Too Loud Lily by Sofie Laguna

Rating: Delightful
Age Range: 3 - 5 years
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press (March 1, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0439579139
ISBN-13: 978-0439579131

Too Loud Lily is a story about Lily the Hippo who is just too loud and constantly gets into trouble for it, until one day a new teacher at school gets Lily into the school play and Lily can be herself.

We got given this book for Christmas and I thought on our first read through that this book was written for my Little Miss who likes to be loud and adventurous. My son also enjoys the book and we have no read this many times in our house.

Too Loud Lily really is a delightful read with a good message about staying true to yourself and finding your niche. Lily struggles in every day life being constantly told she is too loud. When she decides to join the school play she is able to be loud and she brings the house down with her performance, finally finding a place she can be herself.

The illustrations showed Lily's sadness at the start of the book when she gets in trouble for reading to loud, laughing too loud, watching TV too loud, and waking the baby. Then when her new flamboyant teacher arrives you see Lily's transformation as the teacher asks her to be louder. This is music to Lily's ears as she gets to finally unleash her suppressed loudness.

The reader see the progression of Lily from a young girl being forced into a box against her nature to a young girl who realises her abilities are not a negative but a positive in the right settings.

A final note that Kerry Argent has done a wonderful job illustrating this book.

This is a lovely little book perfect for helping children to learn to accept themselves for who they are.

Other stuff:
This book has been nominated for awards such as:

• Children’s Book Council of Australia Award for Book of the Year for Early Readers Honour Book 2003 
•  Oppenheim Best Book Award USA for 2005 
• Shortlisted for the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards 2003 
• Shortlisted for the Children’s Choice Picture Book of the Year 2003

Here is a video of the book Too Loud Lily being read so you can get an idea of the book https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeXpSqsITMs

The Very Noisy Bear by Nick Bland

Rating 4 out of 5
ISBN: 9781743627853
ISBN-10: 1743627858
Series: Cranky Bear
Audience: Children For Ages: 3 - 6 years old
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 24
Published: 1st July 2015

Cranky Bear is back for his fifth book in the series. This time Cranky gets his music on and tries to find a musical instrument he can play with rather disastrous results. He is joined by his jungle friends (Lion, Zebra, Moose and Sheep) who try to help him navigate the world of musical instruments.

We are huge fans of the series here and have all the books (The Very Cranky Bear, The Very Itchy Bear, The Very Hungry Bear, and The Very Brave Bear). Saw this on the shelf and didn't even think twice before putting it in the shopping trolley. Glad I did.

This is another lovely story of Bear learning to keep trying and never give up. Bear is really quite terrible at playing all the instruments given to him. Just as he was about to give up he started to sing and what do you know, he totally rocks at singing.

Everything about these books are delightful, the art work, the lyrical story, the message behind the story. You do not have to read them in order either so just pick up a book and away you go.

Another wonderful installment in the series that your kids will love if they are Cranky Bear fans.

Lynley Dodd a Retrospective

Recently we were on holidays and we stumbled across a Lynley Dodd exhibit at the NSW State Library in Sydney. So hauled the family in to have a look and I am so glad I did. In a word the exhibit was wonderful and I had the satisfaction of my partner saying "actually that was pretty good" after we left and my son didn't want to leave in the first place!

If you don't immediately recognise the artists name then you will no doubt recognise the names of Hairy Maclary, Slinky Malinki and Schnitzel Von Krumm to name a few who are the beloved characters in Dodd's illustrated children's books. If you don't know these names you probably don't have children in your life or been under a rock for the last 30 odd years.

This exhibition (which is touring from  Tauranga Art Gallery in New Zealand) showcases a collection of 59 original drawings from Lynley Dodd's popular children's books. The exhibition also includes drawings from her first work dating back to school days, through to the most recent publication, Shoo.

Dame Lynley, to date, has sold over five million copies of Hairy Maclary internationally, and translated into several languages. So her art work is pretty well loved by kids and adults alike.

For the kids there is an interactive section with movies of the books playing, ebooks to look at, drawing stations, and a simple reading corner. My little guy watched the movies then wondered through the art work and happily sat down to read a Hairy Maclary book. I also had to explained we couldn't take the paintings with us (which he was most disappointed by). I couldn't pick a favourite piece of artwork on display as they were all wonderful.

The exhibit is well worth a visit if you have children (or grandchildren). All the families we saw there were having so much fun.

