Parsley Rabbit's Book about Books – Frances Watts

I LOVE books, and I love sharing about books (why else would I have this blog). I particularly love reading books with kids. Yesterday was the launch of the National Year of Reading, and being Valentines day the slogan is “Love 2 Read”. I LOVE to read, I Love books and I LOVE sharing about books. This is one of the reasons why I have this blog to share some of my reading experiences, perhaps inspire you to read a new author, or to select a great kids book I recommended when you are at your local library.
My other love is working in a library, being around books and information, linking people to information, and helping people to find new authors to read. One of my favourite books that is both a good read and informs kids about books is Parsley Rabbit's Book about Books. Before the book even begins, Parsley Rabbit is making comments and drawing kids attention to the important parts of the book such as the end pages, title, author, illustrator, publisher and the imprint page. After discussing the books come in all shapes and sizes, and where to find page numbers the concept of flaps is introduced. The book then makes great use of lift-the-flaps.
One of the funniest pages is a lift the flap when Parsley has been talking about information books and under the flap has him reading about dinosaurs. The book he is reading is placed in such a position that his profile matches with a dinosaur face. My son called him a dino-rabbit. Another really good use of flaps is when Parsley talks about where people read books and under a flap his little brother is reading on the toilet (No ewws please – who can say that they have never read something while sitting on the loo!)
The painted illustrations by David Legge are gorgeous. I never realized how many expressions you could put on a rabbit.
It is a great book to read aloud to kids and generates lots of discussion about books and reading. My 5 year old son and I talked about: where you read books, favourite books, giving books as presents, sharing books, learning to read, page numbers and what publishers do.
It is a book that really appeals to the librarian in me, and it such a fun book!
Highly recommended for ages 4-8

Where's Mum? - Libby Gleeson & Craig Smith

Today Dad picks up everyone from childcare and they think Mum will beat them home. However Mum isn't there when they get back. The children begin imaging what could have delayed Mum using nursery rhymes and fairytales. Perhaps she is helping Jack and Jill to fetch a pail of water, or helping Humpty who had a great fall, or she could be having porridge with the three bears. The longer Mum is delayed the darker the ideas becomes especially when they think about the big bad wolf. When Mum does finally come home, she has a whole lot of friends with her.
It is Craig Smith's illustrations that make this book awesome! Mum meets lots of different characters walking home in their town. And Dad and the children are eating and getting ready for bed. I love that their house is just like mine – toys strewn everywhere, dishes left in the lounge, clothes in a pile waiting to be folded. It makes me feel normal! My kids loved looking at the pictures and laughing at what Mum is getting up to.
9/10

My Aussie Mum - Yvonne Morrison

You've got to admit that we Aussies are a little bit different. We live for the weekends, love a good barbie with family and friends, as long as the footy is on in the background in winter and the cricket in summer. We are supposed to be a laid-back bunch who's catch cry is 'no worries' or 'she'll be right'. So......what makes an Aussie Mum? According to Morrison she is a woman who is enthusiastic and involved in everything. She's a ripper who is tough as nails, always looks ace even in trackie daks, a battler who is busy day and night, a cricket fan, and someone who always knows when her kids are chucking sickies.
This book is a celebration of mums and is cute in the way it uses colloquial sayings. However these were lost on my younger children who didn't understand what these meant. It was a bit of a worry that my four year old didn't know what 'ace' meant. I must add it to my vocabulary again. The illustrations by Nicola Bright were humorous and added to the meanings of the story. They portrayed a quirky woman who was passionate about raising her kids, looking after herself, and getting involved in everything.
Overall, it was an ace concept for a book, however, the Aussie sayings were not known well enough by the children the book is aimed at. 6/10

