Reviewed by Nicki, Paul and Luke, aged 4
This is the follow up to Bob the Man on The Moon Bob is still working as the man on the moon but it now appears he has to work nights as well as days! He feels lonely and wishes to have a "best ever friend" to share his experiences. The pictures are amazingly detailed and tell a story all of their own. As in the first book, the aliens are still everywhere, although Bob does not notice them. The story has a happy ending with Bob finding an unusual friend. The copy of the book we received also came with an audio CD read by the author and this added to the appeal, as Luke could enjoy the story on the move. It is aimed at a slightly older reader but Luke and his dad really enjoyed it!
Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: Action images
Reviewed by Jennifer and Minnie, aged 1
Minnie is 18 months old. She can't talk, she will sit and play with gravel all day and demands to wear her slippers everywhere, even in the rain. But the one thing she can do well is arts and crafts... We can even decoupage. Très smug mum! I find this book invaluable as it's just very simple. You might get it and say "Oh well I could have thought of that". Yes I'm sure you could, but I'm so exhausted I need someone else to say, "Hey get a toilet roll, stick this and that onto it... Ta da it's a pig!" It's full of fun ideas that you can do with your little ones and suggests how to liven it up for your older ones. I can see us using this book for a good long while!
Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: Action images
Reviewed by Damyanti and Bryn, aged 4
A traditional folk tale of an anti-hero, Foxy, whose sly endeavours lead to his eventual downfall. The story has plenty of repetition which helps build dramatic tension but as Foxy's confidence grows you begin to realise the direction that the tale is heading in. Bryn and I have struggled to find much pleasure in this book, and Bryn had questions over the feasibility of some of the animals fitting into the sack. Although I liked the illustrations, I wasn't captivated by the story. This book wasn't an instant hit in our house, although Bryn's recent request to take the book to his nursery to show his friends suggests that he, at least, is warming to the tale!
Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: Action images
Reviewed by Jennifer and Minnie, aged 1
The bright illustrations of the farm animals and a really cheeky story make this book such a fun read! This is what makes the book fun, you join in with all the different farm yard animals making their own noises. The toddler loved this as she could join in with the mooing, squeaking and honking - this alone kept her interested. I liked the way the animals knew they were being naughty but did it all over again anyway. I am always pleased to find longer books to read to her during the day and this is one of them. Even the baby enjoyed us trying to make the different animal sounds!
Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: Action images
Reviewed by Jennifer, Minnie, aged 1 and Bebe, aged 6 months
We own our fair share of ABC books in this house but I'm not sure why as we've only just mastered that sheep go baa! Anyway this one is lovely, it's the ABC of London. You go on a journey with an escaped penguin round the sights of one of the busiest city's. With the Olympics, all things London are fun right now! This is a beautifully drawn and colourful book. Y is for yippee makes this a winner! The toddler was captivated by all the different things going on and there is also a section at the back asking if you also spotted the other things beginning with the alphabet in the pictures, so that's good fun as well. Big thumbs up!
Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: Action images
Reviewed by Jennifer and Minnie, aged 1
This is a counting book, but with a lovely bedtime story interweaved. So learning and bedtime: bonus! One ted falls out of bed and wants to get back in again. We go all the way from one to ten and back again, but you hardly notice your learning as it's fun to see what happens next. I didn't realise this was by Julia Donaldson when I picked it up - the woman really should be made a dame! A rhyming text with a great story and bedtime pictures, the toddler enjoyed this very much, and I liked it as I felt I was imparting some knowledge onto her. Hopefully when she wakes up in the morning she might start counting!
Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: Action images
Reviewed by Christine, Ava, Leon, Isabel, and Theo, aged 3 months, 18 months, 2 and 3.
This book is a great way to introduce children to cooking. The story and pictures before each recipe helped to engage my daughter and the detail helped her to learn about different ingredients. I particularly liked the tips which helped her to understand how to develop her cooking skills to get the best results, and the "you will need" section on each recipe advising the utensils needed. This helped her to be organised and plan ahead before starting to cook. The book has plenty of healthy recipes and because my daughter helped make the dishes she was more willing to try them, which is a great way to encourage healthy eating. Overall this is a fun book and a great way to spend time together!
Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: Action images
Reviewed by Nicki, Paul and Luke, aged 4
Both enjoyed this book as it was quite funny. Spider's best friend is a fly and it is obvious that fly's parents are not entirely comfortable with this. Luke liked the silly teacher who didn't realise they were talking to spiders moulted skin! He also liked the bit where spider goes to give Daddy Long Legs a piece of his mind, and then when he sees how big he is decides to give him a piece of his lunch instead! The pictures are really good with lots of detail for you to pick out. I would suggest this book is probably better for a slightly older child who could appreciate the humour, and could read the captions on some of the illustrations.
Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: Action images
Jennifer and Minnie, aged 1.
Minnie loves this book, and I mean really loves it - she requests it morning, noon and night! The drawings are very good. Minnie likes pointing at all the animals and things that she can recognise. There is a lot going on so it keeps her busy and she finds something new everytime we read this. I like this book, even for the novelty value of young children playing out unsupervised! Those were the days!
Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: Action images
Reviewed by Christine, Ava, Leon, Isabel, and Theo, aged 3 months, 18 months, 2 and 3.
When I first read this book to my 2-year-old granddaughter she found the scary animals too frightening, but by contrast my 3-year-old grandson loved it, and insisted I had to keep reading it over and over again. The story leads a little rabbit through a world that he finds overwhelmingly frightening, but in the end he triumphs over his fears to a happy ending for himself. Wonderful dark and slightly menacing illustrations matched the story so well! I really loved this book and Theo definitely did as well - a real hit for 3-year-olds.
Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: Action images