The exhibit runs till March 2015.

Shhh! Don't Wake The Royal Baby by Martha Mumford

Rating 4 out of 5
Title: Shhh! Dont Wake The Royal Baby
Author: Martha Mumford
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens (August 6, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 140884463X
ISBN-13: 978-1408844632
Age Range: 2-5 years

Ok so I would be lying if I didn't say upfront I was dubious about this book. I thought it would be a silly cash in on the royal baby. I wouldn't have purchased this book for myself, doubtful I would have even borrowed it from the library. So here is a big lesson in don't judge a book by its cover or title/theme, because this book is actually really good.

The books summary is "It’s chaos at the Royal Palace – the Royal Baby just won’t go to sleep. Waaaaah! Waaaaah! Waaaaah! The Royal Family has tried everything to pacify the little bundle of joy – from proferring the golden royal dummy to death-defying parachute jumps with the Queen. But, just when the little one seems to be settling, another disturbance is just around the corner. From yip-yapping corgis to marching guards and noisy party planning, the palace is awash with noise. Will it ever be peaceful enough to lull the baby off to sleep?"

There is a lot going on in this book without you even realising. Firstly I found this a great story for my toddler to highlight that babies can be difficult to get to sleep, and the impact a baby has on a household.

There is repetition and silliness in the text which is fun to read especially the "waaaaah waaaaah!" parts which master 4 found funny. He also got really into the "shhhh baby is sleeping" and would say it with me in a whisper.

The illustrations really make the book. They are so cute and fun I mean who wouldn't smile at seeing The Queen jumping out of a plane and parachuting with her corgi's in tow? and yes it is relevant to the story.

While the pictures clearly represent the current British royal monarchy the text is quite generic so it really is a story about a family coping with a new baby (ok a royal family coping unless in your family you call people the Duke, Duchess, Prince and Queen).

Counting, not sure if this was intentional or not but my son had great fun counting all the corgis on each page as there was usually one or two.

If you took the royal aspect out of the story, it is just a cute, fun story about a family dealing with a newborn baby. Would be good to read for soon to be older siblings so they can start to understand what having a baby around is like.

There's a Dinosaur In My Bathtub by Catalina Echeverri

Rating 5 out of 5

Title: There's a Dinosaur in my Bathtub

Author: Catalina Echeverri

Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens (February 13, 2014)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1408839393

ISBN-13: 978-1408839393
Reading Age: 2-7

Love, love, loved this book. This is a must for any dinosaur fanatic, children with imaginary friends, or who has a vivid imagination. It is good for boys or girls.

Amelia is a little girl with a very special friend Pierre the French dinosaur who is very good at hiding. The two have adventures all summer long until the weather turns cold, and he has to go away.

 Master 4 loves this story, and I love the story too. If you asked me to say precisely why I probably couldn't say. Everything about this picture book just works for me.  It is just such a beautiful and fun story with dinosaurs!! I have no problems reading this story over and over and over again.

The whimsical, quirky art work really brings the story alive. There is magical element to the story and the art work. each page is a delight as we follow Amelia and Pierre on their adventures.

The story flows easily so makes reading it out loud a delight.

Interestingly the author also illustrates the book and is from Bogota Columbia, but is currently residing in the UK. She has written and illustrated other children's books which I am now keen to get my hands on.

Just everything about this book we adore and it is a firm favourite here. Probably one of the best birthday presents Master 4 has gotten from his book loving Nana.

Out in the bush by Yvonne Morrison

Rating 4 out of 5
Title: Out in the Bush
Author: Yvonne Morrison
Publisher: Koala Book Company

ISBN: 0864618093

EAN: 9780864618092

Age Range: 2-4 years

"Out in the bush" is a cute remake of the song "Over in the meadow" (if you don't know the tune google Wiggles Over in the Meadow). 

This book is educational on a lot of levels. Firstly it discusses Australian native animals with each page using a different critter. 

There is counting woven into the story and every page displays a number prominently, and then reinforcing it with the animals totalling that number on the page. My son loved counting the animals after i had read the text. 

Lastly the text rhymes and is a little silly so kids can really enjoy it (and if you know the song then you can sing it, even badly). As I knew the Wiggles version of this song (which is an old rhyming song) I couldn't help but read it as a song with the voice of Sam (former yellow wiggle) in my head.

