Review: The Scallywags Blow Their Top!

The Scallywags Blow Their Top!

Written and Illustrated by David Melling

Publication date: 2010
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
ISBN: 978-0-340-98816-9

Summary/Back cover:
Have you ever lost your temper?  The Scallywags are always in trouble for losing theirs.  But this time, the wolves finally meet their match...


Review:
Being the proud owner of a 2.5 year old who has learnt all about the art of tantruming, and is quickly learning how to boss his 8 month old brother around, this book came at an ideal time - the gist of the story is a bunch of wolves that argue with each other, but then end up being bossed around by a little sheep, and realise how unpleasant it is to others when they lose their temper.

This story had my son laughing, but then afterwards, we were able to talk about how it's not nice to be in a grump, and what we can do instead of having a tantrum in different situations.

If you're interested in buying a copy of this book, you can find it here at Fishpond.

My rating: 4 out of 5 - a good book, which my son really enjoyed over and over.


Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Little Red Train Busy Day

Little Red Train: Busy Day

Written and Illustrated by Benedict Blathwayt

Publication date: 2008
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 978-1-862-30193-1

Summary/Back cover:
Click-clack, clicketty-clack, chuff-chuff,  chuffity-chuff...
The Little Red Train is in for a busy day!  There's post to deliver, rails and sleepers for a new track, a flock of sheep for Hilltop Farm, and lots of passengers for Barnacle Bay!
Keep your eyes peeled - there's lots to see and find on the journey!  Spot familiar landmarks along the way and see if you can follow the Little Red Train's adventures on the map.


Review:
This is definitely a boys' book - my 2.5 year old is absolutely mad about trains, and this book suits him perfectly.  Apart from the story about Little Red Train's activities for the day, there's also labels on various train parts throughout the book, teaching the reader parts such as pistons, boilers, guard's van, etc.

The illustrations are quite busy, but are great to sit and point out interesting things on - so it can take quite a while to read this book.  I enjoy seeing what my son will find each time we read it though - all the usual suspects come out first (train, digger, dog), but then he'll delve more into the details, and find such things as rubbish that ought to be in the bin, a sunflower patch, and a cake in the guard's van.  Sometimes he is able to tell me what these things are, and sometimes he asks "What's that?" - so it gives me an opportunity to build on his language skills.

My rating: 4 out of 5 - quite a blokey book, and not really a story book as such, but a great book to study and talk about.


Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Lenny Leopard's Jungle Dance

Lenny Leopard's Jungle Dance

by Guy Parker-Rees

Publication date: 2011
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 978-1-40831-207-0

Summary/Back cover:
Lenny Leopard loves to dance
But he can't find the beat.
Elephant says he'll show him how - 
Just stamp and stomp your feet!


This fun-filled jungle boogie will delight all young children.  Pull the tabs to see the jolly jungle animals dance, and watch out for the surprise pop-up at the end!

Review:
My 2.5 year old loves this book!  It has everything - beautiful illustrations by Guy Parker-Rees (illustrator of Giraffes Can't Dance), rhyming text, and something to play with: each page has a pull tab to make different jungle animals dance.  The pages seem sturdy enough, but I've not been brave enough to leave my son to read this book unsupervised (there is a warning on the back of the book, saying that it is not suitable for under 36 months, due to small parts, so it's only fair that I don't let him read it by himself yet!)

It takes quite a while for us to read this book, as we have to make the animals dance on each page a number of times before we're allowed to turn the page - but it makes for a lot of giggles, and, very often, an imitation of each dance!

If you'd like a copy of this book, you can find it here on Fishpond.

My rating: 4.9 out of 5 - a great read, and fun to play with as well!


Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Moving Day

Moving Day

Written and Illustrated by Cyndy Szekeres

Publication date: 1989
Publisher: Western Publishing Company
ISBN: 0-307-11997-1

Summary/Back cover:
Family fun abounds in the miniature world of the furry Tiny Paw family. Cyndy Szekeres winsome mouse characters work and play together and tenderly illustrate real feelings and situations from young children's everyday lives.

Review:
When the Tiny Paw family home gets rained out, they have to find a new place to live. So with leaf umbrellas, Father and the little ones go out to find a new home.

The family is adorable, the illustrations are very cute and the little features like the umbrella leafs are a nice touch. To be honest, I can't really rave about this book. It's very nice, just not stand out in any way. BUT this is my 12 year old's favourite book to read to his young brother. He adores it and his little brother adores having it read to him. And really, the are the best judges.

I would give this a 2.5/5 but the gents in my household have it down as a 3.5/5.

Review written by QTCass

Review: All By Myself

All By Myself

Written and Illustrated by Mercer Mayer

Publication date: 2001
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0-307-11938-6

Summary/Back cover:
Mercer Mayer's Little Critter stories, which address all the major issues of growing up, are perennial favourites of parents and children.

Review:
My son loves this book as it's all about being independent and all the things he can do on his own. He also has a little baby sister, which my son relates to and enjoys the bit which says "I can look after my little sister"

4/5

Review written by Pineapple

250-Review Giveaway Winners!

WOW!! We're at 250 book reviews already!  Thank you so much to everyone that's sent in reviews - I really appreciate each and every one of you and your reviews :)

And so... as promised, there's a giveaway of some books - 5 books means 5 winners, and random.org has chosen these people for me:

1. QTCass

2. team_s

3. Judith

4. Anna Vincent

5. Laugan

Congratulations to you all - I'll be sending you an email in about 2 minutes to let you know how to claim your book!

And just to make sure the reviews don't stop flowing in... we're on the countdown now to 500 reviews, and I've already got a different sort of giveaway in the works for that one.  The aim is to reach 500 reviews by June 10th - ya reckon we can do it?!  I reckon we can!

Review: My Little Star

My Little Star

Written by Janet Bingham

Illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw

Publication date: 2007
Publisher: Scholastic Children's Books
ISBN: 978-0439-94434-2

Summary/Back cover:
Little Fox is walking in the woods with Daddy when he begins to wonder:how high does the sky go? Daddy Fox turns this into a game and soon Little Fox discovers that, just like love, the sky goes on forever.

Review:
A gorgeous read, similar in feel to Guess How Much I Love You. With beautiful illustrations, the story moves along when, on the last page, the wonderful surprise of the stars glittering out of the page. This is a great bed time read, with Little Fox drifting off to sleep on the last few pages this is sure to put your little one into a sleepy mood too.

Beautiful and peaceful - 3.5/5

Review written by QTCass