A book review: Frederick

Title: Frederick

Author: Leo Lionni
Published: Anderson Press ...
Synopsis: While the other field mice work to gather grain and nuts for winter, Frederick sits on a sunny rock by himself. “I gather sun rays for the cold dark winter days,” he tells them. Another day he gathers “colors,” and then “words.” And when the food runs out, it is Frederick, the dreamer and poet, whose endless store of supplies warms the hearts of his fellow mice, and feeds their spirits during the darkest winter days. Frederick’s story will warm readers as well in this Caldecott Honor winning fable.
From Amazon.co.uk

Rereadability: I can't remember when we got this one exactly, but it's a fairly recent discovery. And when I say discovery, I read this in the shop, a smile spread across my face and I knew I was going to buy it. I felt as if I was the first person to ever discover Leo Lionni (silly me). I have to confess that part of the reason I love Frederick so, is that as a 'cough cough' writer myself, I do spend an awful lot of time starting into space. I so relate to Frederick and  I just love the fact that after being called a poet, he blushes and says, 'I know it.' 

Pictures: While there is something reminiscent of Eric Carle in Lionni's collages, there's also something very distinctive. I spotted a first grade teacher carrying a book under her arm and instantly recognised the style and we waxed lyrical about what a sweet little book Frederick is. 

The three year old test: And it's these pictures which are part of what make it such a great read with a young child. The bubba's favourite part of the bedtime story is when she can tell her own story using the pictures. Let me tell you that some of the time her story and the 'real' story have very little in common. But here Lionni's pictures hold meaning to her little three year old brain and she knows the family are working and that Frederick is doing nothing and she expresses that. 

Text: And then, if like me, you didn't grow up with Lionni, his words are beautiful. I was once told rather glibly, that illustrators couldn't write. So maybe Lionni was a writer who could illustrate, or maybe this was just one very talented illustrator and I shall definitely be looking out for more of his books during out next book shop visit. 

Oh and then if you are wondering why I love this book so much, it was made into a cartoon...

a book review: Beware of the Frog

Title: Beware of the Frog!

Author: William Bee
Published: Walker 2008
Synopsis: Mrs Collywobbles has nothing to fear from the strange and fearsome visitors that emerge from the big, dark, scary wood – not with her pet frog guarding the garden gate. Gobble! They don't hang around for long! But when Mrs Collywobbles' frog demands a thank-you kiss, things suddenly take a surprising turn...
From Amazon.co.uk

Pictures: Let's get one thing straight. I chose this book. There's a certain feel to the illustrations that remind me of 'Rosie's Walk' and what I associate with my childhood. In a way some of the humour in the pictures also pay homage to Pat Hutchinson's book, but there are a lot more words in this book. Apart from the colour scheme the pictures and creatures really are William Bee's own. There is a lot of detail in each illustration, so that the non reading child can infer a lot from context and find something new in them each time. 

Text: The words tell the story of Mrs Collywobbles and her pet frog. The Amazon synopsis practically tells it all, but basically each character is introduced and has their own particular rhyme and then they come to a sudden and surprising end. 

Rereadability: So all in all given the little rhymes which could often be heard around the house this holiday  (it wasn't always the bubba) and the intricate illustrations, there is a lot to get out of this book. 

The three year old test: I'm not sure if the nightmares started after this book or before... OK I'm joking, but let's make this clear, for the child who is starting to understand fear and becoming scared of things, this is not the best BEDTIME read. At every other part of the day it's perfect. And to be absolutely sure you get this, the reason I chose this was because the ending made me laugh out loud. There is no writing down to the three year olds and it's rather irreverent fun. 

A book review: Cinderella

Title: Cinderella

Author: Nick Sharrat and Stephen Tucker
Published: Macmillan's children's books (2001)
Synopsis: Cinderella's sisters were such a rotten pair, She did all the housework, They never did their share. A funny retelling of the classic fariy tale with lift-the-flap surprises. Also in this series: The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Goldilocks.
From Amazon.co.uk

The three year old test:  The bubba asked me what I was doing in her room so I asked her to pick me a book. About a year ago the book fair came to school and this one caught my interest because the bubba was big into her Spot books, so I thought she would like the lift-the-flaps in this book too. A colleague came along and virtually sealed the deal by telling me that her kids loved the books when they were kids. The clincher was the special CD.  

Rereadability: Part of the reason I liked the special CD was that we had just moved and the bubba was commuting to the creche. Because the text is so infinitely rereadable and memorable, even without the pictures Bubba loved this story. 

Text: It can be read fast slow or medium, depending on the amount of time you have. As there is a certain predictability to the text, kids can guess what is coming next and also eventually join in with it as they memorise the story. I certainly got to memorise the text after reading it every night for three weeks. When it was a late bedtime I could be pointing to the flaps as I recited away. We've borrowed Little Red Riding hood and Goldilocks from the library and the bubba picked out The Three Little Pigs when we were in the UK recently, but as we already have two versions I swapped it for Jack and The Beanstalk. So out of the four we've read, this one is definitely our favourite and the rhyming works particularly well. I also like that when you examine the text, it isn't too far away from the original, but there are a couple of lines that make it thoroughly modern and then there are...