I adore the art work which is bright and colourful and would not be out of place hanging on a wall.

For some reason I have not heard of Yvonne Morrison prior to my son bringing this book home from his school library. I have seen her books on the bookshelves in book stores though so was surprised to learn I knew the names of quite a few of her books. But I have to say this New Zealand/Aussie author has won a place in our personal book library as we just loved this book. I am going to get my hands on her "Out in the ocean" book next as master 4 will go bananas over it.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone as it is a fun engaging read.

Drumheller Dinosaur Dance by Robert Heidbreder

Rating: 4 out of 5

Age Range: 3 - 7 years

Paperback: 32 pages

Publisher: Kids Can Press (August 1, 2006)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1553379829

ISBN-13: 978-1553379829

Another Bookaboo winner for us (if you haven't guessed by now we love this show. I only recently figured out watching the book being read totally counts as reading lol).

In short this book is about Dinosaur bones coming alive and dancing in the moonlight! Not just any dinosaur bones but Drumheller ones.

So for geeks out there or the science minded, Drumheller is a famous location in Alberta Canada for Dinosaur bones. They have discovered many species there and it has a very good museum there as well which one day I hope to get too.

The story has lots of rhyming and rhythm that is easy to groove too. It has a spooky sort of flow to it but not scary. Kids can easily get involved with it.

We really enjoyed it and Fefe Dobson who read it on Bookaboo was fantastic. A fun book for kids who are a little dinosaur crazy.

Cookiebot!: A Harry and Horsie Story by Katie Van Camp

Rating 4 out of 5
Age Range: 4 - 8 years

Hardcover: 32 pages

Publisher: Balzer + Bray (May 31, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0061974455

ISBN-13: 978-0061974458

This is another story discovered through the show "Bookaboo" (have I mentioned we are Bookaboo addicts around here?).

Harry and his toy friend Horsie want cookies. But they are way out of reach on the fridge. The solution? Build a robot.

My son of course loved this book for one reason and one reason only. The robot. OK and maybe the cookies. But mostly the robot.

There is a lot to enjoy about this book. The story exciting, and full of adventure. As an adult I love the King Kong reference in there. Kids will love the naughty robot and the cookies. But ultimately the story is sweet and leaves you feeling good.

The main themes explored are active imagination, and problem solving (building a robot to get a cookie is totally logical).

The illustrations are fascinating being in an retro style more common around the 50's (roughly). I have no idea what the style is called but any art history people (hint hint Tasha) feel free to let me know as I am curious.

I believe this is the second book in the Harry and Horsie series. I am keen to check out the first book which is apparently set in space.

I would recommend this book to anyone with little kids.

Walter and the No-Need-To-Worry Suit by Rachel Bright

Rating 5 out of 5

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks (30 Aug 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007445482
• ISBN-13: 978-0007445486

Ok I am about to go all fan girl on a picture book but I loved, loved, loved this book!

We watched this book being read on the kids show Bookaboo (which is a cute little show about a little rocker dog who can't play in his band unless he has a story book read to him). Both myself, 3 year old son, and partner thoroughly enjoyed it. You know a book is good when your non reading partner turns to you and says "that was a good story, lets get it". Okay don't need to tell me twice to but a book! So it is now on order wahoo.

Back to the book. It is about Walter, who worries about EVERYTHING. He is set to participate in the local sports carnival but his fears start to cripple him and threaten to ruin the day. Can Walter over come his fears and can his friends help him?

 I loved the tall take that is woven by Walters fears. Which is built on as the story progresses. When Walter is told not to worry he adds a fear to the fear previously mentioned. We were laughing at the silliness of the story as it progressed (the image below is from about half way through the book). But anyone who is worrier knows this is how your brain works.

The story is filled with rhyme and humour that children and adults alike will find themselves giggling and laughing out loud. From the cute names, to the descriptions; from the illustrations to the story. Everything about this story is fun and light hearted while carrying important story themes.

The book has a great message for kids (and an adult or two) about not worrying and letting things hold you back. Yes all these things could go wrong but if you let them hold you back you may not accomplish what you really want (in this case Walter may not even run a race he dearly wants to participate in). The other big theme explored is friendship and helping your friends out.

The art work is cute and colourful and I believe done by the author herself.

A fantastic book for any child but especially those who tend to worry. I highly recommend this book.

