Avocado Baby - John Burningham

Mr and Mrs Hargraves, as well as their son and daughter, are not the strongest specimens of the human race so they naturally hope the newest addition to the family will prove to be more robust. After the baby is born, however, Mrs Hargraves has a lot of difficulty feeding it and indeed finding any sort of food that it likes.

Poor Mrs Hargraves is eventually driven to tears, but her son and daughter notice an avocado pear in the fruit bowl and suggest their mother feed it to their baby brother. The mystery is that nobody knows how the avocado got there, as the Hargraves certainly hadn't bought it. In her desperation, however, Mrs Hargraves cuts it in half, mashes it up and feeds it to the baby. Since he eats it all, Mrs Hargraves continues to give him avocado pear every day. The baby soon becomes so strong that he is able to break out of his high chair and pull a cartload of children up a hill.

One night the baby hears a burglar in the house; he gets hold of a broom and chases the terrified burglar away. After that the baby helps with carrying shopping, moving furniture and pushing the family car with everyone in it. The baby is thankfully able to deal with two bullies who attack his brother and sister while they are walking him in the park. The baby simply picks them up and throws them into the pond. The story ends with a picture of the baby having a rest in his carry-cot and the news that he continues to get stronger eating avocado pears.

John Burningham's stories are generally rather unusual, and Avocado Baby does seem a little strange as a young children's book. There is, however, quite a bit a humour in the story, and young children will doubtless be delighted by the idea of a baby moving a piano or picking up a bully in each hand. Parents who have had problems feeding their children will appreciate Mrs Hargraves' desperation as well as her relief when her baby wolfs down that first avocado pear and then starts to become stronger by the day. It is good to see the older siblings playing their part too, and of course being protected by the astonishing baby.

Burningham illustrates his books himself, and all except one of the pictures here are in full colour. The backgrounds are almost all white, so there is no difficulty with reading the text. The colours used are bright and varied which I think is important in a young children's book. One page, where Mrs Hargraves is shown trying to feed the baby, is set out like a comic strip with a series of pictures. We see the baby angrily pushing the plate away, as well as Mrs Hargraves attempting to feed him in the bath and while he is standing up in his cot. She is at her wits' end and will try anything. This is a page with no text that could generate discussions about the various scenarios, considering the feeding problem from both the baby's and the mother's point of view. Favourite illustrations are likely to be the full-page one of the burglar dropping his swag bag when he sees the baby brandishing a broom behind him, or the double-page spread of the two bullies landing in the pond with an almighty splash that disturbs the poor ducks and a fish.

The endpapers at both the front and back of the book show a double-page spread of an avocado plant covered with miniature babies in various colourful outfits. Some are perched on leaves while others appear to be performing gymnastics. This is a delightful illustration and again could be an inspiration for a conversation about what the babies are doing.

The text is in a particularly large and clear font and is always on a white background. There are never more than eight lines on a single page, usually less, and sometimes the text is broken up into smaller sections with illustrations in between. This is of course a book that is intended to be read aloud to very young children, but because of the clarity and the lack of long passages of text, it might also be suitable for young independent readers.

I didn't find 'Avocado Baby' to be such an outstanding book as John Burningham's 'Cloudland', either visually or in terms of the story. The ending of 'Avocado Baby' is perhaps a bit of an anticlimax, as we are simply told that things carried on as they were. I would, however, definitely recommend this as a book to borrow from the library, and Amazon's current price of £3.94 seems a reasonable one. I don't know if any miraculously strong, avocado-eating babies have come about as a result of having this book read aloud, but I would recommend it as an unusual story that has a fair amount of humour that will appeal to most young children.

Avocado Baby

John Burningham

Paperback, 32 pages

Red Fox, 1994

ISBN 9780099200611

Price £5.99 (Amazon £3.94)

The Rattletrap Car - Phyllis Root and Jill Barton

During the National Year of Reading, I thought I should look for some different books to read aloud at the nursery where I work. I found just the book to inspire me at my local library: Rattletrap Car, by Phyllis Root, illustrated by Jill Barton.

