Review: Murf Murf the Dolphin Dog

Murf Murf the Dolphin Dog

Written by Sonya Warner

Illustrated by Sarah Nelisiwe Anderson

Publication date: 2011
Publisher: Akaroa Dolphins
ISBN: 978-0-473-18270-0

Summary/Back cover:
Once upon a time, in a little town not far away from the city, was a cute little dog who had a real job!  His tail was fluffy, and his beard was scruffy... 

Murf Murf is a real-life sea dog who works on a dolphin-watching boat in the small New Zealand town of Akaroa.  Follow his adventures at sea with his playful dolphin friends!

Review:
My parents went on a dolphin-watching cruise and purchased this book for my sons while they were there - they purchased it from Akaroa Dolphins, but Sonya, the author, has kindly emailed me to let me know where else it is available - see the comments section for the list of retailers.

Written in a gentle rhyme, the story of Murf Murf appealed to my 3 year old immediately, and has been requested over and over. When Murf Murf falls off the boat, my son was quite worried the first time, but now calls out with me as I read "Don't worry Murf, we won't let you drown!"

The illustrations are beautiful - I particularly love the expressions Sarah has managed to draw into Murf Murf's face - who knew a dog had so many emotions?!

This is definitely a book worth having on your bookshelf - and even better if you can take your children to see some dolphins before or after having read the book.

My rating: 4 out of 5.

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: The Penguin Who Wanted to Fly

The Penguin Who Wanted to Fly

Written and Illustrated by Catherine Vase

Publication date: 2005
Publisher: Scholastic

ISBN: 0-439-84244-1

Flip-Flop is a little penguin with a big dream.  He wants to fly!  But even his snow plane can't give him wings.  Then he discovers that wishes can come true - sometimes in an unexpected way.

Penguins by nature a flightless, but that doesn't stop Flip-Flop from trying to fly.  After a few humourous attempts and help from his friend Polar Bear, Flip-Flop discovers that swimming is like flying and is something within his abilities.

Cute illustrations with scattered onomatopoeia makes for an interesting and fun read.

3.5/5

Review written by QTCass

Review: Daniel's Dinosaur

Daniel's Dinosaurs

Written by Mary Carmine

Illustrated by Martin Baynton

Publication date: 1997

Publisher: Scholastic New Zealand Limited
ISBN: 1-86943-328-9

Daniel loved dinosaurs.  And everywhere he went, he imagined he saw them.  Until one day, his mother took him to visit the aquarium...

Like Daniel, my little one looooves dinosaurs.  This book greatly appeals as for the majority of the book there are dinosaurs all over it - Daniel even imagines people as dinosaurs.  He lives next door to two Plateosaurs.  His teacher is a Diplodocus but sometimes she is a Tyrannosaurus.  But when Daniel's mum takes him to the aquarium, he develops a new obsession with fish and sea-life, which just so happens to be another love of my little dude (and if there were bus riding sea creatures with a dino driving this really would be the perfect book for him).  Great illustrations and easy reading text, this book is a great any time read.  Has the added benefit of a glossary of the dinosaurs mentioned at the back.

4/5

Review written by QTCass

Review: Big Fish Little Fish

Big Fish Little Fish

Written and Illustrated by Ed Heck

Publication date: 2007
Publisher: Price Stern Sloan
ISBN: 978-0-8431-2681-5


Summary/Back cover:

Big Fish is big, and Little Fish is little. Big Fish wants to catch Little Fish, but Little Fish is very crafty. Big Fish had better watch out! With simple text, the use of opposites (above/below, inside/outside), and the beautiful, bold illustrations of pop artist Ed Heck, this book is sure to swim its way into the hands of kids everywhere!

Review:

This book is a firm favourite in our house, whether we are reading it to Cammy, or he is reading it to us. It's a book all about opposites, with a cute finish. The pictures are bright, and the words are nice and big... It's a simple book, which is great for little ones to memorise and "read" back to you.

9/10 for me with this book.


Review written by Leesh

Review: Snap!

Snap!

Written by Margaret Mayo

Illustrated by Alex Ayliffe

Publication date: 2009
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 978-1-84616-710-2

Summary/Back cover:
Sharks are good at snap, snap, snapping
Whoosh! - dashing, tails lashing,
Spiky teeth ready for snap, snapping.
So snap, sharks, snap!

This brilliant book is packed with all your favourite sea creatures - dolphins, octopuses, turtles, penguins and lots more!

Review:
This beautiful book, by the same team as Dig Dig Digging, is a lovely wee book with little rhymes about a variety of sea creatures, but it didn't hit the mark with my 2.5 year old as much as Commotion in the Ocean did.  However, it is a sweet wee book that has been read many times, and will be read many more time yet, no doubt!

My rating: 3.7 out of 5

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: Whoosh Around the Mulberry Bush

Whoosh around the Mulberry Bush

Written by Jan Ormerod

Illustrated by Lindsey Gardiner

Publication date: 2007
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 978-0-19-279173-3

Summary/Back cover:
This book takes its inspiration from the much-loved song ‘Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush’: the words can be sung to the same rhythm and there are animal noises and actions, too.  It’s a book that invites lots of high-energy enjoyment but it’s also a book that can be shared with young children to talk about habitats around the world, encouraging them to develop an awareness of the great diversity of wildlife that our planet supports.  The book begins with animals you might find in a garden or on a farm.  There are also animals from seashore, ocean, desert, rainforest, savannah, arctic and wetland habitats and the book finishes with a group of nocturnal animals in a night-time setting.


