Review: Ducky Dives In!

Ducky Dives In!

Written by Richard Waring

Illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees

Publication date: 2003
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 1-84362-193-2

Summary/Back cover:
Mucky Ducky loves mud! He really adores the squelchiest, squishiest, squashiest kind of muddy puddle...
But Mummy Duck likes to keep her little duckling out of mud and mischief, so how will she stop Mucky Duck from diving into the squelchiest puddle of all?

Review:
This story, I reckon, has a moral for Mums in it, rather than the kids!  Mucky Duck loves to jump in muddy puddles, but his mother is always trying to keep him clean and tidy - what mother of young children can't relate to that?!  In the end, Mummy Duck embraces her messy side, and ends up having a ball of a time with her young duckling.

I was attracted to this book because of the illustrator, and wasn't let down by the beautiful, bright pictures.  The story itself contains lots of those onomatopoeic words that kids love (and I love to read out loud!), so this book had us giggling throughout.

Definitely worth a read.

My rating: 4.7 out of 5


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: Perky Little Penguins

Perky Little Penguins

Written by Tony Mitton

Illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees

Publication date: 2007
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 978-1-84616-338-8


Summary/Back cover:
Perky little penguins
coming out to play,
looking for their playmates...
here they are - hooray!


Follow the delightful little penguins as they slide and jump and waddle around their world, and show you just how much fun they can have in the ice and snow.

Review:
This author/illustrator combo is one of my favourite, so I was very keen to read this book myself.  It is a sweet wee book, written in a gentle rhyming style that I've come to know and love from Tony Mitton (author of Terrific Trains, amongst others).  I found it to drag a wee bit by the end, but my 2.5 year old was engrossed in it, and enjoyed seeing the penguins bouncing around on the ice.

My rating: 4.2 out of 5.

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: All Afloat on Noah's Boat

All Afloat on Noah's Boat

Written by Tony Mitton

Illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees

Publication date: 2006
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 1-84616-206-8

Summary/Back cover:
Life aboard Noah's Ark is busy and noisy, and soon the animals begin to get grumpy. So clever Noah hatches a plan for an incredible creature cabaret to get the Ark swinging again.  But what amazing act will appear for the finale?
Tony Mitton and Guy Parker-Rees are reunited for another sure-fire bestseller with a riotous text and astounding illustrations.  This brilliant book builds on their success with Spookyrumpus, winner of the Sheffield Children's Book Award.

Review:
We have a couple of Tony Mitton's books counted amongst our favourites (Down by the Cool of the Pool and Terrific Trains), so I was really looking forward to reading this book to my boys.  It tells the story of Noah's Ark in verse, and is beautifully illustrated with many animals for my toddler to point out.

It is a very well written book, and the text rhymes beautifully. Even the font that is used is whimsical and fun - typical of Tony's books.

I thoroughly recommend this book - we've borrowed it from the library, but it might just be one we look at purchasing for our own bookshelf!

My rating: 4.9 out of 5.


Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Giraffes Can't Dance

Giraffes Can't Dance

Written by Giles Andreae

Illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees

Publication Date: 1999
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 978-1-84121-565-5

Ratings:
amazon.com: 4.8 out of 5 (72 ratings)
goodreads.com: 4.27 out of 5 (494 ratings)

Summary/back cover:
Gerald was a tall giraffe
Whose neck was long and slim,
But his knees were awfully bandy
And his legs were rather thin.
Gerald was not a good dancer. Every year he dreaded the great Jungle Dance. but what Gerald discovers one beautiful moonlit night is that when we're different sometimes all we need is a different song to dance to...

My 2 year old was given this book at his Baptism when he was 2 months old, and it has been read many, many times since then. With a gentle rhyming text and brightly coloured pictures, this book appeals to children from a very young age - my 5 month old enjoys this book a lot now, too. The pictures are detailed, and there is the added bonus of toddlers finding a blue, red and yellow bug and a cricket on every page - this has become quite a game for us!

The author, Giles Andreae is well known for not only his children's stories, but also as the poet Purple Ronnie.

I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who has children or looks after them - it will appeal to many ages - from birth right through until well into school-aged children. It has become one of those books that I love to buy for other people's children for special occasions.

My rating:  5 out of 5.  This is becoming a classic that every child should read at least once!

Review written by Bronwyn