Review: Mad About Minibeasts

Mad About Minibeasts

Written by Giles Andreae

Illustrated by David Wojtowycz

Publication date: 2011
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 978-1-40830-947-6

Summary/Back cover:
The sun is in the sky
And it's a lovely Summer's day.
The minibeasts have seen you
And they want to come and play!
Come into the garden for lots of noisy, rhyming creepy-crawlie fun from the award-winning creators of Rumble in the Jungle  and Commotion in the Ocean.


Review:
I was always going to like this book, before I even saw it, as it comes from my favourite author/illustrator team.  And it didn't fail to impress - it is written in very much the same style as Commotion in the Ocean, as a series of little poems.

The bugs in each poem are becoming familiar to my 1 year old and 3 year old now, and they enjoy telling me what each bug is before we start the poems - and we have been 'lucky' enough to find some of the same bugs in our own garden, which makes my 3 year old very excited - he has been known to tell a worm that "we have a book all about you!"

Having the story broken into individual poems works well for us, as it means there is space for questions about each bug, without feeling like I'm breaking the 'flow' of a rhyming story.

This has already become a much-requested book from the bookshelf, and is one that I enjoy reading as much as my sons enjoy listening to it.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Fizz the Fire Engine

Fizz the Fire Engine

Written and Illustrated by David Wojtowycz

Publication date: 2003
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 1-84121-484-1


Summary/Back cover:
Emergency! A train is stuck in the tunnel . . . Fizz the fire engine wants to be a brave hero, but can he overcome his shyness to save the day? Full of noises, action and fun, this colourful first picture book is prefect for vehicle-crazy little ones.


Review:
This book immediately appealed to my two sons because of the content - a fire engine, complete with written sound effects!  It appealed to me before I'd even picked it up, due to being another Wojtowycz book - he's become a firm favourite in our household with adults and children alike.


The illustrations, it goes without saying, are just beautiful - vibrant colours, gorgeous animation of vehicles that will appeal to any child.  The storyline has a little 'moral' running through it, about how sometimes you need to overcome your shyness for the good of others.  My almost-3 year old hasn't picked up on this theme yet, as he's too busy waiting for the "Nee-nar, nee-nar, flash, flash flash!" lines in the book!


My rating: 4.5 out of 5 - definitely one to read your vehicle-mad preschool sons!


Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Animal 123

Animal 123

Written and Illustrated by David Wojtowycz

Publication date: 2000
Publisher: David & Charles Children's Books
ISBN: 1-86233-152-9

Summary/Back cover: 
Check into the Animal 123 hotel where behind each of the ten doors the zany animal guests are involved in crazy goings-on!
Look in on the two tangoing toucans or sneak a peek at the six sleep-walking skunks.  Oh, and don't forget to look out for the mice... This is the fun way of learning to count to ten!

Review:
I grabbed this book from the library, purely because it's by David Wojtowycz (illustrator of Commotion in the Ocean, The Lion Who Wanted to Love, and Farmyard Hullabaloo, amongst others) - and the illustrations don't disappoint at all.  Beautiful bright pictures of some funny animals (although my 2.5 year old didn't believe us that the sheep were actually sheep, as they were all dressed up in lounge-singer costumes!). The text of the book is not a story as such, but a title for the animals on each page:  "Three thirsty flamingos" for example, is all the text on the page with three thirsty flamingos (funnily enough...).

In saying that, it's a great book for your learner counter.  We spent a lot of time counting how many animals were on each page, and then read the book backwards as well (we're just learning how to count from ten down to one).  It's not a bedtime story, but it is a good learning tool.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Farmyard Hullabaloo

Farmyard Hullabaloo

Written by Giles Andreae

Illustrated by David Wojtowycz

Publication date: 1999
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 978-1-84121-563-1

Summary/Back cover:
The rooster wakes the farm up
With a cock-a-doodle-doo!
The sheepdog won't stop barking,
And the cows begin to moo...