Review:
We first borrowed this book from the library and my daughter just loved it.  Even the very non-musical will manage to sing this book, if they choose to.  It covers a good number of animals and allows for discussion on unfamiliar habitats.  But, frankly, it’s the singing and dancing that accompanies it that my children love.

The images are simple and full of cheery colour.  The words are written in a manner that reflects the whooshing and swooshing.  My only other comment would be managing to sing the words with the correct rhythm the first few times.  But once you have it, the joy in singing and dancing with the children is wonderful.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Review written by Ms Oh Waily

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: The Snail and the Whale

The Snail and the Whale

Written by Julia Donaldson

Illustrated by Axel Scheffler

Publication date: 2003
Publisher: Macmillian Children’s Books
ISBN: 978-0-333-98224-2

Summary/back cover:
The sea snail slithered all over the rock and gazed at the sea and the ships and the dock.  And as she gazed she sniffed and sighed.  “The sea is deep and the world is wide!  How I long to sail” said the tiny snail.

Review:
The book is a wonderful tail of a sea snail that catches a ride on a humpback whale and travels around the world to see new and wonderful things.  This book flows like a song, which I find keeps kids interested for a lot longer.  During their adventure the humpback whale gets confused by a boat race and gets beached in a small bay.  The Tiny sea snail finds a way to save the giant humpback whale. Showing that no matter how small you are you are able to help others.  At the end of the book all of the sea snail’s friends that made fun of him in the beginning, for wanting to do something different, see what a wonderful adventure he had and hop on the whale’s tail to go for an adventure themselves.  This book is loved in our house and after the third time reading it is now a stable in our nightly reading routine.  I love that it can open so many conversations about the world we live in.  Even if they aren’t interested in the story the child can see the wonderful illustrations and talk about them.

My rating - 5/5.

Review written by Tracy

Review: Clumsy Crab

Clumsy Crab 

Written and Illustrated by Ruth Galloway

Publication date: 2005
Publisher: Koala Books
ISBN: 0-86461-515-9

Summary/Back cover:

Nipper hates his huge clumsy claws.  They're no use at all - they just get in the way.  He'd much rather have tickly tentacles like Octopus and Jellyfish or flippety fins like Turtle and the fish.  But one day when he's playing with his friends, Nipper finds his claws are very useful after all.

A gorgeous, bright book that tells the story of Nipper the crab who hates his claws but when he and his claws are the only ones that can help save one of his friends, he comes to appreciate his claws. 

The lovely moral of  'everyone has a special something', woven into this story, makes it a great story-time book for older children and the brightly coloured illustrations and flowing narrative along with the punches of onomatopoeia keep the little ones interested too.

Rating: 4/5

Review written by QTCass

Review: Sharing a Shell

Sharing A Shell

Written by Julia Donaldson

Illustrated by Lydia Monks

Publication Date: 2007
Publisher: Campbell Books
ISBN: 978-1-4050-9174-9


Summary/Back cover:
Look! A crab - a crab with no shell, running along by the sea ......

When the little hermit crab finds a shiny new shell he doesn't want to share it - not with a blobby purple anemone and a tickly bristleworm.

Join Crab, Blob and Brush in the rock pool for a sparkly story of sea, shells and friendship.

My 3 year old was given this book for his 2nd birthday and he still loves it now.
Its a very sweet story about friendship and sharing, both things that we like our children to think about and learn. The illustrations are bright with added glitter and detailed with lots of things that you would find at the beach and in the rock pools. Its simple enough for those toddlers with short attention spans and rhymes really well. I enjoy reading it just about as much as my toddler! Definitely a book worth getting.

My rating: 4 out of 5.

Review written by mum2riley

Review: Treasure in the Deep

Treasure in the Deep

Written by Sue Harris

Illustrated by Stephanie Boey

Publication Date: 2004
Publisher: The Templar Company
ISBN: 1-84011-143-7

Summary/Back cover:
When Little Fish hears an intriguing story of hidden treasure, he sets off in search of the glittering haul. Lift the flaps to discover lots of sparkling surprises and meet the new friends Little Fish makes as he discovers that treasure come in many different forms...

This book is just gorgeous - it tells the tale of a little fish searching for hidden treasure in a coral reef, who discovers that the many different coloured animals that live in the reef are the treasures themself.  This page has lift the flaps, which appeal greatly to my 2 year old at the moment - but I do have to be very careful that he doesn't rip the flaps right off!  The books is made from sturdy paper, but not sturdy enough to stop a rambunctious toddler, if he had his way.

This book is another rhyming one (I do enjoy children's books that rhyme), which makes it a pleasure to read over and over, but there are a couple of phrases to keep adult readers on their toes - "bright sea anemones" is the one that trips me up the most!

I do recommend this book as one for children to read with their parents - perhaps not the young toddlers, but once they're old enough to understand that lift the flaps does not mean ripping them out.  My 2 year old has a lot of fun pointing out the shiny colours on each page, and naming the sea animals (although the seahorse is sometimes called a seesaw and sometimes an exersaucer at the moment!).

My rating: 4 out of 5.  Definitely worth a read.

Review written by Bronwyn