Pictures: Nick Sharrat's pictures. In this version of Cinderella there are washing machines, discos. platform shoes and boxes of chocs. But there are also the traditional elements like a pumkin and white mice and a lovely gown and the shoe. Of course Cinders loses the shoe. 

A book review: Bright Stanley

Title: Bright Stanley

Author: Matt Buckingham
Published: Little Tiger Press (6 Mar 2006)
Synopsis: Far below the waves a little fish called Stanley lived with the rest of his shoal. They were the brightest, sparkliest fish in the whole of the deep, dark sea. One morning Stanley woke up rather late. "Coo-ee! It's me-ee!" he called to his friends as usual. But the reef was strangely quiet...
From Amazon.co.uk

In the days when I wasn't exactly sure what to buy, I confess that in that banner that says: If you are buying this, then why not try this... I also confess that that was the first and last time I chose my books like this. Firstly because I was using Amazon.fr and for some bizarre reason they never specify whether the books are UK and US edition. Now call me an old stickler, but when I don't know I'm reading a US edition the spelling throws me... anyway. 

Text: This is the tale of a slightly camp (well in my mind) and sparkly goldfish called Stanley, who wakes up one morning and realises he is late to meet his school as they swim to warmer waters. His adventures lead him through a whole gamut of emotions: glee, terror, disappointment and shock, which are quite fun to share with a young child. Stanley has a couple of catchphrases: 'Hello it's me!' and 'Jumping Jellyfish', which we really enjoy and like I said at the beginning I play him camp. One of the things I'm not too keen on is the growled, snarled, groaned... dialogue tags. I kind of know the book off by heart now, but to begin with it would throw me off my game. 

Pictures: In complete contrast with the Ahlberg's work, Stanley is pretty simple, painted pictures, but we really like them. We can see the emotion on Stanley's face (and I'm a bit of a Nemo fan and have watched all the extra bits and know how difficult that is to do). There are clever little devices in the pictures, such as a sea snail that appears on every page and the sparkly Stanley of course. 

Rereadability: Have I mentioned the catchphrase? Brilliant, because you pick up the book and everyone instantly says it. There is also a moment (I don't want to give it away) which will have your kid scuttling under the covers and when we're doing the read aloud we like to play that bit up. It's not really the calmest of bed time reads, but it definitely is fun . 

The three year old test:  I recently learnt that if publishers put foil in your books they LOVE you. Well Bright Stanley has foil on EVERY page people. And for the last page you practically need your sunglasses. This goes down really well with the three year old who loves stroking the foil. She also loves to join in with Stanley's catchphrase. All together now: Hellooooo it's meEE!

OMG! (Say that in a Bright Stanley way) I've just found the brightstanley.com page! Jumping Jellyfish!

A review: Peepo!

I have not finished The Undrowned Child, but rather than rush to finish the book I decided I would have a crack at reviewing some picture books. Living outside of an anglophone community, whenever I have a chance to buy picture books I do. They fit quite nicely into the suitcase and aren't heavy. The problem is I never know what to buy. Book blogs (or rather the ones I read) are full of YA and Children's books. So when faced with shelves and shelves of the books and no idea what to buy I revert to type. In other words I buy books I loved as a kid, or stuff that was popular when I started teaching cough cough years ago.

Title: Peepo

Author: Janet & Allan Ahlberg
Published: Puffin Books 1981 
Synopsis: PEEPO! has become a classic for babies and toddlers. It follows a baby through the day in a style full of wit, charm and ingenuity. A series of holes peeping through to the next page leads the child on to the next stage in the day, giving a hint of what is to come. An original book that has long delighted young children - and their parents!
From Amazon.co.uk

Pictures: So the Ahlberg books were popular when I started teaching (which I hasten to add was NOT in 1981) with their Jolly Postman books. I already had a Jolly postman book, and I figured this would be a good buy. The pictures in this are amazingly detailed and tell a completely different story to the one referred to in the synopsis above. The pictures give us an insight into another era and each time I look through the book I see something different. Despite the intricate detail of the pictures they don't detract from the text. 

Text: Call me an old traditionalist, but I love the predictability of the text and that the rhythm leads you to say 'Peepo' in such a way that it's like playing a game of peekaboo. Also predictable text means the bubba knows exactly when the: Peepo! moment is coming. The words and sentences work perfectly so that there's no stumbling as you read aloud.There's about 400 words in the book, so when you think that the tendency nowadays for a picture book is about 500, this is quite a lot. But, until I just counted the text it's never struck me as a lot and yet we've been reading this book since the bubba was a baby. 

Rereadability: So given that Bubba is now three and almost a half, the rereadability factor is immense. She loved the pictures, she loved looking through the hole and seeing what she would discover on the next page. We have the board book version, so I can tell you it lasts a good long time despite chewing. 

The three year old test:  We're kind of getting to limit with this book as a shared read. The bubba is at the stage now where she likes a good old story and while there is plenty of story in this book, it's more in the pictures than the text, so she tends to look at it by herself now. I imagine this will become a favourite again when she is learning to read.