Family favourite picture books – in pictures

It may be the summer holidays, but our family reviewers are still working hard to bring you the best picture books around. Here they guide you to the best singer in the world, the worst princess and everything in between
  
  


Family favourite books: A Children's Treasury of Milligan
A Children's Treasury of Milligan by Spike Milligan Reviewed by Jennifer and Millie: When Minnie was cooking I used to read to my bump, as I thought - rather misguidedly so it seems - that reading to her from even before she was born would make her a Mensa member by now... This isn't the case - Minnie believes so strongly that sheep go moo that she will storm off in a huff whenever Ba Ba Black Sheep is sung... making for rhyme time at the local library a hoot! This is why these poems are perfect for her. She loves them, I love them, they are just plain silly and so well written. They offer you a perfect chance to just let it all go and enjoy making stupid faces whilst reading the Ning Nang Nong out loud. I honestly do think everyone should have this collection of poems and stories in their house.. Even if you don't have children... They are just so much fun. Photograph: PR
Family favourite books: Elephant Pants
Elephant Pants by Smriti Prasadam-Halls Reviewed by Damyanti and Bryn, 4: A feast of bright colours and funny rhymes, this is a good read-aloud tale which includes a very generous helping of 'pants'. The mystery of Elephant's missing pants leads to a pants parade on the ark, with pants of every size and colour to fit an array of friendly looking animals. Like most young children, Bryn is amused by underwear and the sight of gorillas in pants of sequins and feathers and hippos in stars & stripes can only lead to laughter. From the tongue-twisting "Oh, fiddle-dee fickers, Where, oh where, oh WHERE are my KNICKERS?" the rhyming text leads the story along apace, and once the mystery is resolved you can have fun poring over the last page, with pants on the washing line, remembering whose pants were whose. Photograph: PR
Family favourite books: Five Minutes Peace
Five Minutes' Peace by Jill Murphy Reviewed by Tara and Keeley, 5: I was very excited to see this classic book again. I grew up reading the large family books and this particular book was one of my favourites from my childhood. I was interested to see if this book would still interest a child from this generation and I am very pleased to say it does. Keeley really did enjoy this book. It's light-hearted, funny and I think most children can identify with one of the younger characters in the story. Keeley laughed at the mayhem throughout the book and particularly the part when the children joined Mrs Large in the bath! It's a lovely story with great illustrations which bring the story to life with brilliant detail. It's a funny, enjoyable read which even gave me an opportunity to explain that parents need a break sometimes, which seemed to be forgotten immediately! Photograph: PR
Family favourite books: Penguin
Penguin by Polly Dunbar Reviewed by Jennifer and Minnie, 1: I think it's very hard not to over-analyse children's books. As they are not for us grown-ups, they are for children... But see that's the issue; for at this age they are for us adults, as we are the ones that have to read the damn books 20 times in a row! Which is why it doesn't matter that I didn't get this book. It's about a penguin, he doesn't talk, no matter how much the little boy tries to make him... It also has a blue lion... I just didn't get it... But you know what, I didn't need to. The crazy toddler roared at the blue lion, laughed and clapped when the penguin did eventually talk and requested the book to be read again and again and again. So quite frankly it doesn't matter that I didn't get it... It made her happy and that's a massive thumbs up in my house! Photograph: PR
Family favourite books: The Best Singer in the World
The Best Singer in the World by Ulf Nilsson Reviewed by Angus and Isobel, 4: I'm not sure I've known Isobel to laugh so loudly at a picture book as she did over this simple story of a boy getting over his stage fright. The fact that the word FART makes repeated capitalised appearances accounts for some of this, but the humour in the book is rounder and gentler than that. Isobel also enjoyed the story very much, especially the parts featuring the 'silly' baby brother, since she has a silly baby sister of her own who also worships her and copies everything she does. And she liked how the boy overcame his fears at the end with help from his baby brother. Overall, a great little book we'll be returning to soon that might even help Isobel vanquish her terror of jumping in at the swimming pool. Photograph: PR
Family favourite books: The Goblin and the Girl by Neil Irani
The Goblin and the Girl by Neil Irani Reviewed by Tom, Emma, Daisy, 5, and Olive, 3: This book is about about a girl with a very negative perception of her own appearance who hides herself away. Through being 'seen' by a boy in her class, and being accepted, she comes to see herself differently. And thank goodness for that, because until that point we were all feeling really rather depressed. In our opinion, the clever concept behind this book is far too abstract for the age of child it targets. Daisy summed it up well when she said, "They should have told us why she was a goblin." When I explained the story to her, she said, "I don't think the little ones will understand it because they won't understand that message." It never captured the interest of Olive, who decided she didn't like it. Photograph: PR
Family favourite books: The Odd Egg
The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett Reviewed by Jennifer and Minnie, 1: I just adore all of Emily Gravett's books... They are beautifully simple and her drawings are so charming. This book is all about a duck who doesn't have an egg to sit on and hatch whilst all the other birds do... Poor duck! You like the duck straight away and when he finds an egg you are very happy for him. Well Minnie was, she clapped.. High praise indeed! This book is requested time and time again and there are always new details that she notices each time we read it. I will quite happily seek out all of Emily Gravett's books to read for my two and they also look beautiful on the book shelf... Photograph: PR
Family favourite books: The Worst Princess
The Worst Princess by Anna Kemp Reviewed by Tom, Emma, Daisy, 5, and Olive, 3: This is a wonderful story about a spunky princess and her successful achievement of the traditional role reversal. By teaming up with the dragon, she puts the obnoxious, patronising prince in his place and secures a place in the hearts of all parents who are sick to death of their daughters being told to be passive and beautiful. In the words of Daisy, "The princess wanted to be a knight which was good because it is a different story and normally the princess will just be all ooo-la-la-ish," (a word Daisy uses for those who are dressed up posh). At which point Olive highlighted that the princess had her own sword. In short, a must for any family bored of the norm. Photograph: PR
Family favourite books: The Really Really Big Dinosaur
The Really, Really, Really Big Dinosaur by Richard Byrne Reviewed by Emma and Daisy, 5: This delightful book offers a very funny look at bullies and the triumph of brains over brawn. Byrne's story follows the kindly Finlay as he attempts to share out jelly beans with a mystery friend. Interrupted by a bigger dinosaur who demands the lot, Finlay bravely stands his ground. Maisy caught onto the twist of the tale about halfway through the book but it didn't stop her laughing out loud as she saw Finlay's clever idea coming to fruition: 'That's not a cave…it's a …' (I don't want to give the game away readers!) What's great about this book is although the bigger dinosaur realises the error of his ways, the message isn't a moral sledgehammer, it's just a sweet realisation that it's far more fun to play together and jelly beans taste better when they're shared! Photograph: PR
The cover of My Big Cats : The cover of My Big Cats Journal
My Big Cats Journal by Steve Bloom Reviewed by Tom, Emma and Daisy, 5: This very accessible book captured Daisy's imagination. Far from just dry facts, the book provides a wealth of information about 'big cats' through the first-hand account of a wildlife photographer writing a diary. Daisy was excited about what she learnt and insisted on taking the book into show-and-tell so that she could pass on her expertise to her peers. The photos are stunning and do not only bring the text provided to life, but also foster an appreciation of the skill involved in taking photos through the regular 'photographers tips'. In Daisy's words, "It is good because the shots are really quite, you know, great... really special because if you go for a walk or travel on a trip they are the best photos you can get, especially if you manage to get a cat in action." Photograph: PR
 

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