Monkey Puzzle – Julia Donaldson

Such a delightfully funny book that we loved, especially the wonderful ending.
Baby monkey has lost his Mum somewhere in the forest. A lovely blue butterfly want to help monkey to find her and asks monkey to describe her. What follows is to the reader a hilarious selection of mothers that the butterfly thinks may belong to monkey – an elephant, a python, a spider, a parrot, a frog and a bat. Butterfly isn't silly but she is just using baby monkey's descriptions to help find his mother.. Finally in frustration baby monkey exclaims “Butterfly, butterfly, can't you see? None of these creatures looks like me!” The poor butterfly is very confused as she had no idea that baby monkey's mother looked like him because …........ you guessed it. None of butterfly's babies look like her!
The illustrations are done by Axel Scheffler who has successfully teamed up with Julia Donaldson for many of her books (The Gruffulo, Room on the Broom, The Snail and the Whale). They are big and bright jungle scenes and I especially like the big bright eyes of the animals.
The story is told is such a way that the reader begins to realise that there is something important that baby monkey is leaving out of his description of his mother and the children get excited at the anticipation of how monkey's mother will be found.
We loved it. 9/10

I Spy Mum! - Janeen Brian

It's May and in Australia that means Mother's Day. In tribute to all those mother's out there I am going to review some books about Mum's this month

Whenever we have a few minutes to wait, say at a doctor's clinic, or in the car a game of eye spy usually helps to pass the time away. When the kids were younger it was often I spy something red".... or blue....or green. Once they got older it progressed to "I spy something that starts with P".... or S.... or T. Sometime we'd have a great laugh when the kids who were just learning their alphabet sounds got it slightly wrong. Like clock starting with K or car that starts with S (because my son used to stay sars instead of cars.
So reading a book that incorporates a game that we all know is a winner. The little boy in the story spies something that starts with M and that is Mums. But which one is his. He spies many Mums doing lots of things such as making and baking, bopping and shopping, riding and sliding, but none of them belong to him. Where could she be?
Chantal Stewart's illustrations are delightful. She brings to life mum's from all walks of life, different shapes and sizes, different countries and doing a variety of activities with their children.
We enjoyed the gentle rhyming words and the illustrations with details that allowed us to play I spy within the pages. 8/10

How do Dinosaurs........ series – Jane Yolen & Mark Teague

There is something magical about dinosaurs, these amazing animals that look like the dragons of make-believe but lived millions and millions of years ago. I have always been fascinated with dinosaurs and was one of the first to go out and see Jurassic Park (and got scared silly!). Now I have a little boy who has shown a little bit of interest in dinosaurs so I am flooding him with dino toys, The Land Before Time movies and of course dinosaur books. Now if you put a dinosaur in the story, my son will listen for hours. Yolen and Teague have hit on a bit of a winner here with their How Do Dinosaurs series.

 

The basic story progression is similar with each of the stories where questions are asked such as “How do dinosaurs say goodnight” and the story suggests ways in which the dinosaur may respond that are negative or naughty. The second half of the book asserts that he doesn't do this and goes on to say how the dinosaur reacts positively to the given situation. It is soon evident that the dinosaur is a metaphor for a child, especially since all the dinosaurs parents are people.

Mark Teague's illustrations are bright and large. Into each page he has incorporated the name of the type of dinosaur in the illustration, which is great for little dinosaur experts.

The series so far includes 16 different titles such as:

How do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends

How do Dinosaurs Say I Love You

How do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food

How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight

How do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms

How do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon

How do Dinosaurs Go to School

The stories are lovely though at times seem a little too directed at getting the correct behaviour for kids. I wonder whether kids realize that the story is trying to socialize them into the correct behaviours or if they enjoy the naughty dinosaurs.