Why did it take me so long to discover this wonderful book? What if I never had? My experience of the English language would have been so much the poorer. How have I been working with young children for so long and not known of the existence of razzleberry dazzleberry snazzleberry fizz? Thankfully now I do, and I also understand to what uses chocolate marshmallow fudge delight can be put.

The story of Rattletrap Car revolves around Junie, Jakie, baby and Dad. Mum is not mentioned at all, but they seem to muddle through without her. The story starts as Dad is tending to the chickens on their farm. A pig looks on, and Junie, Jakie and the baby, sitting on the ground and feeling the heat, decide that it would be a good idea to go to the lake. Dad, however, surveys their rattletrap car and is concerned that 'it doesn't go fast and it doesn't go far'. The children aren't taking no for an answer, however, although Junie and Jakie are polite enough to say 'Please, please, please!' Baby just cries out 'Go!'

Dad knows he must give it a try, so he packs the aforementioned fizz and fudge delight. Junie brings her enormous beach-ball, and Jakie a surf-board that's about twice as long as he is tall. Baby naturally has a 'three-speed, wind-up, paddle-wheel boat'.

As their journey begins, we are treated to a feast of onomatopoeia: 'Clinkety clankety bing bang pop!' Then disaster number one strikes as a tyre goes flat. Junie is not fazed; she replaces the flat tyre with her beach ball, sticking it in place with chocolate marshmallow fudge delight. It's the obvious thing to do.

Off they go again, 'clinkety clankety', but every so often another part of the car falls off. No problem: they improvise and replace it with one of the other things they have brought along. Each time they get going again, we are treated to another burst of onomatopoeia, be it 'wappity bappity', 'fizzelly sizzelly', 'flippita fluppita', or a combination thereof.

If you want to know whether or not the car survived the journey all the way to the lake and home again, I'm sorry, but you will just have to read the book for yourself.

This is an amazing book to read aloud to young children. The lettering is in red in a large font, but I wouldn't recommend it for emergent readers as they might get a complex struggling with words such as 'bappity', 'rattletrap' or 'bumpety'. It will be as much a delight for most adults as for children, so it is a book to be enjoyed together, savouring the wonderful sounds that Phyllis Root has conjured up here. This is magical language.

Jill Barton's colourful illustrations fill every page and make this book a visual treasure as much as a linguistic one. A little flock of sheep comes along to gaze dumbfounded at one of the problems the family is having, and rabbits look on under a moonlit sky at the end of the story.

This is one book that Dads who take the children out on their own for the day can have a great laugh over. Not being a driver or a mechanic myself, I cannot vouch for the solutions the family finds for their broken car, but I think I can safely say don't try this on your way to the lake when your car breaks down...

For the joy of the language and the drawings, as well as the idea of using your imagination and improvising when things go wrong, this is a book that will provide entertainment again and again. It also demonstrates how family members can work together to overcome obstacles and not give up the minute a problem arises. Although aimed at young children, I think anyone who can read English and has a love of language and books should read this one.

Rattletrap Car

by Phyllis Root

illustrated by Jill Barton

Walker Books, 2002

Paperback, 40 pages

ISBN 0744589320

Peace at Last - Jill Murphy

Jill Murphy's 'Peace at Last' is the story of Mr Bear's quest for a quiet night's sleep. The book appears to feature the three bears of Goldilocks fame: Mr Bear, Mrs Bear and Baby Bear, who are first seen at the end of the day, very sleepy, then making their way up the stairs to bed.

Mrs Bear falls asleep straight away, but she begins to snore heavily and sleep therefore eludes Mr Bear. He decides to go and spend the night in his son's room, but finds Baby Bear still wide awake, playing aeroplanes and making 'NYAAOW' noises. So it's back downstairs for Mr Bear, where he goes from the living-room to the kitchen to the garden, but each place has its annoying noises that foil his attempts to go to sleep. He eventually tries the car, finds it cold and uncomfortable but begins to drift off. Almost immediately, the sound of the birds and the strong sunshine disturb him. He goes back to his own bed where he does find 'Peace at Last' as Mrs Bear has stopped snoring. But how much time is left before the alarm clock rings?