Extras
I found a youtube clip which is an advert of Bookaboo and has the first 2 odd minutes of the show. This includes a chunk of the book being read aloud.

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

Recently we had the opportunity to watch the live play adaptation of this book. I have also been meaning to write a review of the book (which we own) for awhile now. So I thought I would do a joint review of the book, the movie and the play. Hope you enjoy.

The Book

Rating 3.5 out of 5
Age Range: 4 - 8 years
Author: Julia Donaldosn
Illustrator: Axel Sheffler
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Puffin; Reprint edition (August 25, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0142501123
ISBN-13: 978-0142501122

The witch and her cat are happily flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows away the witch's hat, then her bow, and then her wand! Luckily, three helpful animals find the missing items, and all they want in return is a ride on the broom. But is there room on the broom for so many friends? And when disaster strikes, will they be able to save the witch from a hungry dragon?

I have a confession ,when we first got and read this book it bored both myself and my son. To be fair he was about two at the time, I suspect a little young for the age group (even though by two he loved books), but it just didn't grab us. I find my enjoyment of reading a book directly correlates to his enjoyment, if he isn't digging it then I probably wont. However after seeing the play I decided to revisit the book and I did enjoy it a lot more than previously.

There is lots of rhyming and lyrical passages which Donaldson does very well in the majority of her books; and the flow and rhythm of the book makes it easy to read aloud. I liked that unlike Tiddler: the story telling fish that there was a definite start, middle and end. The story flowed and made sense.

It seems the combination of Julia Donaldson and Axel Sheffler is one that is here to stay. As far as I can tell Mr Sheffler has illustrated all of Julia Donaldsons books (don't quote me on that but they have done a lot of books together). His slightly quirky style fits in with story and brings it alive. The images are a little darker in the colours that are used, the dark stormy skies, and the crows looming in most of the scenes.

It is nice to see a female lead in a Donaldson book. So far I have encountered mostly male characters in the lead roles in her books. It was  interesting to note (apparently on the authors request) that the witch was young and not a haggard old crone. As the illustrations are quite dark I think the decision to have the witch younger helps make it easier for kids to relate to.

I am glad we decided to revisit this book after seeing the play. When I brought the book over my son said "I saw this!" and he knew what was happening and pointed out when things happened such as saying "oh no the bow fell off"before I even read the passage. I can now see why this book has been as popular as The Gruffalo. I didn't find this book nearly as charming as The Gruffalo (review coming soon).

All in all a nice book to read that's most kids should enjoy.

The Play

Rating 5 out of 5
I was not sure what to expect from the play. I am not a big "arts" person and at the time I still didn't really like the book. But book adaptations are generally different and I assumed there would be differences to fill the hour the play ran for (otherwise it would have been a very short play). Mostly we decided to go because plays for children coming to my home town is quite rare.

The play had taken London by storm and was brought out this year to Australia. Currently (as of July 2013) touring Australia. It had a mixture of puppetry and live actors playing the main characters and telling the story. The play “storyline” did differ from the book in that from the outset the witch was looking for the dragon, not accidentally running into the witch eating dragon. Also they had written songs which were sung at pivotal points. The original story was woven into the extra songs and story dialogue.

The play has been adapted for Australian audiences which was an eye to detail I enjoyed. Right at the start when a swishing kind of noise could be heard an actor said "could it be a platypus?". The "aussie-fied" version was most noticeable during the Parrot's segment. They talked about the birds flying north to Bali and used phrases such as "strewth". I liked this touch.

This was not solely a “children’s play” with plenty of subtle adult humour to keep parents laughing just as hard as the little ones. Little ones may find the appearance of the dragon a little scary but to be honest I was disappointed the dragon character was a guy in a suit (where you could see the face) and not a puppet. I think it would have been an awesome puppet.

The set was simple with the focus being on the actors and the puppets. The puppets were detailed and colourful. The costumes of the Witch and cat actors was again simple but effective.

Australian cast: Stephen Anderson, Josie Cerise, Crystal Hegedis and Damien Warren-Smith

If you have the opportunity I would highly recommend seeing the play.

The Movie

Rating 3 out of 5
For Christmas 2012 BBC One released a Room on the Broom stop animation movie. With some big named actors voicing this movie such as Simon Pegg (Narrator), Gillian Anderson (the witch), and Timothy Spall (the dragon), Martin Clunes (as the dog) to name a few; it is a very well produced little movie.

