throw anything away again!

I’m unreservedly enthusiastic about this book.  It’s a brilliant story that will appeal to all children and contains interesting ideas about friendship and helping others, to being tolerant of others’ imperfections, and re-using and recycling your rubbish.  However the themes are subtle, you can choose to pick up on them or just enjoy the story.  And, it’s funny too.

Chris Riddell is a prolific writer and illustrator and winner of many children’s book awards.  He has a great website where you can peek at his books and listen to them too. His drawings may also be familiar to you as he a renowned political cartoonist.

Wendel’s Workshop by Chris Riddell is published by Macmillan Children’s Books, 2007

We’re reading…”Wendel’s Workshop” by Chris Riddell is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Wake UP by Katie Cleminson ticks this box with bells on.

It is tale of one boy’s very busy day, very apt for the little boy of this house.  He wakes up, and up and up, and the book continues beautifully along the same rhyming vein.

He goes to school, where he must listen up, and up and up.

His adventures include all sorts of things in a typical young boy’s life.  Dressing up, playing, show and tell, eating, bathing, and cuddling up for bed.

My son could relate to all these things, and enjoyed having the book read at a lively pace, but also enjoyed stopping me to pour over the wonderful illustrations, trying to spot things that are mentioned in the book’s verse.

Katie Cleminson is clearly a very talented illustrator and author.  This book follows the impressively successful Box of Tricks that earned Katie the prestigious honour of Best Emerging Illustrator at the Booktrust Early Years Awards 2009.

On receiving that award Cleminson explained how it actually left her ‘lost for words’.

The illustrations in this book are wonderfully crafted using pen and ink.  Some pages are made up of a single scene, while others are made of a collective of smaller drawings.  All are eloquently accompanied by the appropriate text

For an emerging reader the language is uncomplicated, and even for a child at the very beginning of learning to read, the style of the book encourages them to engage with it.

Along with Jacqueline Wilson, Katie will be judging the Vintage Classics competition to find a young artist to design the jackets for a new edition of the Secret Garden.  The competition is for 7 to 12 year olds and is running in The Times newspaper.

Book review: Wake Up! by Katie Cleminson is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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We have very much enjoy growing vegetables in our garden, and books that link in to gardening are always going to be off to a good start with us.

The books are designed to be used as an interactive aid to introducing children to vegetables, exposing them to the benefits of vegetables, and how they actually get to the edible form they usually find them in.

“Secret Seed Society takes the whole family on a journey from plant to plate.”

In fact, I am selling them short by calling them ‘books’.  They are actually supplied as ‘packs’.  Each of which comes with an illustrated storybook, seeds, growing instructions and props, a recipe for your eventual produce and an invitation to join the Seed Agent Club online.

There are several titles that all centre around a character based on a vegetable, such as Rudi Radish, Carla Carrot and Mingo Mung.

The creator of Seed City, Shena Cooper, actually explains it much better.  She told me: “Every vegetable has a story, and the other vegetables pop up in the other stories.  The main idea is to entice very young children into the garden and kitchen, growing and preparing tasty food as they come to love their vegetables.”

They are designed for supervised play with the three-to-seven age group.  My five-year-old son found the stories very enjoyable, notably as he found lots of the names given to the characters, and places in the story amusing.

The illustrations are good fun too.  Drawings are colourful and play a big part in telling the stories on their own.

Each book is a handy size, ideal for children, and also for popping in a handbag (not that I have one).

We grew some mung beans, which was fun.  And as they mature over a very short period – three to five days – we could return to our sprouting jar regularly to check on their progress, and to give them a rinse.

You are even encouraged to send your sprouting pictures to the Secret Seed Society, so as you can share your successes with others.  But we’re only sharing ours with you.

The books make for a very pleasant read, and it is a project that deserves some attention and success.

You can find your local stockist of Secret Seed Society on their website, alternatively you can order directly from them online.

They also have a Facebook group, and you can even follow Peter Parsnip on Twitter.

Book review: Secret Seed Society is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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‘Don’t dip your chips…’ is written by a new author, Caryl Hart who has gathered accolade enough already to be shortlisted for a Sheffield Children’s Book Award.  in 2010. The illustrations, by Leigh Hodgkinson who collaborated with Lauren Child of ‘Charlie and Lola’ fame, have a familiar cute and quirky feel.