Mrs Bear brings her husband a 'nice cup of tea', unaware of his sleepless night. Baby Bear is of course full of beans first thing in the morning, and jumps on his parents' bed, brandishing the post. Poor Mr Bear is not amused.

Although sleepless nights are perhaps a problem that affects adults more than children, this is a good book to enjoy reading aloud together, and young children find the idea of trying to sleep in the garden or the kitchen amusing enough. I've recently read this story to a small group of four-year-olds and asked them afterwards to try to remember all the different places where Mr Bear tried to go to sleep and what noise disturbed him in each of those places. I was impressed that they remembered the snoring, the aeroplane noises, the cuckoo clock, the drip of a leaky tap, the hum of the fridge, the sound of the animals and birds in the garden, everything in fact except for the alarm clock.

Jill Murphy's illustrations for her picture books are always of the highest standard and have obviously had a great deal of time, thought and care devoted to them. My only comment on the illustrations in 'Peace at Last' is that they are of necessity all in rather gloomy colours because the story takes place during the night. They do not lack in quality in any way, but they may not appeal to young children quite as much as more brightly coloured pictures would.

The full-page illustrations are in each case on the right-hand-side of a double page, with a small amount of text and one or two miniature black-and-white drawings adding information on the facing left-hand page. One or two of the left-hand pages actually feature white text on a black background to emphasise the idea that the story takes place at night.

'Peace at Last' is primarily a story to be read aloud to children aged from around two-and-a-half to five-years-old. As the amount of text on each page is not too daunting and the facing illustrations give obvious clues as to what is happening, this might make a suitable book for a young reader aged five to seven who is gaining in confidence. I have recently said that it is hard to go wrong with David Melling, and I would certainly say the same about Jill Murphy.

Peace at Last

by Jill Murphy

Macmillan Children's Books, 2007

Paperback, 36 pages

ISBN 0230015484

Price £5.99 (Amazon £3.59)

Noko's Surprise Party - Fiona Moodie

South-African Fiona Moodie wanted to write and illustrate children's books from a young age and it is easy to see that she had the talent to fulfil her ambition. Noko's Surprise Party is her latest picture book and is a follow-up to Noko and the Night Monster.

As Takadu the aardvark and Noko the porcupine have been friends for so long, it is only natural that Takadu wants to plan a party for Noko's birthday, but it is to be a surprise. Takadu goes to considerable trouble to write and hand out invitations to Mrs. Warthog, Bat-eared Fox, Pangolin (a scaly anteater), Velvet Monkey and Guineafowl. The problems begin when Greedy Hyena sees Takadu deliver the invitations and realises that he has not been included because of his awful manners. He follows secretly when Takadu goes on a long journey to collect figs for the party. As Takadu is going back through the Dark Wild Wood, he meets Bushbaby and gives him one of the figs because he is so hungry. Leaving the wood, he comes across Mountain Tortoise lying on his back under the baking sun; he has to turn him the right way up and then give him a juicy fig to quench his thirst. Although his basket is now slightly lighter, Takadu is growing tired and decides to have a nap in the shade of a cabbage tree. Hyena has been waiting for his chance for revenge, and he gobbles up all but one of the figs that Takadu has collected.

Poor Takadu is of course upset and angry when he wakes up and sees what has happened. He can smell Hyena and realises that he is the culprit. What will he be able to do to make sure that Noko still has a wonderful birthday party? Will Hyena live to regret his greed?

Folk tales seem to have gone out of fashion, but this is a book that might reverse that trend. The 'hero', Takadu, is a delightful character who loves making up songs and manages to sing even when things are going against him. He is always eager to help his fellow creatures. Noko is another admirable role model who wants everybody to be happy on his birthday. Greedy Hyena, however, is the typical villain; he is understandably upset at not receiving an invitation, but his selfish way of taking revenge only leaves him feeling even more isolated at the start of the party. Children can learn some good lessons here about how behaviour affects the feelings of others as well as ourselves. The lessons, of course, come across in the most enjoyable and natural of ways.

