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: Mickey on the Move

Mickey on the Move

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Play-a-Sound

Publication date: 2009
Publisher: Publications International, Ltd
ISBN: 978-1-4127-6928-0

Summary/Back cover:
Mickey Mouse is on the move! Read the story, turn the gears, and press the sound buttons to help Mickey and his friends fix their vehicles and finish the race.

Turn 8 gears to find hidden sound buttons! Press 13 buttons to hear wobbly wheels, bicycle bells, and more! "Hot dog! Say super cheers!"

Review:
If you've got a child that loves watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the telly, they'll absolutely adore this book.  Its pretty much exactly the same format as a TV episode (with Toodles and the mouseketools, even!), but in book form.  In addition to reading the story, there are buttons to press which make a variety of odd sounds - and there are pictures within the story (in the middle of sentences) to tell the little readers when to press a particular button.

My three year old adores Mickey Mouse, and this book has been a major hit with him.  He loves it when it's read to him (and he presses the buttons as we go), but he loves it equally as well when he plays with it by himself - there's enough detail in the illustrations on each page that he knows what's going on, and the text has the pictures of which buttons to press, so he can "read" it himself.

The book is a sturdy board book, and the gears and buttons seem pretty solid too - time will tell how long it will last, but I'm hoping it will last long enough for my 1 year old to be allowed to read it, too.  The battery cover for the noises is also easily accessible (but screwed down, for safety), so the batteries can be changed if needed in the future.

Definitely worth getting your little Mickey Mouse enthusiast.

My rating: 4.4 out of 5

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Tick-Tock Ted

Tick-Tock Ted

Written by Ruth Martin

Illustrated by Steve Whitlow

Publication date: 2011

Publisher: Pippbrook Books

ISBN: 978-1-84877-480-3

Summary/Back cover:

Learn to tell the time with Ted.  From breakfast through to bedtime, little ones will love to interact with the moveable clock hands as they follow the story of Ted's day.

Review:

My 3 year old received this book for Christmas, and it has already become a well-read book.  The story itself is irrelevant, to be honest - the part that he enjoys the most (and that, as a parent, I find the most useful part) is the picture of the clock on each page, that he can look at and then match the hands on the moveable clock to match.  The book has a blue hour hand and yellow minute hand, so it is user-friendly to teach children how to tell the time on an analogue clock.  

The clock seems fairly robust, so I think it will live up to many, many uses but I suspect that the pages may not last quite as long (they have a big hole through them, so the clock can be used).

I thoroughly recommend this as a book for teaching beginner clock-readers how to understand a clock face - I don't know what other books are out there that teach the same thing, but this one does the trick quite nicely.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5 - the story is a bit blah, but the clock part is fantastic.

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: 1001 Animals to Spot

1001 Animals to Spot

Written by Ruth Brocklehurst

Illustrated by Teri Gower

Publication date: 2002
Publisher: Usborne Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-4095-0864-9

Summary/Back cover:
Teeming with animals to find, count and talk about, this bright picture book provides hours of puzzle-solving fun. It also helps develop basic word and number skills. The busy scenes bring to life different habitats from around the world. Children will delight in finding all kinds of familiar and exotic animals – from lambs on the farm to armadillos in the rainforest.

Review:
This book has busy and bright illustrations that encourage conversation about various animals. Each page has 10 animals to spot and count. It encourages 1-1 matching and number recognition. My son loves this book as he is really into counting at the moment. Some animals are easy to find and others are not so it provides challenges as well as some guaranteed success. There are several other titles in this series including 1001 Things to Spot on the farm, 1001 things to Spot around town, and even a fairy and a pirate version.

5/5

Review written by Judith

Review: Munch

Munch

Written and Illustrated by Emma McCann

Publication date: 2005

Publisher: Meadowside Children's Books

ISBN: 1-84539-045-8

Summary/Back cover:

There's a huge hungry monster on the loose eating everything in its path.  Munch the little monster stays at home to guard his house.  But will the massive muncher munch Munch?

Review:

We chose this book because the bite mark out of the bottom corner appealed to my 2.5 year old (the picture above doesn't show it, but it looks like this - sorry I can't find a bigger picture!)

The story itself is quite a cute wee story, about a monster who finds his toaster and jam have been eaten by a bigger monster, and ends with a relatively predictable (for parents) twist, which my boy loved! The illustrations are bright and uncluttered, which I enjoy for my children - if you have a little boy that loves monsters and food, then do check this book out.

My rating: 3.8 out of 5.

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Vroom! (Noisy Noisy)

Vroom! (Noisy Noisy)

Written and Illustrated by Ladybird

Publication date: 2007
Publisher: Ladybird
ISBN: 978-1846467264


Summary/Back cover:
Vroom! What's that noise? The town is buzzing with the sound of vehicles zooming around. Find and press the button on every page to hear a new vehicle sound each time.


Review:
Both my boys LOVE this book. It has fantastic illustrations, easy to identify what the story is about and there is a sound button on each page that relates to the story. My 10 month old loves pushing the buttons and my 2.5 year old now knows the story of by heart due to it's wonderful rhyming.  
It's a board book, so can take a bit of a hammering and the battery can be replaced.
There is also interesting text as the words such as "Whoooooosh" are in bold and curve around the page.
Great purchase and recommended to all, especially if you have boys. 