It’s a nicely subversive story. Kate is sent to her room for telling jokes about bogies at the table, and writes a letter to the Queen asking if she could come to tea at the palace to learn to be posh.  When the invite comes, Kate swots up on her table manners: “No slurping, no slouching, no grabbing, no burping…”    She’s surprised then when the Queen decides that manners are dull, and they eat pudding first, ping food and burp loudly.   There’s a rather apologetic end note from the author to exhort her readers to be polite at the table, but relax the rules once in a while and have fun.

I tested this book on the six year old and his friend.   They seemed bemused at first, then amused, and some of the funnier lines got guffaws: “Why don’t you start with that big treacle tart, come on now, stuff it all in” and “Throw jam roly poly all over the dining room floor”   My only criticism is that the rhyming text doesn’t always flow easily, making it a little difficult to read aloud in places.

Since reading, we’ve recited some of the Queen’s ‘rules’ at the table, as a joke, and also as a gentle reminder.  Strangely, the two year -old is obsessed with the book and has been asking for it two or three times a day.

Don’t expect this book to change your child’s table manners, but it’s a neat way to start a conversation about the things in life that are less riotous fun, like table manners.   The book is aimed at older children, 5-7 year olds, but strangely, the two year -old is obsessed with the book and has been asking for it two or three times a day.  In the same vein, and targeted at younger children,  we found “I don’t want to wash my hands” by Tony Ross in the library this week.  This is one of the witty Little Princess stories, and has nice scare tactics; “germs and nasties that look like crocodiles” that small children seem to relish.

So, I’d recommend ‘Don’t dip your chips’ as a funny picture book for 5-7 year olds, whether you need to improve your children’s manners or not.  Interestingly, there wasn’t a rule about reading books at the table….

‘Don’t’ dip your chips in your drink Kate’, by Caryl Hart and Leigh Hodgkinson, Orchard Books, Oct 2009 (paperback May 2010)

‘I don’t want to wash my hands, by Tony Ross, Harper Collins 2003

We’re reading “Don’t dip your chips in your drink, Kate” is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Hannah loves gorillas.  She draws them, watches programmes about them, but has never seen a real live one.  She yearns for her father to take her to see a gorilla at the zoo, but her father, so absorbed in work or his newspaper, barely seems to talk to Hannah, let alone take her to the zoo.   The sense of Hannah’s loneliness is in the drawings, where she seems overwhelmed and powerless in an adult world.   But magically, on the night of her birthday, the toy her father gives her turns into a real gorilla, who gently takes her by the hand on a midnight trip to the zoo.  Is it the stuff of dreams?  This is never answered, but there are intriguing suggestions in the pictures that her dad and the gorilla might be one and the same.   In the morning, Hannah’s dad asks her if she’d like to go to the zoo, and she “was very happy.”

My six year old was interested in the story, and recognised the sadness in it, but said that he liked the bit “where the gorilla comes to life.”  The two year old enjoyed the story in a ‘Tiger who came to Tea’ sort of a way, but it is aimed at older children.   My feeling is that it’s a perfect book for 4-6 year olds.  It has the immediate interest of the gorilla, but the depth to endure re-readings, and to start chats about feeling sad, or the failings of grown-ups, or how we can make others happy.

This book is a classic, first published in 1983, but the story and illustrations have not dated.  It won the Kate Greenaway Medal  in that year for illustrations, which are reminiscent of Jill Murphy’s (On the Way Home, Peace at Last and the Worst Witch) but perhaps wittier.  Author Anthony Browne has won many awards for his other childrens books and is the current Children’s Laureate.

You can find it on the UK Amazon here, or the US Amazon here.  Or, you could ask your favourite local bookshop for it!

We’re reading… ‘Gorilla’ by Anthony Browne is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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When reviewing children’s books, particularly as I tend to review those aimed at first readers, and earlier, I can get a little clouded and perhaps, occasionally, lose sight of the fact that I am not the intended audience for these books.

The introduction of a child, to either read the book themselves, or indeed, for me to read to, is most definitely necessary in some cases.  It is all well and good me liking, and praising a book, but if it is the opposite for the actual intended audience, then, well, it is of little worth.

Luckily, for readers of my reviews, yet rather annoyingly for folks in my life, I do not find it difficult to slip into the toddler mindset, the odd prompt being all I need to send me into my own little junior world of my own.

Picking up George and Flora’s Secret Garden for the first time however, I was obviously in grown up, and hyper critical mode, not a state that I like to be in for too long.

I found the book, while a pleasure to look at, to be a little cluttered, and if anything having too much information in it, trying to give a lot of detail, and dovetail stories together, that really did not work for me.