Most of the pages present just a few lines of text in a large, clear font under or alongside the illustrations. There are also a few wonderful double-page spreads where the text is superimposed on the picture, but the light-coloured backgrounds make for easy reading. This is essentially a book for reading aloud; it would not be the easiest one for a young reader to tackle, especially as there are one or two unfamiliar phrases such as 'a calabash of marala berry juice'. For a gifted and confident young reader, the story would present an interesting challenge.

Moodie is an illustrator as much as an author, and the pictures here make a huge contribution to the book as a whole. I find her style very original and delightful. It has a primitive feel to it and yet seems up to date at the same time. The animals – with the exception of Greedy Hyena, of course – always look so friendly and inviting. Landscapes range from the desert with blue mountains in the distance to the Dark Wild Wood where wide-eyed bats hang from branches. A map of the area spreads over both the front and back inside covers. Here, as well as the trees, rivers and rocks, we see charming scenes of Takadu playing a tune on his guitar for Noko, Velvet Monkey climbing the trunk of a palm tree, and Bat-eared Fox emerging from his hole. I had never heard of a pangolin before, but I think I might be able to recognise one now.

The book was first published in 2007 and is unfortunately only available in a hardcover version at the moment. I presume a cheaper paperback version is forthcoming, as even Amazon's discounted price of £7.91 is quite hefty for a children's book, albeit a beautiful and worthwhile one. I suggest borrowing a copy from a library first to see if you think it would be worth buying. The price is my only reservation, as it is a story that provides a great deal of enjoyment, complemented by delightful illustrations. A whole-hearted recommendation.

Noko's Surprise Party

by Fiona Moodie

Hardback, 32 Pages

Frances Lincoln Publishers, 2007

ISBN 1845075870

Price £11.99 (£7.91 on Amazon)

Tell me something happy before I go to sleep - Joyce Dunbar

'Tell me something happy before I go to sleep' by Joyce Dunbar tells the story of Willa, a young rabbit (depicted as a soft toy) who cannot get to sleep and seeks comfort from her elder brother Willoughby. Willa is afraid she will have bad dreams, so Willoughby encourages her to think of something happy instead.

Willia crosses her ears over her eyes to concentrate, but she can't think of anything happy, so she askes Willoughby to suggest something. Willoughby, who is sitting up reading in the top bunk, tells Willa to look under her bed. Willa sees her chicken slippers there, which her brother reminds her are waiting for nobody's feet but Willa's. Willa agrees that this is a happy thought, but she is not easily satisfied and asks for another one.

Willoughby draws her attention to a chair, where his sister's jumpsuit is longing for tomorrow when Willa will jump up and put it on. Willa is enjoying this too much, and wants another happy thought. This time Willoughby picks her up and carries her downstairs to the larder to see the food that is waiting to be made into breakfast. Once again, Willa is pleased, but still wants more. Brother and sister go to look at the toys in the sitting room, and then look out of the window at the night, which Willoughby tells Willa is waiting for the morning.

I will leave you to discover the end of the story, although rest assured, Willa does drift off to sleep quite soon after this.

The story is a lovely one for encouraging an older brother to look after and comfort his sister. It is interesting that at no point in the story does Willa want to go to her Mum or Dad; in fact there is no sign of parents anywhere in the house. Willoughby certainly thinks he is quite capable of convincing Willa how to go to sleep.

The illustrations by Debi Gliori add charm to the story. Willa and Willoughby both have incredibly long, floppy ears, and Willa's jumpsuit is intricately patterned with lettuces and carrots. The rabbits' house is inside a huge tree trunk, and the rather dark interior is brightened up by patchwork quilts in the bedroom and floral wallpaper and curtains in the sitting room. The rabbits have loving smiles on their faces in most of the illustrations.

This should be the perfect bedtime story, unless of course your child wants to emulate Willa and be shown all sorts of things around the house and outside the window before settling down to sleep! I hope this won't be the case.