Come into the farmyard for a noisy, rhyming animal romp your little ones will love!

Review:
This is a book I've been keen to read for quite a while now - Giles Andreae is a firm favourite author in this household (with children and parents alike!), and my 2.5 year old has been pointing this particular title out in the back of other Andreae books for ages now, as one he wants to read.

Written in the same style as Commotion in the Ocean, this book is a collection of individual poems, for each animal on the farmyard.  My son enjoys telling me what the animals are before I read the poem, and has taken to guessing what the next animal over the page might be.

This style book works well for us, as it means I don't feel like I'm "breaking" the flow of the story when my son wants to ask questions or point out interesting things before we turn the page - it is also a book that he is learning to "read" to himself - I've heard him sitting and quietly saying "cock-a-doodle-doo" and "funny floppy neck" (that'd be the turkeys, by the way) as he flicks through the pages.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: The Lion Who Wanted to Love

The Lion Who Wanted to Love

Written by Giles Andreae

Illustrated by David Wojtowycz

Publication Date: 1997

Publisher: Orchard Books

ISBN: 978-1-86039-913-8

Summary/back cover:

Deep in the African heartland

Way out on the hot sunny plains,

There lived a small lion who didn’t fit in

And Leo was this lion’s name.

Now lions are usually fierce

And lions are meant to be strong,

But Leo just wanted to love everybody

And play with his friends all day long.

One of my sons was lucky enough to have this book gifted to him when he was born. This is a firm favourite in our house-hold, one that we come back to again and again.

Leo is a delightful, loveable little lion who doesn’t fit in with his pride. The rest of his family want to devour the other animals but Leo wants to hug the zebras, not eat them. As a result of this un-lion-like behaviour, Leo is banished to the jungle, but his loveable, friendly nature helps him to thrive and succeed despite this initial rejection.

The story is wonderful, the rhyming is clever and rolls off the tongue nicely, and the pictures are cute and colourful. An absolute winner.

My rating:  5 out of 5

Review written by team_s

Review: Commotion in the Ocean

Commotion in the Ocean

Written by Giles Andreae

Illustrated by David Wojtowycz

Publication Date: 1998

Publisher: Orchard Books

ISBN: 978-1-84121-101-5

Summary/back cover:

There’s a curious commotion

At the bottom of the ocean

I think we ought to go

and take a look…

Come into the ocean for a noisy, rhyming animal romp your little ones will love!

I have several Giles Andreae books and intend to add to the collection. I personally don’t think this book is as good as some of his others. The illustrations are fabulous and the rhymes are fun. There is no story, though. The book has an introduction page and then it moves through the different creatures you might find in and around the ocean, such as turtles, sharks and polar bears. There are separate rhymes for each animal but they generally don’t link in with any of the other rhymes – sometimes the rhythm is completely different, such as a standard rhyme followed by a limerick, for example – and sometimes the poetry feels forced. These are really the gripes of a grown-up, though, and of little relevance to my kids who just love that I make Jaws “da-duh, da-duh” noises when I turn the shark page and tickle them on the tummy just like the mother octopus does to her young. At the end of the day it is what it is – a bright, cheery collection of rhymes that introduce aquatic life to youngsters.

My rating:  3.5 out of 5

Review written by team_s

Review: Dinosaurs Galore!

Dinosaurs Galore!

Written by Giles Andreae and Illustrated by David Wojtowycz

Publication date: 2005
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 978-1-84362-609-1

Summary/Back cover:
Some of them have huge long necks
And some have giant jaws
So come into the swampland
And let’s meet the dinosaurs!
A thumping good romp from an award-winning team, featuring all your favourite dinosaurs!

Review:
This is a book written in the same style as “Rumble in the Jungle”, “Commotion in the Ocean” and “Farmyard Hullaballo”. The book has simple, bright illustrations with a short rhyming text about each type of dinosaur. The pronunciation of each species in brackets. This is a firm favourite of my 3 year old son who is dinosaur mad.

4/5


Review written by Judith