The movie follows the book very closely. However unlike in the book the dragon "stalks" the witch and her friends throughout the movie. That is about the only noticeable difference to the book I could see.

One thing I realised while watching the movie is it is a darkish story. Especially when compared to the play. I wonder if this is why I didn't enjoy the book version? But otherwise a good little film that kids will enjoy. My son enjoyed watching it from beginning to end.

Willbee the Bumblebee by Craig Smith

Rating 4 out of 5
Publisher: Scholastic New Zealand
ISBN:1869439430
EAN: 9781869439439
Age Range: 5-9 years

Fan's of Wonkey Donkey will love this story. This is the story of Willbee the bumblebee

Kids get to learn about insects in the garden and the bee's role in it. At first I thought "uh oh here we go a chance for the author to lecture children on environmental issues" but it doesn't feel like that at all.

The book was illustrated by Katz Cowley again. Craig Smith and Katz Cowley have collaborated on a few books now and I have to say her illustrations just make Craig Smith's story leap from the page. It is a great pairing.

We have the ipad app version of this book and my son loves it. The app isn't super animated it really is just the illustrations and the author reading (or singing) the book. You can record your own voice and have that read to your child.

I must confess I do not like the song. It annoys me. I prefer reading the book and in the case of the ipad having the narrator read it.

Book Brief

• Rhyming
• Educational (insects, environment)

How Do Dinosaurs Learn Colours and Numbers? by Jane Yolen

Rating: 4 out of 5
Reading Age: 1 and up
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books; Bind-up ed edition (January 3, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0007244738
ISBN-13: 978-0007244737

The "How do dinosaurs....." series by Jane Yolan covers some tricky toddler behaviours and basic learning skills. This book is actually a two for one we got from the library. It covers numbers and colours.

The story is simple and basic. With lots of rhyming and funny dinosaurs illustrating each point. The illustrations are really quite funny and detailed. Mark Teague has done a wonderful job bringing the dinosaurs and story to life.

It is easy to see why these books are a hit with children.

"Dinosaur counting

Starts with one.

One tattered teddy bear

just for fun."

This is a great joy to read out loud for adults and kids. It could even be an early reader for children.

Finally the biggest selling point of this book is that it was able to stop a brewing toddler tantrum in it's tracks. My little guy was having an epic sulk, building up to a tantrum and I whipped out this book (which we had just gotten from the library) and just started reading loudly, while holding the book out so he could see the pictures. Ever so slowly he crept over to me and by the end of the book was sitting quietly by my side and said "read dinosaurs again". My reply, feigning innocence, "ooookkkkkaaayyy encore performance it is, but only if you insist". After the second round me reading aloud, he then asked for the book. He then proceeded to sit there turning the pages himself and pointing out the rainbow, trucks and train. We went from tantrum to quietly reading in approximately 10 minutes. WINNING. So a big thumbs up from a grumpy 2 and half year old toddler, and his mummy. Doesn't get better then that really.

A must for dinosaur obsessed toddlers.

Book Brief

• Rhyming
• Counting 1-10
• Colours
• Humor
• Dinosaurs

Tiddler: The Story Telling Fish by Julia Donaldson

Rating: 3 out of 5 - my sons rating (I am sure) 
Rating: 2 out of 5 - my rating
Reading level: Ages 5 and up
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Alison Green Books; 1 edition (1 Sep 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 140710621X
ISBN-13: 978-1407106212

Tiddler: The story telling fish, is the story of Tiddler a little fish with a talent for being late and telling stories. Then one day his daydreaming gets him lost and sets him on the path to a real adventure. But will anyone believe him and will he find his way home?

It is easy to draw an instant parallel to the story "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" but this book never has that moral punch line "of don't tell lies/stories or people wont believe you". One of my biggest quibbles with this book is the ending and the fact the story doesn't really go anywhere. It could have made the point of how telling stories can get you into trouble or to dream big and your dreams can come true, but it does neither and the ending it does have doesn't seem to fit with the story at all. Maybe I missed something?

My other problem with this book is for me as a reader I found the flow to be difficult. There was rhyming and repetition but it wasn't consistent and I just could not work up a good rhythm when reading this book out loud. I read another review at We Read Like This where the reviewer said it took her awhile to work out a rhythm and reads it like a gentle rap. But I have still yet to find a way yet to read it that flows nicely.