I don't use this as a bedtime story, but as a book for seven to eight-year-olds that need reading practice. My only criticism here is the choice of the name Willoughby, as this is obviously a very difficult spelling to make sense of. I thought eight-year-old boys might find the story too babyish, but in fact they have enjoyed it.

Amazon are selling the Corgi paperback at £5.99, but there are much lower prices on Amazon Marketplace. I personally have the Red Fox Mini Treasures version, 24 pages, at £1.50.

Mister Magnolia - Quentin Blake

Animals often seem to be the main focus of children's poetry, but Mister Magnolia by Quentin Blake is the story of a poor man who had only one boot:

'He has green parakeets

who pick holes in his suit -

And some very fat owls

who are learning to hoot -

But Mr Magnolia

has only one boot.'

Mister Magnolia may sound like a sorry character, but lacking a boot doesn't seem to stop him having fun. He dances while his two sisters play the flute, takes children for a ride on his scooter, and juggles with fruit at the market stall.

This is a light-hearted piece of narrative poetry that has a happy ending as a little girl presents Mister Magnolia with a parcel that contains another boot. It doesn't match the one he already has, but never mind, it's a boot, and Mister Magnolia is deliriously happy. It might seem like a strange story, but Quentin Blake is of course the genius behind the illustrations to Roald Dahl's books, and he has provided wonderful coloured drawings to his own story here. We are introduced to Mister Magnolia's purple dinosaur, and we see our hero splashing down a water chute and saluting to a parade of mice. There is plenty here to capture the imagination of young children.

There are never more than five lines of text per page, in fact often just one or two. The text is in a clear font that is always on a white background, so there are no problems in deciphering the words. This makes Mister Magnolia a book that could be suitable for young independent readers as well as one for reading aloud. There are one or two challenging words such as 'parakeets' and 'magnificent', but the use of rhyme often helps a reader along, as do illustrations.

The illustrations appear in colour on every page of the book, making it bright and appealing. Although the colours are vivid, they are certainly not lurid as in some contemporary picture books. Blake's use of watercolour gives them a delightful quality.

This is a book that will not take long to read to a child who has a short attention span. The drawings, however, are worth stopping to take a closer look at. In Mister Magnolia's pond, a frog and a newt are dancing together on a lily pad while a toad looks on; a mouse is tickling Mister Magnolia's bare foot with an ear of wheat as a snail creeps away. For any adult looking to make it a more educational experience, there are opportunities for counting or identifying different types of fruit.

Mister Magnolia is definitely worth borrowing from the library before you decide whether you want to buy a copy. As well as the full size book, there is a Mini Treasure version (also published by Red Fox) that measures 5.5 in. x 4 in. At £1.50, it will hardly break the bank. The book is likely to appeal to children aged from three up to perhaps six.

If only we were all so easily pleased as Mister Magnolia, with two odd boots...

Mister Magnolia

by Quentin Blake

Paperback, 32 pages

Red Fox; New Edition 1999

ISBN 0099400421

Price £5.99 (Amazon £4.49)

Just Like You - Jan Fearnley

Jan Fearnley's 'Just Like You' is the delightful story of Mama Mouse and Little Mouse walking home to bed as the sun is setting. On their way they pass five other families of animals that are settling down for the night. Little Mouse notices in each case that one of the parents is telling the babies what they will do to look after them. Everything sounds so impressive that Little Mouse feels that the babies must be very special. Each time Mama Mouse tells her offspring that they are all indeed very special, 'Just like you'.

First they pass under a tree where a mother bird is telling her chicks in the nest that she will fly as high as the clouds and across the sky to find the best food for them. Then they come to a pond where Daddy Frog is settling the froglets under a lily leaf for the night. He promises to jump sky high and find the juiciest bugs for them. Little Mouse doesn't like the idea of the bugs but is still impressed. Further along the way, a mother rabbit and her kittens are basking in the sun's last rays of the day. The mother claims that she will dig the deepest burrow to keep her babies 'safe as treasure' and warm. Little Mouse thinks this sounds like hard work.

