Pig The Pug by Aaron Blabey

Rating 5 out of 5
ISBN: 9781743624777
ISBN-10: 1743624778
Audience: Children For Ages: 3 - 5 years old
Format: Hardcover

"Pig was a Pug and I'm sorry to say, he was greedy and selfish in most every way." Pig is the greediest Pug in the world. He is ill-tempered, rude and unreasonable. When Pig the Pug is asked to share his toys, something unexpected happens. Hopefully Pig has learned a lesson!"

This might just be my favourite picture book of the year! Such a fun and interesting story. I would be shocked if you read this book and didn't find yourself laughing along with your child.

We are introduced to Pig, a very selfish Pug dog who will not share his toys. Goes out of his way to be a meanie and then learns his lesson when he tumbles out of the window (while standing on and lording over his pile of toys).

This story has a great moral to it that kids pick up on instantly. My son straight away said "that's not very nice" when Pig refused to share his toys and ran away with them. The later laughed as Pig tumbled from the window. His expert opinion is that the book was "brilliant" but I suspect it had more to do with the dog falling comically out the window rather than learning about sharing.

I also adore the art work and think it brings out the humour in the story. Even though he is a selfish pug he really is adorable.

The book is a delight to read to kids as a parent I really do pick books on what I want to read out loud. You do not want to read to your child if you are bored by the book (which is why the Spot books sit unread on the shelf *snooze* Spot is rather dull). But when you have a book like this with fun rhyming text and amazing artwork you can have fun yourself reading out loud doing the character voices.

Do yourself a favour and get your hands on this book. I have already purchased it as a present for friends. This book has already cemented itself as one of the favourite reads in our household, and might just knock Nick Bland off his pedestal in our house. We have only had our copy of the book for a week and Bland's reign as top book has been several months. Only time will tell who will win the battle between Cranky Bear and Pig the Pug. So just get yourself a copy, you truly wont regret it.

Please Mr Panda by Steve Antony

Rating 2.5 out of 5
Age Range: 3 - 5 years
Grade Level: Preschool - Kindergarten
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1 edition (December 30, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0545788927
ISBN-13: 978-0545788922

In case you haven't guessed I have a thing for panda's. So when I saw this book I was very keen to give it a go.

This book was cute but for me didn't really hit the nail on the head for the message it is advertised to promote of politeness. The Panda was a bit of a jerk asking his friends if they wanted a donut then saying they can't have any when they don't say please. Mr Panda never explains it's because they didn't say please, just saying "no you can't have it I changed my mind". I just felt as Mr Panda initially approached the friend and asked if they wanted a donut then, while a little rude the friends saying for example "yes a yellow one" was not totally out of bounds.  Personally I would have preferred Mr Panda to have explained this as he walked off "no you can't have one because you didn't say please" or something similar. Just saying "nope change my mind you cant have one" to me is just as rude as not saying please. Maybe I am being too harsh?

At the end of the story a kind little lemur says please and gets the reward. 

I think the author is pointing out that most toddlers are very quick to point out faults in others while perhaps doing the wrong thing themselves. However I felt this book could have easily made a more powerful moral statement by the panda simply saying "no you can't have a donut because you didn't say please".

The art work is cute and simple, and possibly the biggest saving grace of the book. It is not a bad if you don't look to closely. As a parent you could easily say "oh that animal didn't say please so they didn't get a donut".

I really wanted to like this book but for me it fell short even though it had lovely art work and a cute story line. If you get the book with out being fussed about the moral to the story part it probably will be more enjoyable.

The Panda's and Their Chopsticks: And Other Animal Stories by Demi

Rating 3 out of 5
Age Range: 4 - 8 years
Grade Level: Kindergarten - 2
Hardcover: 28 pages
Publisher: Wisdom Tales (August 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1937786161
ISBN-13: 978-1937786168
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 0.4 x 10.4 inches

Summary:

Eating bamboo shoots with chopsticks three feet long? Impossible, you say. Not if you are a playful panda and learn to share and work together with your friends! In her beautifully illustrated new book, award-winning author, Demi, presents ten classic animal stories, each containing important moral lessons for little hearts and minds to absorb. Cunning kitties, helpful hummingbirds, talkative turtles, and hasty hedgehogs, all bring these meaningful fables to life. Through her magical illustrations and whimsical storytelling, Demi teaches the importance of being humble, the dangers of being too proud, the importance of generosity and sharing, and how everyone, no matter how small, has a part to play in life.

This is a cute book with simple illustrations that bring to life old fables with moral endings.  Even though the pictures are basic they convey the story well.

It was fun to read these tales to my son, especially the talking tortoise one. I remember this particular story (from India I believe) from when I young. My son enjoyed the Panda story and thought it was cute (and funny that Panda's would try to eat with huge chopsticks).

This is a good collection for people wanting to introduce their children to traditional fables.