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

Hush, Little Dragon – Boni Ashburn

I have been reading the cute book to Daniel this week just before he goes to bed and we are loving it. He is my little dragon and I am his Mama. It can be read or sung to the tune of “Hush, little baby” It begins....

Hush, Little dragon, don't make a sound,
Mama's gonna bring you a princess she found.
If that princess runs from you,
Mama's gonna bring you a knight or two”

Ashburn has included lots of traditional dragon delicacies such a princesses, knights, kings, queens and musketeers, added lots of fire breathing and clever rhymes such as magician/nutrition and queen/cuisine. Kelly Murphy's illustrations of the google-eyed dragons with blue and white striped horns are quirky and not at all scary for little ones.

Dragons are different from humans, but in the story Mama dragon does what any mother does....feeds her children, defends them, keeps them safe, and protects them through the night. A lovely book to be memorized and cherished.

Highly Recommended for ages 3-6.          8/10 

There are cats in this book – Viviane Schwarz

This little treasure is my families favourite find so far, this year. It is of course about cats. Now I am not a cat person, I'm not a dog person either. If anything I am a chicken person. Chooks are so gorgeous and useful...they eat leftovers and make eggs for us to eat....however I digress. Cats!
Actually, now that I think about it, since Geelong, the (not so mighty) Cats won the Australian Football League (AFL) grand final this month it is probably quite a fitting book to blog about this month.
The three cats in this book are friendly and are looking for nice people to play with them and help them. There are lift the flaps and half pages to turn which bring surprises both to the cats and to the reader. The cats interact with the reader, getting the reader to help them to find wool, cardboard boxes, pillows and fish and to divert disaster.
Viviane Schwarz reads this book on her website so click here to preview the book. But it really is a book you need to hold and turn the pages, so look for it at your local library
Highly recommended for ages 2-8.        9/10  

Maudie and Bear – Jan Ormond

This book reminds me of the picture books that I read when I was young and I found that unsatisfying.  I think that picture books have evolved since I was a child, they are brighter, more educational, more fun.  I love today's version of the picture book. Don't get me wrong there were some great picture books back in the day, such as Morris Sendak's 'Where the Wild Things Are'. Perhaps I wasn't exposed to good picture books as a child. We did have a very large collection of Little Golden Books! Maudie and Bear reminds me of books such as 'Noddy'; and 'Frog and Toad' and I did enjoy these as a child but I think that my children have a much better selection of books to choose from.
Maudie and Bear is a collection of short stories about a little girl called Maudie and a bear that she lives with. Bear is an interesting character who is somewhere between a parental figure and a friend. Maudie takes bear a bit for granted (like children do they parents), she makes him do all the work, makes unrealistic demands of him, and has tantrums.  The book contains short stories of adventures and outings that Maudie and bear do together. Each little story could be a book in itself. It is a long book to read in one session for small children but it is targeted at them and their identification with Maudie.
The illustrations by Freya Blackwood are delightful with sketchy ink outlines filled with water colour. Although not sepia, it has a brown/orange tone to the illustrations that is reminiscent of an old fashion book but it still manages to be light and breezy.
Overall I found the book disappointing. My children have better than average attention spans but Maudie and Bear couldn't hold it for long.

Recommended for ages 5-7.                       6/10

Family Forest – Kim Kane

What a delightful book explaining the make up of modern families. The story is about a young boy who is explaining to his classmates who is in his family. He begins drawing a picture of himself on a piece of paper and then starts on the other members. He simply explains what half sisters are, that whole sisters aren't full of holes, funny dads, step mothers, mum which get called by their first name, what a partner is, and big brothers don't have to be giants. The boys picture has ended up quite complex but that is not how he sees it, he believes that instead of a family tree he has a family forest!
I love the way the words and illustrations connect so well in this story. The illustrations are by Lucia Mascuillo in ink and watercolours. The picture help explain the story and family relationships as well as adding humour to the book. For example half-sisters are originally drawn with only half a body, step-mothers are thin and shaped like steps or look like a wicked with. The boy is quick to explain that they are not like that. These illustrations resulted in lots of giggles in our family.
This book is a fantastic way to explore family relationships. Our immediate family is Mum, Dad, and three children but our extended family has half-cousins, foster cousins, and step-grandparents so these concepts that can applied to our family and the children had fun working these relationships out.
We loved this book and it was read again and again in our house! It is short-listed for the Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the year and I think that it might be a winner. It is in the same category as Mirror by Jeannie Baker which is another fantastic book and I think there will be a real competition between these two books and Family Forest may come runner up.
Highly recommended for ages 5-10.        9/10