Review written by Nicola

Review: The Cake That Little Bear Made

The Cake That Little Bear Made

Written by Mike Berry

Illustrated by Kate Leake

Publication date: 2009
Publisher: Caterpillar Books Ltd
ISBN: 978-1-84857-11-2


Summary/Back cover:
Little Bear made a wonderful cake-scrumptious and sweet with sprinkles on the top!
"Please can I have some?" chirped the bird.
Little bear shares his cake with the bird, the cat, the dog and the horse, but will he share it with greedy Big Bear?
A funny book about sharing with a sparkly, disappearing cake and a pop up surprise!


Review:
This is currently a favorite in the house-so much so Lara can recite the book.
There is many things I love about the book. There is rhyming (which makes for lots of fun), a cut out cake-that gets smaller through out the story, fun animals, and a huge pop out on the last page. 
Little Bear has baked a cake, but before he gets to eat it he shares with the cat, the bird, the dog, the horse and Big Bear. The story covers sharing, and very importantly-manners. 
I highly recommend this book :)


Review written by WellyMel

Review: The Foggy Foggy Forest

The Foggy Foggy Forest

Written and Illustrated by Nick Sharratt

Publication date: 2008
Publisher: Walker Books
ISBN:  978-1-4063-0337-7

Summary/Back cover:
What can that be in the foggy, foggy forest? A bear in a chair? An elf by himself? Peer through the foggy pages and take a guess!

Review:
This book is lovely - a bit different from any other book out there, as the pages are made from opaque pages, with a silhouette on the right hand side of each page, so children and parents alike can guess what is on the left hand side of the page - with a repetitive line of "What can this be in the foggy foggy forest" followed by a rhyming line ("An elf by himself," "An ogre doing yoga" etc), this book will keep you guessing right to the very end.

The objects in the silhouette do get stranger and stranger as the book goes on, but that just makes it more interesting for the parents reading the book, I think!  The pages, although paper, appear to be quite strong, so this is a good book for young readers to flick through by themselves - my 2.5 year old has spent a lot of time lying on the lounge floor with this book.

My rating: 4.4 out of 5

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: The Very Quiet Cricket

The Very Quiet Cricket

Written and illustrated by Eric Carle

Publication Date: 1990

Publisher: Philomel Books

ISBN: 0-399-21885-8

Summary/back cover:

One day a tiny cricket is born and meets a big cricket who chirps his welcome. The tiny cricket tries to respond, but there is not a sound. And so the quiet cricket makes his way in the world, meeting one insect after another who greets the cricket with the cheery hello of its species – the hum of the bee, the whirr of the dragonfly, the screech of the cicada. Finally it matures and meets a female cricket who evokes from the quiet cricket “the most beautiful sound that she had ever heard!”

The trouble with Eric Carle books is that once you’ve read The Very Hungry Caterpillar all his other stories are disappointing, by comparison – even if the books are really good, as the The Very Quiet Cricket is.

The story is sweet, the admiration Carle has for insects is ever-present, and the pictures are in beautiful Carle-style. The colours and writing aren’t quite as rich as in The Very Hungry Caterpillar, however, and The Very Quiet Cricket lacks the charm of the “caterpillar” holes and layered pages of fruit. There-in lies the problem with the book – the undeniable urge to play comparison with Carle’s best-seller.

The story adds charm by playing a little chirping cricket sound that is only revealed as you get to the last pages. That’s the other problem with the book – the chirping runs on a battery that will ultimately need replacing.

My rating:  3.5 out of 5

Review written by team_s

Review: I Can Drive a Car

I Can Drive a Car

Illustrated by Bill Bolton

Paper Engineering by Brian Robertson

Publication date: 2008
Publisher: Parragon
ISBN: 978-1-4075-1280-8

Summary/Back cover:
Young car fans can work the controls of their very own car by pulling the tabs and moving the wheels inside the sturdy pages of this unique book.  It's packed with play value for mini drivers.

Review:
I bought this book recently for my 2 year old, and it has become as much of a toy as it has a book.  I've taken a video of the book being read/played with, so you can really see what it's about (excuse the lack of trousers - it was a hot day!)



This book, along with I Can Fly a Plane, have become firm favourites here - the solid cardboard pages should last for a while too, I hope!

My rating: 5 out of 5.

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Don't Put Your Finger in the Jelly, Nelly

Don't Put Your Finger in the Jelly, Nelly 

Written and Illustrated by Nick Sharrat

Publication Date: 2006
Publisher: Scholastic

ISBN: 0439950627

Summary/Back cover:

Don't put your finger in the jelly, Nelly... you might upset a Jellyphant!

Simple, rhyming book with an interactive hole on each page for your littley to put their fingers into.  Each subsequent page has a funny situation involving the finger; being held by the jellyphants trunk, wrapped around by the chocotpuses tentacles etc.

This book is funny - the jellyphant is an elephant made out of jelly, there is an alligrater and even (my favourite) a meringutan!  Combined with big, bold pictures, we have found it is enjoyed by both the reader and the listener.  It's a firm favourite in our house and is a nice quick read.

Rating - 5/5

Review written by QTCass