We purchased this book pretty much for the illustrations (it was my son's choice). They are bright and vibrant and the undersea theme really captured my little ones attention. I do like the illustrations even though a couple of scenes might be a little scary for some kids (when Tiddler is lost there are some deep sea fish drawn which my upset some little ones) My little guy loves this book more for the pictures then anything else.

However this book gets good reviews all over the net so maybe I need to give it more time. I hope I will be able to develop a way to read it so I enjoy it too, as my little one does love the illustrations so much. I have given two reviews as my son loves this book but I am not a fan.

Book Brief

• Rhyming 
• Repetition 
• Story Telling
• Animals

There's A Hole In My Bucket by Jenny Cooper

Rating: 4 out of 5
Age Range: 5-9 years
Publisher:Scholastic New Zealand
ISBN:1775430464
EAN:9781775430469
Dimensions:25.0 x 24.0 centimeters

The classic song "There's a hole in my bucket" is brought to life in this fun children's picture book. There is a sing-a-long CD with it performed by The Topp Twins.

We have so much fun reading this book aloud as you can sing it, or just read it, but either way you can have so much fun reading the story. When reading Liza's section we like to put on a cranky and irritated voice and when reading Henry's section it is always patient and calm (no idea why you could probably do it the other way round?). By the end of the story my son is chirping "the bucket, the bucket!"

I just love the illustrations they are so fun and vibrant. Having the goat as Henry and a duck as Liza somehow fits perfectly. The cartoon but realistic style is just perfect and the illustrator (Cooper) captures Liza's frustration and Henry's stoic calm.

This book is a firm favourite in our house. It is cute, it is funny and the reader and person being read to can have so much fun with it. Even though the suggested age range is 5-9 my 2 and a half year old loves it.

Children's Book Brief

• Rhyming
• Lyrical
• Sing A Long
• Animals
• Funny
• Repetition

The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith

Rating: 5 out of 5
Reading level: Ages 3 and up
Paperback: 24 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (May 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0545261244
ISBN-13: 978-0545261241
Illustrator: Kaz Cowley
To purchase the iphone/ipad app go to the itunes store. At the time of this post the app cost $5.49 AU

The Wonky Donkey is a humorous tale about a donkey walking along the road. What is funny about a donkey walking along the road? I hear you say well the donkey is not a normal donkey, for starters he is a wonky donkey. From there the story slowly builds a hilarious description of the donkey who is rather different. For this post I am combining the review of the book (which I have purchased for nephews) and the ipad app (which my son has).

This can be read as a normal story or sung along to with the CD that comes with the book. It is a cumulative story with each page adding to the description before it. So each page reveals a new feature and the story repeats previous features plus the new one. By the end of the book you have a long but funny list of descriptive words of this funny donkey.

There are lots of funny noises like the donkey's hee-haw and funny words (well funny to a toddler or child) like stinky. As a reader you can go to town on these descriptive words and noises and have some fun by really emphasising the words and playing on it. For instance at the line "stinky donkey" I will say the sentence like the donkey is right there stinking up the place and then hold my fingers to my nose to block the smell. Then during the hee-haws say it like a donkey (or your interpretation of a donkey hee-haw) and do it really loudly.

But the illustrations make this book. They are fun and bright. Mostly they capture the cheeky nature of the donkey and the story. Katz Cowley has done an amazing job. You know when sometimes the illustrations and the story just go together? you couldn't imagine the story with any other kind of illustrations? This is one of those stories/books.

The iphone/ipad application is basic in terms of the animation, it is literally just the book illustrations with a small amount of animation (like the tale wagging or a bee flying). This for me is fine my son has apps that go wizz and bang and do stuff (see my review for Cozmos Day Off for that kind of app/ebook). You can record your own voice, the sing along version, or use the prerecorded voices (there is the author and the narrator). I personally love the narrator's voice he just really captures the story in a vivid way for a child.

As each word is read aloud by the narrator, the word highlights and becomes bigger, so your child can follow along. Also if you tap the individual word but you need to be out of the Read to me mode to do that. It is easy enough to switch between the read to me mode and no narration by just pressing the green play or stop button in the corner. There is also a basic colouring in feature but to be honest we have never used it.