The premise of the book, written by Jo Elworthy, who is also in charge of the Eden Project in Cornwall, is effectively about children growing their own food.

George and Flora, the book’s main characters, are also awaiting the arrival of another sibling, and there is some linkage between waiting for a child to arrive, and for waiting for things to grow.

I really like the story in the book, as does my five-year-old son, but it took his involvement for me to realise this.

The layout of the book is such, that the story and main illustrations occupy the left page, and most of the right, with a column for information about growing things, and a footnote of where we are with the pregnancy.

This means, that if you try to read all this information concurrently, as I did in the outset, then it can be content rich, and confusing.  But when reading the story in isolation, something I automatically did when I had my son on my lap – my mini-eureka moment with this book – it is most enjoyable, and then the columns become easy to refer to prompts, after the whole story has concluded, or in isolation themselves.

We have our own vegetable patch, but the book has actually reminded me, and prompted me, to get some pumpkin seeds, as that is something we didn’t grow last season.

Illustrations within the book, the handy work of Ley Honor Roberts, are a wonderful mix of drawings, and real photo images.   Demonstrated well on the books cover, the image included within this blog post.

The book is published by Eden Project Books, which itself is an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, and is available from Rbooks.

Book Review: George and Flora’s Secret Garden is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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The Stripy Horse stories are winners of the Sheffield Children’s Book Award, which asks Sheffield’s schoolchildren  to vote for their favourite book, so this one has crowd- pleasing pedigree.   The artwork is beautiful, with gorgeous colours and the pages in my paperback edition have a pleasing matt finish.  I was puzzled by this book however; I didn’t find the characters or the story engaging, and felt that the relatively simple story was overburdened by too much text, much of it in complex language.   In particular I was irritated by the parrot who spoke only in clichés, which go straight over a young child’s head.  Overall, I felt its main aim was to be cute rather than interesting.   When reading this with the two year old, I had to hurry through or edit the text before he pulled the next page over.  My 6 year old said it was good because he liked fantasy stories.  But, the book has not been pulled out to be re-read since the first couple of readings.  See what your young readers think.

“Monster Day at Work”, published last month, was a book we found by chance in my local library.   Its a look through a child’s eyes at a parent’s day at work.  The young monster accompanies his dad to work; picking out his tie, eating biscuits in meetings, playing on the computer and going to the canteen for lunch, and then wonders why Daddy complains about going to work.  It’s written with simple text and mischievous humour, prompting chat about what Daddy (or Mummy) might be up to when at work.  Illustrated with quirky and appealing characters, it was a book that all of us enjoyed reading.   Author Sarah Dyer has also written other award winning stories including Five Little Fiends, which won the Smarties Book Prize in 2001.

Hold on Tight Stripy Horse by Jim Helmore and Karen Wall, published by Egmont Press, March 2010

Monster Day at Work by Sarah Dyer, published by Frances Lincoln, February 2010

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There is something quite magical about a hardback book, a mystique that only grows, in my humble opinion, when the book in question is a children’s book.

So when Random House sent us Dog Loves Books for review, in that form, they were off to a great start.

It may be because personally it takes me a fair bit of convincing to shell out the extra expense for a hardback variety, and therefore they have additional novelty and kudos factor in our home, or it might just be because they feel better in your hands.

But whatever it is, there is definitely something ‘more’ about them.

Louise Yates, the author and illustrator of this particular book is obviously a very talented lady.  She began drawing pictures to go with stories she would write at school, and it was there where she told her classmates that she was going to be a children’s book illustrator.

She wasn’t wrong, and after studying English at Oxford University she can actually also add ‘author’ to her list of achievements.

Dog Loves Books is beautifully illustrated by Yates, primarily using water colours.  Illustrations are laid out in a variety of formats, with text wrapped around them in different ways to give the story great range and to spoil the eyes passed its beautiful drawings.

The story itself is of a dog, so enthused by books, that he sets about setting up his own bookstore.

It is not all plain sailing, but the dog does continue to love his books and manage to fill his shop with all sorts of things, if not willing buyers.

This is romantic and idyllic reverse of the current trend of books being sold via relatively faceless mediums and without any personal interaction.

And I like it.

Even if I must say, my five year-old son has not been as enamoured.  He has certainly not turned his nose up, but it is yet to be placed among his favourites on his Tidy Books bookcase, but that may be down to my reluctance to let go of it.

It is definitely aimed at children of my boy’s age group.  And it is a book that can be read to non-readers, but also used by those children with a firm grasp of reading, but yet to move onto children’s novels.