Down by the seashore, Mama Seal is singing a lullaby to her one and only pup. She boasts that she will dive deep to find shells, corals and fish for him. The last family that Mama Mouse and Little Mouse see is the family of foxes. Father Fox says he will run so far and fast that he will be able to protect his babies from any danger.

By the time the mice arrive home, Little Mouse is looking very thoughtful. As he gets ready for bed, he wonders what Mama Mouse will do for him, since she can't fly, jump, dig, dive or run. Maybe he is not special? Mama Mouse, however, assures him that she will tell him stories, play with him, feed him, cuddle him and even be extremely cross when he is naughty. Most of all, she will always love and care for him. Little Mouse goes to bed happy, feeling very special, and whispers that Mama Mouse is also very special, just like him.

Fearnley's story is a particularly sweet one for the very young. It is an ideal bedtime story because we see Little Mouse being tucked in bed right at the end, as well as the other animals settling down for the night earlier in the book. It is also an excellent story for introducing a small but varied group of animals that each have their own special skills that young children can learn about. The adult that has read to the child could ask if they can remember which animal can dive, which can jump, or which can run fast. A child might also learn from this book that a baby rabbit, just like a baby cat, is called a kitten, and that a baby seal is a pup.

I have the Mini Book version in which the font used for the text is rather small, but 'Just Like You' is available in a larger format. Some pages have two or three lines of text, some have only one and a few have five, so there is never a huge amount to read before moving on to the next page. The text is often superimposed on the illustrations but always on a light colour, so there is no difficulty in deciphering it. Although this is essentially a book to read aloud, young independent readers might enjoy it too.

Fearnley's accompanying watercolour illustrations are absolutely charming. We see Little Mouse trying to imitate Daddy Frog laughing and leaping, while Mama Mouse watches, hands on hips. A cross section of a warren depicts a mole banging on his ceiling with a broom as a rabbit in the hole above prances around playing on a pipe. On another page, a baby fox rolls in the grass, another is climbing all over his dad, and a third is offering him a poppy. On several pages there are extra little creatures to spot such as butterflies, ladybirds and a squirrel.

'Just Like You' makes a refreshing change from cartoon characters, dinosaurs and aliens should you or your children be growing tired of those. Unless you find a small font to be a problem, it is definitely worth buying the Mini Book for £1.99. The larger format is £5.99 (slightly discounted on Amazon). I would recommend it as a gentle bedtime story for those with a love of animals and the countryside.

George's Marvellous Medicine - Roald Dahl

Any child who has been left to the tender mercies of a difficult elderly relative will immediately identify with Roald Dahl's hero, eight-year-old George. George's family have a farm and there are no friends around to play with at weekends. When his mum goes shopping one Saturday morning, George is left alone with his obnoxious Grandma.

It would be hard to have any feelings of tenderness for George's Grandma. She moans constantly and never has a smile or a kind word for George. Even when he makes her a cup of tea, she grumbles about the sugar and makes a fuss about having a saucer and a teaspoon, even though George has already stirred the tea for her. After criticizing George for growing too fast, she scares the living daylights out of him by suggesting she has magic powers that could make his fingernails drop off and teeth grow there instead.

George rushes off and shuts himself in the kitchen to plan what he might do to 'shake the old woman up a bit'. He has a wonderful idea. He is due to give Grandma a spoonful of her medicine at eleven o'clock, and he decides to concoct a magic medicine to replace her usual one. George bursts into poetry as he hatches his plan. He goes from room to room in the house with a large saucepan, emptying in all the lotions and potions he can lay his hands on, with the exception of those in the forbidden medicine cupboard. George's Marvellous Medicine contains everything from shampoo to floor polish to canary seed. Even the shed and the garage are raided for anything from sheepdip to engine oil. George cooks it all up on the stove and finds himself chanting a magical verse.

The time comes for Grandma to have her spoonful. As soon as she swallows it, she shoots up out of her chair and then comes straight back down again. When she complains that she is on fire, George pours water down her throat. Strange things happen after this, and Grandma ends up several times her normal height with her head sticking up through the roof of the house.