My Uncle's Donkey – Tohby Riddle

A very peculiar book about a donkey that belongs to the narrator's Uncle and is allows in the house. The donkey is allowed to do almost anything in the house but is largely ignored by the uncle as there is no interaction between the donkey and the uncle. Perhaps the uncle is oblivious to the donkey or maybe the donkey is a figment of the child narrator's imagination. The donkey is quite an exuberant character that has lots of fun in the house, doing everyday things but with a cheeky attitude.
The illustrations are drawn with ink, charcoal and pencil with some bold acrylic paints. They are mostly grey tones and some splashes of colour which as mostly red. The donkey is a cute character and reminds me of old cartoon donkeys with big wide eyes. Actually I loved the grey donkey wearing 4 red and white striped socks! Within the illustration the author has also included some famous (or not so famous) objects such as van Gogh's Sunflowers, a Charlie Chaplin movie image, and the Portland Vase (I hadn't heard of this one but apparently it is the world's most valuable vase).
The sunflowers get eaten and the vase is juggled and breaks. It is humour like this that makes this book appeal to both children and to the adults reading the book to them..
The book was inspired by a story Riddle told his 6 year old daughter about what a donkey could get up to when let inside. I don't think that this book will win the Children's Book Council of Australia's Picture Book of the Year but it is well worth reading and is a lot of fun.
Recommended for children 5-8 (and their parents)          7/10

The Tall Man and the Twelve Babies – Tom Niland Champion & Kilmeny Niland. Pictures by Deborah Niland

A wonderfully ridiculous story that grabbed me from the start. Why would a tall man have 12 babies? All the girl babies are identical and called Charlene. All the boy babies are identical and called Alister. (Perhaps here I start to read too much into this story but I can imagine that there are only 2 babies Charlene and Alister but to the Tall Man it seems like 12!)
As for all parents, there are good days where everyone is happy and bad days where everyone yells, even the Tall Man. After one particularly difficult day the Tall Man scoops up all the Charlene's and goes outside, only to have the door slam shut! Fortunately there is a cat-flap in the door. However, as the tall man cannot get the Alisters attention to get the keys inside, he tries to fit though the door-flap (after all he is tall and lanky). But not lanky enough as he gets stuck in the middle. This is a delightful thing for the children where the Charlenes slide on his legs and the Alisters played with his curly hair. It is up to the tall man to co-ordinate his children to help him out of this tight situation.
This book is a family affair written by Tom and his mother Kilmeny and illustrated by Kilmeny's twin sister Deborah. Deborah has done bold ink and water colour illustrations. We all laughed at the illustration of all the babies almost pulling the Tall Man in two. And we all loved the Tall Man's curly psychedelic hair which contrasts to the bold colours used in the rest of the pictures.
This was a hit on our house, had us all giggling at the Charlenes and Alisters who are full of baby cuteness.
This book has been short listed for the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year: Early Childhood category and I think that this book has a great chance of winning along with Look See, Look at Me! It is hard comparing books when it comes to awards as this book appeals to an older reading age than Look See, Look at Me! I am glad I am not on the judging panel!
Highly recommend this book for ages 4-9.             8/10

It's Bedtime William! – Deborah Niland

Another book that is based on children's behaviour that parents are every familiar with and children can relate to. William always has an excuse for why he can't go to bed – he is not tired, he's thirsty, he wants another story, and so the excuses go on. His parents are firm, and need to be, to make sure that William goes to bed. But one day William really has an excuse for not wanting to go to bed....there is already someone in his bed. His parents send him back to his room believing it is just another excuse so William has to deal with the LION by himself. Initially they have lots of fun playing but when it is time for bed, Lion is not tired as he has already had a little nap in Williams bed. William learns what it is like for his parents when Lion tries all the excuses that William has used in the past.
The text is supported by ink and water colour illustrations and I like the way that the Lion and William's similarities are emphasised not only in their behaviour but in their style of hair.
This is not one of those books where they similarities between William and the Lion are missed by younger children as my 5 year old son's comment was “Now William has to be the Mum and Dad”
We all had lots of fun reading this book where we would make up lots of excuses and copy some of Lion's and William's excuses of why we couldn't go to bed.
This books is short-listed for The Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year:Early Childhood award. Although it is a fun book, I think that there are others in the list that will win the award.
Recommended for children aged 4-7.              7/10