As mentioned Dog Loves Books is available in a hardback form, but is also available in a more frugally minded paperback version.

Book Review: Dog Loves Books is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Down by the lake, the rabbits are munching on ‘carrots and chocolate cake’, when they hear a ‘plop’.’  Not knowing what it is, they ’run, run, run’, infecting the other animals with blind panic who all career out of the forest.  Finally, the bear, sunning himself in a deckchair with cocktail, refuses to run, questions the ‘silly old plop’ and demands to be taken to see it.  The smallest rabbit, threatened with ‘I’ll eat you up!’ takes the bear back to the lake.  The rabbit, this time sees the ‘plop’; an apple dropping into the water.  But, the bear only hears the plop, and instantly loses his cool, taking off in fright.  In his new found wisdom, the rabbit gets to finish off the chocolate cake.

And the verdict from the kids?  My six year old read it instead of getting dressed, and pronounced it “funny”.  What bit was funny? “When the bear ran away.”  He totally got the point of the story.  The two year old enjoyed it too, particularly when the bear is threatening to eat the rabbit.  I wasn’t sure he understood what a ‘plop’ was, so it gave us an opportunity to play dropping things into the water at bath time.

I found this story really easy to read, the rhythm and timing is just perfect.  Some books with rhyming text take a few reads to get the cadence right, but with this book, I could make the story bounce along the first time I read it.  The illustrations are great, somewhat reminiscent of Dr Seuss, but with much nicer colours.  The bear put me in mind of Jungle Book’s Baloo, both in his appearance and (initial) laid-backness.  You can even learn how to draw the bear from a video on the author’s website.   I also liked that readers can see from the start what makes the plop so they can appreciate the humour.  I don’t ‘think the book is intended to have a moral message, but is just playing on the humorous situation

‘The Terrible Plop’ was published in Australia first last year, and has been well received by Australian bloggers, some of whom have made comparisons to Chicken Licken.   I found the book a little tricky to get hold of.  My local Waterstones, though helpful about tracking it down, had no plans to stock it, and so turned to Amazon.

You can see the author reading The Terrible Plop in this clip

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbnOCTN23o4

‘The Terrible Plop’ by Ursula Dubosarsky, illustrated by Andrew Joyner, published by Egmont UK  January 2010

You can find it on Amazon here in the UK, and here in the US.  Or even better, try your local library or independent bookshop

The Terrible Plop: Kids book review is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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5. We’re reading…”We’re Going on a Picnic!” by Pat Hutchins

Going near a classic tale, or fable, taking it from your children’s bookcase, and doing anything other than reading it, is always going to be a tricky business.

Children’s stories, classics, those laced with subtle, and the not-so-subtle morals, those ingrained in the memories of millions of children, and their parents, most – I would have thought – full of positivity, and some, of course, held with cynicism.  Like Ricky Gervais’ take on the industrious mouse (which does contain some swearing). But basically, very risky messing with any of them.

But Preston Rutt, author of; Tortoise Vs Hare : The Rematch, is a much braver man than me.

Bold enough to take the timeless tale of the much underrated, and plodding Tortoise, overcoming the fast, yet overly confident and complacent, Hare.  Pitching them versus each other again, in another race, to put the matter of ‘who is the fastest’ to bed forever.

When I received this book, I really was not sure where, and which way, the story was going to go.   There was also a shim of reluctance to read it, as its beginnings are in a very old, and forever told story.

However, I was intrigued if it would go down a similar path, reinforcing the original themes of the first tale?  Or if it would go a completely different way, and bring new ideas, and different things for children to think about in the process?

I am not about to spoil it for you, but I would say I enjoyed what it did bring to the table, or more specifically, my son’s bunk bed.

In a complete break from the traditional tale, the story is told from the perspective of a sports commentator.  Jonny Fox is like a Des Lynam and Brendan Foster all rolled into one, and he basically takes the reader through all the action, with a brief interlude from his trackside reporter.

This puts a twist on the story, making the book much more interesting, than if it was simply told along the regular ‘straightforward-description-of-what-is-happening-in-the-illustrations’ way.

It did take my son a little longer than usual to understand how this story is being told, but learning new styles and spins, is a wondrous thing to watch a youngster do.

The text is clear and well laid out.  Even reading it aloud for the first time was easy, which is not always the case, as the words that need different emphasis are very clear, and BOLDER, making it easy for a numpty like me to give them their correct enunciation.

Reading it is also easy as Rutt’s words are eloquent, while still simple, and he uses repetition, within a changing style and pace, very fluidly.