Reccommended for ages 4 -6. 7/10

Owl Babies – Martin Waddell

Sometimes the thing that makes good bedtime story is reading a book that is suited to your family. This is one of my favourite books to read to our kids simply because I change some of the words. There are three baby owls who are the stars of the book ant their names are Sarah, Percy and Bill. As I have three children, in my version of the story the owls are called Laura, Aliyah and Daniel.  Don't be afraid to change the words or character names when you are reading books to your little one.  They love it as it helps them to relate more to the story and can bring some more fun to your reading time.
In Owl Babies the baby owls live with their mummy owl in a tree hollow. One night they wake up and Mummy owl is gone and they are a little anxious. Bill the youngest needs the most comforting as all he can say is that he wants his mummy. Sarah is the oldest and tells the others she thinks mummy has gone to get them food. Percy is reassured by Sarah and often agrees with her thinking (as all owls think a lot) However the longer she is away the more anxious they owlets get and wonder if mummy owl has been harmed in anyway.
I love taking my children on this story journey as it has a happy ending. Patrick Benson has depicted the most gorgeous fluffy feathery owls that remind me of my gorgeous children. Especially the youngest owl who just loves his mummy and wants her close to him. This is so much like my Daniel who loves is mummy 'a googolplex of mosts' (This is the largest number he knows, and yes, he is becoming geeky just like his father)  I am enjoying his adoration of me as much as I can because in a few years he won't be so eager for cuddles and snuggles.
A great book to read while snuggling. 8/10.

Five Minutes' Peace - Jill Murphy

I think this book has a really important message which, as a Mum of three children, I could really relate to – getting a bit of 'time out' from the kids. Mrs Large enters the kitchen to find her children having breakfast and it isn't a pleasant sight. Instead of demanding they tidy up she makes up a tray of tea and cake for herself and heads to the bathroom to relax in the bath. However in no time at all her children find her and want to share special things with her. Before you know it all three children are in the bath. So what is a mother elephant to do, but leave her children to play and head downstairs where she gets a few minutes peace.

It is so important as parents to make sure that we have time for ourselves and to top up energy reserves. When our kids are little long moments like are few and far between so finding a few minutes in the day may be all we get, but sometimes is all we need to retain our sanity. Mrs Large does very well listening to her children share special achievements we we as adults know all she wants to do is soak in the tub. I admire her! The illustrations are bright and colourful with lots of detail. I found it an empowering story, but my 4 year old did not. His first comment was “I don't like that story.” Daniels interpretation of the story was that the Mummy elephant didn't like her children as she didn't want to be with them. And you always want to be with the ones you love. He wasn't able to understand that you might not want to be with someone even if you love them.   He would like to be surrounded by everyone he loves all the time.

On the upside it did give rise to a great conversation about how sometimes even though Mummies and Daddies love their children they need to have some time together. And sometimes they want to have some time to relax by themselves. He still doesn't really understand this and I think he thinks that adults are strange.

Definitely an example of how adults and children view books differently. Anyway, I am off to have a bath and hopefully the kids don't notice :)
7/10

Whoever you are – Mem Fox

This is a lovely book that introduces young children to the concept of cultural diversity. It is addressed to “Little one” and it has a simple message about little ones around the world. Children's skin, homes, schools, lands, lives, and languages may all be different from yours. They smile and laugh, hurt and cry just like you, they feel joy and love and have pain just like you. However inside their hearts they are just like you 'whoever they are, where ever they are all over the world'
It is easy for children (and adults) to see suffering and disasters in other countries, but to see that they look so different to us, and that their homes look different and their language is different and think that they mustn't think or hurt like we do. This book reminds us all that that isn't the case and on the inside we are not very different at all.
I am not very taken by the illustrations that were painted by Leslie Staub. The main storyteller is a man with a cloud suit and a Stetson hat that I find odd. However, she has included children from many nationalities in her paintings and I especially like the page with children around a painting of the world. I only had access to the board book, but in other formats the paintings are set into golden frames with jewels which would complement them well.
I love that the book has story poem feel to it without actually rhyming and children can join in with the repetition. It is aimed at young children and highlights the similarities between people rather than the differences. 8/10

The monster at the end of this book - Jon Stone

Tonight I read the kids this sesame street favourite and it had my 4 year old in stitches, giggling. Sesame Streets most lovable monster Grover is in shock when he hears that title of the book. You see Grover is scared of monsters and has worked out if you don't turn the pages of the book the reader will never get to the end of the book. But all reader know that to hear the story you need to turn pages. Grover tries everything to get the reader to stop turning pages from pleading, to tying down pages to building brick walls. Put as all reader do we continued to turn the page. Grover gets more and more frightened (and my son more and more excited) as we get the the next to last page........ But don't worry, since it is Sesame Street it does have a happy ending.