I highly recommend this story, I have not met a child yet who does not like this story. It is VERY popular with kids. When I was working in a book store this book could not stay on the shelves, the minute we got a batch of books in they would fly out the door the next day. I am not exaggerating. You will not be disappointed reading this book and your kiddies will not be disappointed with you reading it.

Extras
Here is a cute video of the song "The Wonky Donkey". This is the book but in song format.

All Set For The Big Wet by Mandy Foot

Rating: 5 out of 5
Suggested Reading Age: 5/UP
ISBN: 9780734411969
Category: Picture Storybooks
Format: Hardback
Publication Date: 2011-10-25
Publisher: Lothian Books
Illustrator: Foot, Mandy
Pages: 24
Dimensions (mm): 283x216x8mm

All Set For The Big Wet is a delightful story about a group of animals that are hurrying to a boat to get ready for the wet (season).

The book is set to the song " the ants go marching" which makes it fun and easy to read.  As a result of the tune it makes it easy to get into a rhythm when reading and if you punctuate the story with the actions (for instance when the book says "with a loud yahoo!" well you do a loud yahoo) it just makes the story very interesting to a toddler or young child. As a result, this one of my favourites to read aloud and my son's favourite to listen to me reading.

While reading the book your child is learning counting to ten, as each page deals with a specific number. They also learn about Australian animals.

The illustration was done by the author and vibrant and colourful. The cartoonish appearance is appealing to kids with the animals having big eyes and big smiles. Each page has a little animal hidden which can be just as much fun to find for a toddler as reading the book.

If you have a young toddler (and even an older child) I would recommend this book whole heartedly.

Extras
Go to the All Set For The Big Wet for activities such as colouring in templates and sheet music.

Mirror by Jeannie Baker

Rating: 4 out of 5 (for kids over 5)
Rating: 1 out of 5 (for us)
Reading level: Ages 5 and up
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Candlewick; Bilingual edition (November 9, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0763648485
ISBN-13: 978-0763648480


Mirror is the wordless picture storybook of two boys in two different cultures from across the globe. The pictures tell the story of a day in their lives and how they "mirror" each other even though they are from different cultures.

There are two boys and two families in this book. One family lives in a city in Australia and one lives in Morocco in North Africa. The lives of the two boys and their families look very different from each other and they are different. But some things connect them ... just as some things are the same for all families no matter where they live.

 Both stories are told similtaneously in the one book. So when you open the book it opens in the middle with one picture book story on one side and the other story on the other side. So you essentially have two books laying side by side. The goal is to turn the pages of each book together so you can see how similar and different each little boys life is.

The illustrations are collages and is exquisite in its detail. The illustrations really do make this book. There is so much information contained in each image. I don't think you could full appreciate everything each image contributes on one reading. It would be something you can go back to over and over and discover something new.

Here is a sample of the mages so you get the idea  of the art work:

The book is thought provoking for little ones and would allow you to have discussions about different cultures. I can see why it has won so many literary awards in Australia. What would be really cool is if the author planned on doing this as a series with different cultures from around the world. But that might be pretty ambitious. I can see this book being used in schools to help promote multiculturalism.

Because there were no words unfortunately my two year old just wasnt interested. Especially as there were no fish, animals, or really bright colours or funny noises to read out. You could probably show it to children younger then 5 as a starting point but don't expect them to really get much out of it. This is definitely a book for older children.

Overall a beautiful book that helps raise awareness on tolerance and understanding of different cultures. I gave this a 4 out of 5 for older kids for the discussion value. If you want a good story then this is perhaps not the book for you  but if you want something that will provoke thoughtful conversations then this is it.

If You're Happy and You Know It (Aussie Edition) by P Crumble

Rating: 5 out of 5
Format: Paper back
Publisher: Schoolastic Australia
Language: English
ISBN: 174169891X
Age Range: 2-5

This review is nice and easy as the book really reviews it's self. You remember the childhood song "if you're happy and you know it"? Yes? well that is basically this book except it has an Australian twist.

This book uses Australian animals and different actions which makes it fun and interesting for kids (and adults) to read. My little guy loves doing the noises and recognises from the pictures what he is supposed to do, he often is making the noises as soon as I turn the page. When reading the story you cant help but sing the tune.


My sons favourite part is :

"If you're a Tassie Devil and you know it, let out a growl.
If you're a Tassie Devil and you know it, let out a growl.
If you're a Tassie Devil and you know it then your really should just show it,
If you're a Tassie Devil and you know it then let out a growl!"