The illustrations match the story very well, and I would suggest even for a younger child most of the story would be understood, and certainly enjoyed, from them alone.

It is a great night-time read, especially as the book ceases with the race narrator going to sleep himself, thus encouraging the reader to get some shut-eye too.

A conclusion I enjoy in a book, as that is when we do the vast majority of our reading.

Tortoise Vs Hare: The Rematch, is published by Meadowside Children’s Books, and is available from Amazon.

Although, I hear, you are much more likely to find the book’s author, Preston Rutt, searching for it in the Kew Bookshop.

Book Review: Tortoise Vs Hare: THE REMATCH is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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5. The Terrible Plop: Kids book review

It’s a lovely day, so Hen, Goose and Duck pack their favourite fruit in the picnic basket, and set off to find the perfect picnic spot.  But, they’re being watched by a hungry rabbit, squirrel and mouse.  Each time they put the basket down to decide whether the picnic spot is just right, one of the watchers jumps in and helps themselves.  Not noticing the extra passenger, Hen, Duck and Goose keep walking until they find themselves back at home, and the basket, mysteriously empty.  They decide the picnic must have fallen out, pick some more fruit, and as they lay out their picnic blanket, they fail to notice that the pilferers are busy in the basket again!  I’m not sure which I found funnier; the bumptious innocence of the birds, or the unabashed cheek of the thieves.

My two year old brings this book out regularly.  He enjoys talking about who is watching, and doing the sing-song bits of “we’re going on a picnic!”  The humour however, goes a little over his head.  He doesn’t (yet) see how it might be funny to pinch something behind someone’s back.  I’ve also caught my five year old listening with a smile, when he’s not pretending he’s too old for picture books.   “We’re Going on a Picnic!” is perfect for 3 and 4 year olds to introduce ideas about noticing and observing, with plenty of repetition to boost understanding, and of course, to get them giggling.

” We’re Going on a Picnic!” by Pat Hutchins, published by Red Fox 2002

It is available online in the UK here, and here in the US, from Amazon

We’re reading…”We’re Going on a Picnic!” by Pat Hutchins is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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‘A Child’s Book of Faeries’.

This is a collection of Faery stories in the broadest sense. There are poems and fictional stories, but also other information such as the types of faeries a child can expect to find, from ‘brownies to boggarts’.

It is a great mix of information as it combines faery story telling with information to back up the fact that faeries really do exist! The stories feature bad as well as good faeries and the stories are not ‘sugar coated’ ones just aimed at little girls.

The book is beautifully illustrated and the pictures themselves capture the imagination.

Of the stories included my daughter’s (6) favourite was ‘Only me’ which recounted the story of a wilful little girl and a naughty faery.

The only challenge with the book would be the age range it appeals to. Younger children may just like looking at the pictures and having the stories read to them. Other than the poems, the stories take up several full pages of text with pictures round the edges of the page, so realistically a child would not be able to read all the content themselves until the age of 8 (and only then for very proficient readers at this age).

Therefore, think it can best be enjoyed as a magical bed time story for parents/grandparents to read to a child, boy or girl, from 5 upwards.

A Children's Book of Faeries

‘A Child’s Book of Faeries’ Collected and retold by Tanya Robyn Batt

Illustrated by Gail Newey and published by Barefoot Books.

Found available for purchase at Play.com and The Book Depository

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5. A great natural look

Aimed very much at toddlers, ‘Tip tip, dig, dig’ begins with the question: “Look at all this mess! What can we do with it?”  Along come the diggers, the cement mixers, tipper trucks, cranes and more, to build an adventure playground.  The illustrations are simple and engaging, with brightly coloured collages which are very reminiscent of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, but they work well.  My two year old enjoyed joining in with the “tip tip” or “mix mix” bits, and if you both really get into it, you can do the actions and vehicle noises too.

I liked the book’s idea that the machines work together to create a playground out of the mess. The illustrations and text are clear, and its structure gives readers the opportunity to repeat the sounds and actions, which small children love.  The author, Emma Garcia has written similar books since, one of which was shortlisted for an Early Years Award.

As mum to a young vehicle enthusiast, we’ve read many transport themed books, and if like me, you’ve failed to recreate the noises of say, a crane or a helicopter well enough for your toddler to be credulous of, you may also like to try the ‘Big Noisy Book of Vehicles’.   This is a transport compendium that takes you from scooters to space stations by way of paddle steamers and racing cars.  It has simple text and lots of pretty illustrations created from collages.  The book comes with a DVD, with lovely animation, and the vehicle noises of course!