I'd love to see this book in a larger format as the version I have is in the 'Little Golden Book' series. I wonder if it would work without the sesame street characters as it is a lovely interactive story that kids really get involved in. There's a thought for anyone out there wanting to write a kids book. Who would be a good illustrator. Maurice Sendak's monsters are too scary, but perhaps Mo Willem with Leonado the monster

I had lots of fun reading this book and putting some Grover like qualities into my voice. But you can hear Grover reading this book here. 9/10

Knuffle Bunny - Mo Willems

When I was growing up we had words that we used that were Dutch but we never knew it. They were used with such frequency in our house that I just assumed they were English, so when I talked to my friends about sitting near the kachel when it was cold or sitting in the kamer they had no idea what I was talking about. Knuffel is one of those words that I remember my Oma using. It means hug or cuddle in Dutch, so when I saw Knuffle Bunny I immediately translated it into Cuddle Bunny.
Knuffle Bunny is a very special toy. Trixie is very attached to her Knuffle Bunny but when it gets left behind she doesn't have the words to let her Daddy know. When they get home Mummy knows exactly what the matter is, and there is a mad dash around town to find Knuffle Bunny.
I love the illustrations in the book. The backgrounds are black and white photographs and the characters, including Knuffle Bunny are bright and comic-like and while reading the story my children knew what was going to happen and were excited that they were right and knew where Knuffle Bunny had been left.
I, like many parents, was able to relate to this story as I have a child who has their own 'Knuffle Bunny'. For my oldest daughter it was a cute stuffed Dalmatian called “Dukey”. He came everywhere with my daughter and was forgotten a zillion times in shopping centres and in parks. Then 20 minutes down the road my daughter would realize that Dukey was missing. And we will always find him, until an ill-fated trip to the Melbourne zoo. Dukey was left on a rock near the platypus enclosure but when we went back he was gone. Daily phone calls to the lost property office gave no success and finally my daughter had to accept that Dukey was gone forever. We did try and get a replacement but she never bonded with the new toy. Luckily Knuffle Bunny has a happier ending. 8/10

Feathers for Phoebe - Rod Clement

Reading to children is one way that you can instil a love of books into a child. I try to read daily to my children. Not only picture books but I read chapter books to my older children. It is a time that we all love. To promote reading stories and to add some fun to the activity ALIA (Australian Library and Information Association) has an annual event, National Simultaneous Storytime. This is an event where schools, libraries and families can register to read a specific story and an agreed time. This year it is 11am Wednesday 25th may, 2011. This year the story is Feathers for Phoebe

Phoebe is a plain grey bird who wants to get noticed. Zelda is a multicoloured, extroverted, talented and famous bird who owns the local salon. She is more than happy to help Phoebe realize her dream by adding some colour here and there and everywhere. From head dress to tail feathers, wing trims and chest feather Phoebe becomes the colourful flashy bird she has always wanted to be. She also adds some grooves and a new warble to get others to notice her. Will this fabulous transformation get Phoebe the attention she so desires?

This book has eye-catchingly, colourful illustrations and the voice of Zelda is flamboyant and genuine. As I read the story I used a voice for Zelda that was (hopefully) reminiscent of Dame Edna Everage which the kids loved. This story encourages children to consider outside appearances and to look beyond these and to think about what is most important. There are several themes that are addressed though the book that you can discuss with children after you read. Ideas such as self-esteem, identity, self-acceptance and appearances.