The illustrations are bright and colourful. Big cartoon happy animals doing the actions in the book.


There is also a CD that comes with the book which can make a fun change for keeping the book fresh for the kids.


This book is just so much fun and your toddler will LOVE it. I would be very surprised if your toddler (and your self) did not like this book. It certainly is a favourite in our house.

An Elephant In The Room by Shamini Flint

Rating 3.5 out of 5
Hardcover: 21 pages
Age: 2-5
Publisher: Sunbear Publishing
Language: English
ISBN-10: 981057813X
ISBN-13: 978-9810578138

We recently traveled to Singapore and this was one of the souvenir books i got our son. I have taken a liking to buying books related to the country we are in as souvenirs as I think it is then educational and different.

This particular book caught my eye as the artwork was bright and colourful, it had elephants (we were due to see elephants in the flesh later in the trip), the story was short and rhymed. I thought it was perfect for us.

The story its self was not specific to Singapore or even Asia. It is just a cute story about elephants doing various activities during the day. It is a short and simple story often with one or two lines max on a page.

"There's an elephant in the room.

And here's another with a broom"

The artwork is bright and colourful and really brings the story alive. The artist put small quirky details in each of the illustrations. For instance on one page the elephant is holding a sign saying "I'm sorry" and his little friend holds a sign saying "me too".

This is a basic, sweet book that is quick and easy to read. Any child should enjoy the book.

Quaky Cat by Diana Noonan

Rating 4 out of 5
Publication: December 2010
ISBN: 978-1-77543-029-2
Age: 3-7 years


"On a cold Christchurch morning, while the city was sleeping, before the birds roused him with twitters and cheeping, curled up on the end of his friend Emma's bed, Tiger woke with a start ...and a feeling of dread. 


He twitched his long whiskers and sniffed at the air. Danger was close, but what was it - and where? Then a voice in his head, one he'd not heard before, shouted 'Run for your life Tiger! Make for the door!'


Tiger fled from the house with a leap and a bound as, louder than thunder, from deep underground, came a roar and a shudder and terrible shaking! Around him, the city was rolling and quaking." Pages 1-3.


In September 2010 a 7.4 magnitude earthquake rocked the Cantabury region in New Zealand. Not even six months later in February 2011 the same region, and in particular Christchurch (which suffered wide spread devastation) was struck again by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake. This book however was written in response to the 2010 earthquake, and was relased shortly before the second devastating earthquake. My parents travelled to New Zealand in July this year and picked up this book for my little monkey. I am glad they did as 50% of proceeds from the sale of the book went to local charity and it gave my son a beautiful book that dealt with an unfortunately sad time in New Zealand's history.

Quaky Cat is  about Tiger,  a little cat whose world is turned upside down when during an earthquake he bolts from the house and becomes lost.  The book is his story about trying to find his way home to his beloved Emma, through the devastated city.

The story deals with emotions that children would more then likely feel after an earthquake has hit their town. Tiger's feelings of fear, isolation and sadness are explored as he makes his way back to his house. While you would think this would make for a depressing book it is not at all. In fact the book is written  is filled with hope and love as the quote below demonstrates:

"Home is the giving and helping and sharing.

When a city is crumbling, then home is the caring." 

With a lyrical, rhyming narrative, the book is easy to read to children. It also makes it the story simple for them to follow. It is a beautiful, haunting, and happy story that makes you feel good about the world at the end of the story.

The illustrations are colourful but in a way (for me) creepy. Perhaps creepy is not the right word, erie perhaps is better? Only Tiger and his owner Emma have any real detail, everything else is in silhouette. This suits the tone of the book and highlights Tiger on his journey. The use of colours are interesting as well and subtle. When Tiger is scared and alone darker colours such as blues and greens are used but when Tiger is happy and safe warmer colours like yellow and orange are used.

If you are interested in purchasing this book you will be pleased to know funds from worldwide sales of Quaky Cat are going to the Christchurch Mayoral Earthquake Appeal administered by the New Zealand Red Cross. (The author and illustrator royalties will continue to be donated to their chosen Christchurch charities).

I highly recommend this book for anyone with children who have gone through an earthquake but at the same time any child can understand the messages this lovely book has to offer.

Extras
I am not sure where you can purchase it outside of New Zealand or Australia. But if you wish to purchase this book Fishpond ship internationally and around Australia.