Tip tip, dig dig by Emma Garcia is published by Boxer Books, 2007.  You can find it here in the UK on Amazon or in the US here.  Or even better, find your local bookshop UK  or  US and ask for a copy!

Big Noisy Book of Vehicles by Britta Teckentrup and Ronne Randall is published by Boxer Books, 2008

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Be careful of the lions.

That was the warning that I heeded, but sadly Jim did not.

Mine came from a representative of Random House, and I was of course delighted to receive a review copy of; Cautionary Tale of Jim, to further learn why such caution should be adopted.

This is an illustrated update of a classic, written, and originally published in 1907, by Hilaire Belloc.

I have to admit to have never read the original, and for that matter, ever knowing of it, but the description of this book had me interested.

The book promises gatefolds, flaps, a fold-out map and a terrifying pop-up lion, I was sold.  Plus free is my favourite price.

Bringing the book to life is illustrator, Mini Grey, and she does an absolutely marvellous job, doing exactly what it says on the tin, or marketing promotion, in this case.

Mini, named after being born in a car of the same moniker, demonstrates tremendous talent, and I am sure why she was amongst the top ten illustrators in the UK, as part of the 2008 Big Picture campaign.

For children’s books, this is aimed at older kids than I am currently used to – it is targeting the 7-9 age group – yet it has a wonderful feel to it.

The quality is fantastic, and I did find myself treating it quite gingerly, almost like the book was more precious than the others in our growing library.

Physically I suppose that is true, as with all the aforementioned upgrades – flaps, pop-ups etc – if given to little ones I would imagine that its effectiveness may be diminished quite quickly.

It probably warrants its own shelf on our children’s bookcase.

The story itself is a little grim, and real too, but I like that, and the serious message it actually contains, is still amusingly told.

It is actually more a poem that tells a story, and if an adult was just reading the text, it would not take a great deal of time to read.  But the illustrations are so vibrant, interesting and full of detail, that I suspect the book would never be read that way in any case.

My four year-old son was a little frightened by the book, but still interested enough to want to have it read to him several times, and he spent quite a bit of time pouring over some of the drawings and features.

It would probably make more sense to a slightly more mature child too, as it uses the term ‘Nurse’ as meaning child carer, rather than as how my boy currently understands what that job title means.

But again, and conversely, it is a prompt to expand understanding in the younger ones.

If you would like to buy a copy of the book, it is available on-line from the commercial arm of Random House, Rbooks.

And if you enjoyed this review, and would like to see what else we have been reading, you should hopefully find all our reviews here, that is if we have tagged them correctly.

Book review: Jim by Hilaire Belloc and illustrated by Mini Grey is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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Tabby McTat ( a great name for a cat) loves singing with Fred and his guitar, but one day he meets Socks, a beautiful black cat who becomes his wife. In an unfortunate series of events, McTat and Fred lose each other with no obvious way of finding each other again. McTat is taken in by Socks’ owners and discovers that he enjoys home comforts and his new kittens, including one called Samuel Sprat. Samuel Sprat inherits his dad’s singing talent, and eventually becomes Fred’s busking partner.

This story has a darker mood, with a longer, more complicated structure than previous Julia Donaldson books, and is definitely aimed at children of school (or nearly school) age; 4-6 year olds. Axel Scheffler’s drawings are also darker and rougher round the edges, and drawn with more realism; characters have grey hair and wrinkles. But the drawings are beautiful, lively and full of witty details for kids to pick out.

We found the rhyming text not always easy to read aloud, as it doesn’t have a predictable rhythm. Our two-year old enjoyed the pictures and just being read to, but the story is beyond him. My five-year old said “it’s good, it’s fine” and giggled at the mischief that McTat gets up to when he becomes a home cat. There’s also a good opportunity to entertain your kids with some caterwauling and sing McTat and Fred’s song: “meee-ew and the old guitar, how purrrr-fectly happy we are!”

If your kids are veterans of ‘The Gruffalo’ and other Julia Donaldson books, then this story is a natural progression. It’s not as instantly enjoyable as previous stories, but we reckon it’ll grow on you, and will be picked off the shelf regularly.

You can find it on Amazon in the UK here, or from other good book shops, or on Amazon in the US here

Tabby McTat by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is published by Alison Green Books (Scholastic Children’s Books), August 2009.

We’re reading…’Tabby McTat’ by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is a post from: TidyBooks - The Childrens Storage Solution.

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5. The Terrible Plop: Kids book review