A great book with a message that isn't pushed too hard but gets kids thinking. 8/10

Slightly Invisible – Lauren Child

Have you had an imaginary friend, or does you child have one. They are pretty common. One of my daughter had an invisible friend called Elizabeth and now at 9 she admits that she still sometimes plays with Elizabeth. “Imaginary companions are an integral part of many children's lives. They provide comfort in times of stress, companionship when they're lonely, someone to boss around when they feel powerless, and someone to blame for the broken lamp in the living room. Most important, an imaginary companion is a tool young children use to help them make sense of the adult world”. Lawrence Kutner
Those of you who are familiar with Charlie and Lola, whether through Lauren Child's books or the adaptation on ABC TV will know that Lola has an imaginary friend called Soren Lorenson. He plays a very important part in Lauren Child's latest book. Big brother Charlie and his friend Marv want to play by themselves as Lola often seems to always take over their make-believe play. They are planning how they can catch the 'strange and terrifyingly tricky creature' and decide to make an invisibility potion. Before they get to use it they find that someone has already drunk it and now they can't creep up on the creature. But help is on the way in the form of Soren Lorenson and all they need is a tea set, a little card, a rabbit and three glasses of pink milk........
The book is the fourth Charlie and Lola book that Child has written. (There are other Charlie and Lola books around but they are based on the script from TV series). It is full of typical Lola-isms and child logic. The illustrations are bright and the text is wound through the pictures as is typical for Charlie and Lola books. The story line really reflects child make-believe play with the illogical turns that the role playing can take. My children enjoyed this book and the idea of making a potion that can make you invisible. This book is quickly becoming a favourite bed time story 8/10.

Kisses are Yuk – Julia Jarman

I guess it had to come some time but my 4 year old has decided that he doesn't like kisses. I fondly remember the little boy who would have kissing frenzies and kiss everyone in sight (almost). Now it is all about hugs or pseudo kisses such as the Koala kisses are ones where he will rub noses with me or the Butterfly kiss that is done by fluttering his eyelashes against my cheek. I grew up in a kissing family where it was expected that children will give kisses for hellos and goodbyes. I like this too and would love for this to be so in my family. But Daniel is adamant that he hates kisses. Sometimes I manage to sneak one in but he will always use the back of his hand to wipe it off. So when I saw this book, “Kisses are Yuk” I thought that this was a book for Daniel. In the story young Jack likes getting thanked by people when he does a good deed such as getting a pat on the back, or a manly handshake but he felt that “kisses were yucky, kisses were sucky, kisses were very very unlucky”. There is a list of people who want to kiss Jack such as Aunty Poppy's who were sloppy, Uncle Micky whose were sticky, and some that were hairy and scary. He ends up writing a list of rules which include no kisses, no bum patting, no knee squeezing and signs it from Macho Man. However no one knew his secret especially when he was tucked up in bed.......so “please don't tell anyone – he didn't mind....a kiss from Mum”. This book has worked a treat, for me anyway. Daniel now says that he only likes kisses from Mum. I am very privileged to be on the receiving end of these very rare treasures. So if you have a son who is shying away from your kisses I highly recommend this book.

Old MacDonald had a farm - Mandy Foot

Do we really need another Old MacDonald picture book? The answer is YES if this lovely edition illustrated by Mandy Foot is anything to go by. This is a uniquely Australian version of Old MacDonald had a Farm combines traditional animals such as sheep, cows and horses with animals that by default are often part of the Australian farming life such as kangaroos, emus and cockatoos.
It is the illustrations that make this book. Foot has dispersed humour through her pictures with Old McDonald getting chased by a cheeky Emu, taking a bath under the water tank, and kangaroos jumping fences. It ends with a jamboree of animals. Children can also count how many kookaburras are on each page starting with one to ten.
The book also has its own website http://www.oldmacdonaldsfarm.com.au/ where children can scroll through a farm scene based on the book, listen to the song and get information about the animals in the book. There are also some activities that can be downloaded.
This was a wonderful and fun book that combines rhyming and counting. 8/10