Look See, Look at Me – Leonie Norrington and Dee Huxley

Ask any parent and they'll tell you that their children grow up too fast. You just have to blink and they have moved from baby to toddler and before you know it they are at school. For toddlers it can't happen soon enough especially if they have big sisters or brothers. All they want to do is to grow up and be able to do the things that their older siblings can do. Leonie Norrington has captured this desire perfectly in her new book.
The little boy in the story has just turned three and there are so many things he can do now that he is bigger, such as running, hopping, and climbing trees. The story has minimal words on each page and there is a lovely gentle rhyming to the little boys actions. The pride that the boy has at being able to do all these things speaks loudly from the page. This is due in part to the soft pastel illustrations by Dee Huxley. They are presented on coloured card with a lovely red earthy colours that is reminiscent of the northern Australian outback. The boy in the story lives in an indigenous community and the background illustrations, to his amazing abilities now he is bigger, show the richness of community life.
One great thing what we did after a few reads was acting out the story. My five year old son would jump, bump, wiggle giggle, hop and flop with the main character just to show me that he too could do all these things. “Mum! Look see, Look at me!”
This book has been short listed for the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Early Childhood and I think has a great chance at winning.
An absolutely beautiful book that I would highly recommend for children aged 2-5.      8/10

Mirror – Jeannie Baker

Mirror is a collage picture book, the type that Jeannie Baker is renown for. It mirrors the lives of two boys and their families one who lives in a city in Australia and one that lives in Morocco. Their lives are very different but there are some things that connect them.....some things are the same for all families no matter where they live.
The book is a visual feast! So many things too look at, marvel and compare. There are pages on mealtimes, travel, and shopping, baking, and home routines. Linking the two stories together is a carpet that is woven by the family in Morocco, is sold, and makes its way to a shop in Australia where it is bought by the other family.
The collages are constructed layer by layers using a combination of natural and artificial materials such as sand, dirt, plant material, fabric, wool, tin and plastic. They are then photographed to collate into the finished book.
The book is wonderfully presented. Both sides of the book open out. The left side of the book opens like all English books and shows the pictures of the Australian family. The pages on the right hand side of the book depict the Moroccan family and opens how most Arabic books are read, from back to front from right to left. This allows both sides to be opened simultaneously so that the families can be compared.
This book was always out of the book box and my children would keep returning to it to look at the pictures and to find something new. It was my 9 year old how pointed out that the carpet appears in both sides of the story.
A fantastic book for all ages that is short listed for the Australian Children's Book Association's: Picture Book of the Year and I think it is almost a certainty to win. 10/10

Noni the Pony – Alison Lester

“Noni the Pony is friendly and funny. Her shimmering tail is the colour of honey.” And so we are introduced to Noni the Pony with strong and simple rhyming text. She lives on a farm on Waratah Bay with her friends Coco the Cat and Dave Dog who she plays with most of the day. The book draws of the experience of the author, Alison Lester who grew up on a farm by the sea and had early experiences with horses.
The story line uses very clean rhyming words so the children will be able to guess what the last word of the second line is. The illustrations of the characters are bold and bright and are stuck on to a softer toned background. I especially like the twilight backgrounds that Lester has used in the later pages.
However I found Noni the Pony uninspiring. Perhaps I am judging this book a little too harshly because it is up for an Children's Book Council of Australian award. It is a lovely presented book and there is a lot of poor quality children's book in print and I would not but this book in that category. Perhaps the story is too straight forward but nothing really seems to happen. But I am also not a horse person and neither are the little ones in my family.
It was read only once in our household and although it sat in our book box for a few weeks it wasn't pull out and requested to be read again.     6/10

This book is  short listed Book of the Year: Early Childhood by the Children's Book Council of Australia.
To view the book being read click here.

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