Just Another Ordinary Day – Rod Clement

I love this book! As a parent I love routines. It helps me to be organized and it teaches kids what to expect and what they need to do in their day. But not everyones routine is the same and even if they go through the same motions they will differ. Amanda is just having another ordinary day. From waking up in the morning, eating breakfast, going to school, having science, forgetting lunch, playing with the new girl, going home, having a shower, eating dinner, reading a book and going to bed. A pretty average day until you look at the illustrations and find that her day is really extraordinary. Awaking to a genii gonging an alarm; flying down stairs on metal wings; being driven to school by the oldest person she knows (a dinosaur); playing with the new girl who is an alien planet; going home in an off road vehicle such as an elephant; and showering in a waterfall.

The text is intentionally boring and the humour of this book is in the contrast between the text and the illustrations. For older children reading the text to them once without the pictures and then again with the illustrations really brings out the incongruity of the text and pictures. Younger kids love this books as even though Amanda is doing all the things they would do it their day, her day is amazing and magical. 9/10

Little Red – A fizzingly good yarn - Lynn Roberts

Continuing on my theme of all things fairy-tales I pick this book off the shelf at the local library. Little Red loves his read coat and also goes by the name Thomas. Thomas' family run an inn which is renown for its ginger beer and Thomas loves talking the all the travellers who stop by to listen to their tales of robbers and wolves in the forest. One day Little Red steps out on his weekly trip to grandmothers to bring some treats and a weeks supply of ginger beer. However a bad and hungry wolf was watching and scheming........ Can Little Red escape the wolf and safe grandma. And how does the ginger beer save the day?
A funny retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and children will have fun pointing out the similarities and differences from the traditional story. This is not the watered down version where grandma hides in the cupboard – she is eaten in one gulp. Children will enjoy the addition of bodily noises such as burps. In my house just the mention of burps and......back door burps ensures uproarious laughter from my 4 year old. (Favourite family joke: Q: What did one burp say to the other burp? A: Let's be stinkers and go out the back door!). The illustrations by David Roberts are almost comic-like and lend themselves to the menacing undertones of the story. 6/10

Hooray! There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Having a Birthday Party– Hazel Edwards

I love planning kids birthdays and getting the kids involved by planning themes, writing invitations and helping with baking and decorating. For children, anticipating birthday parties is part of the fun and Hazel Edwards captures this in her new book. Based on her 'Hippopotamus on the roof easting cake' series is all about birthdays and as with her other books the hippopotamus on the roof reflects the actions of the child in the story. The story begins three days before the party. From sending out invitations, deciding what to wear, baking party treats, playing party games and unwrapping presents the child and the hippopotamus have lots of fun. Children will be familiar with the illustrations from her other books as they see the hippopotamus belly dancing, licking out the cake bowl, and blowing up balloons. This book contains the the same magic as her original books and is not just another book about birthdays. 8/10

Mem Fox

Mem Fox began writing children's books in the early 1980's. Unfortunately as a child I was not exposed to these books. Probably because at the time I was reading chapter books, and picture books were so..... yesterday. I can't remember which of Mem's books I was first introduced to - possible Possum Magic as it is her first and most Australian of her books. I think I fell in love with Mem Fox was when I heard her read her books at an author talk. By this time I had my own children and had immensely enjoyed reading "Where is the Green Sheep" to them. But to hear Mem read it took my breath away. THAT was how the book was supposed to be read! It was amazing. Mem was promoting her book "Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes" and after hearing her read it I had to get it for my young son. The last book she read that day was "Tough Boris" which I had read before but didn't see the magic in it. It was amazing the way that Mem read it. It was MAGICAL and I felt that I could cry with tough Boris too. I am slowly building up my collection of Mem Fox book. Even though my children have some of these already (well used and worn) I am keeping these books in my bookshelf to be read on special occasions and to hopefully be read to another generation sitting on my knee.
To listen to Mem reading click here