Most boys would be in terrible trouble for causing such commotion but George's dad, being a farmer, wonders if he can use the medicine on his animals to make them super sized too. There might be a problem, however: will George be able to remember exactly what ingredients and in what quantities were in his original Marvellous Medicine? If not, might the medicine have different consequences?

Roald Dahl has created a fantastic tale in 'George's Marvellous Medicine'. Any reader will feel revulsion towards the nasty piece of work that is George's Grandma, and children in particular will sympathize with George's plight at the outset and cheer him on as he concocts his weird and wonderful mixture. Descriptive language and imaginative ideas will delight and entertain readers young and old.

As always, Quentin Blake's illustrations make a distinctive contribution to 'George's Marvellous Medicine'. Grandma certainly resembles a witch, and we see her aghast as she shoots out of her chair, then deformed in various ways as the medicine works its magic. Little George is sketched in the simplest of ways, yet his expression conveys immediately his feelings at different points in the story, whether scared, delighted or amazed.

'George's Marvellous Medicine' is just over a hundred pages long, but the text is set in a large font and there are so many illustrations that the book will not be daunting for a young independent reader. The sentences are on the whole quite short, and there is a fair amount of dialogue to keep a child interested. The longest chapter is about twelve pages, but even then progress is fast because of the number of illustrations.

This is not a story that has to wait until a child is old enough to read it alone, of course. It is a wonderful one to be shared between parents (or grandparents) and their children as a read-aloud book. As it was first published in 1981, some parents may remember it from their own childhood; if not, it will be a hilarious discovery for two generations at a time.

There is, it should be noted, a word of caution at the beginning of the story, warning readers that they should not attempt to concoct George's Marvellous Medicine at home!

George's Marvellous Medicine

Roald Dahl

Puffin Books

Paperback, 128 pages

ISBN 014132273X

Price £5.99 (Amazon £3.89)

Also posted on other sites.

Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose - Julia Donaldson and Nick Sharratt

It might seem a strange idea, a band of animals ranging from a gazelle to a moth getting together to have a meal of macaroni and carrots followed by chocolate mousse, but in the realm of children's books anything is possible. Julia Donaldson has in fact created a wonderful book bursting with rhyme, adjectives and the idea of differing personalities in Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose. The title is actually based on a line from one of the pages and the alliteration probably makes it the most obvious one to have been chosen.

On each page we meet a different animal, and there is one line of text at the top where the animal makes a comment on the meal they are having, such as 'Carrots – yuck!' says fussy Duck, or 'I'll lick the bowl,' says furry Mole. Most of the animals are described by an adjective: Rabbit is angry (because Goose has grabbed the mousse), whereas Moth is happy (because he can eat the cloth when all the food is gone). After the meal, helpful Pup suggests washing up, but lazy Sheep thinks it would be much nicer to have a sleep. On the final double page we see all sixteen animals snoozing on the sofa under a patchwork quilt.

The idea of all the animals being together is suggested in the illustrations, where on the extreme left-hand side we see part of the animal from the previous page, and on the extreme right-hand side is a little bit of the next animal that is coming up. Nick Sharratt's illustrations are bold and attractive for young children (although I was looking at this book alongside 'Doing the Animal Bop' and didn't find the colour scheme worked quite as well, but perhaps I'm just a fussy duck). I do, however, appreciate the expressions that he has given to the animals according to their different moods and feelings.

For me this is a super book in terms of language, especially the rhyming patterns. The adjectives too contribute a good deal, and it would be interesting to ask a young child why the white Swan is sad or why the Cow is busy. For a slightly older child, you could play a memory game after reading the book, asking which animal was shy or which was fussy, or even how the Moth was described. Because it is so concise and contains so many rhymes, children around the age of four are quite likely to memorize parts of the text or perhaps the whole book. For very young children, it is an excellent way of helping them to learn what various animals look like and it could be interesting as a tie-in with a visit to a zoo. Slightly older children might have fun trying to remember all sixteen animals after the book has been closed.

This is a very short picture book based around a clever idea and presented in an excellent way in terms of both language and illustrations. It could be read aloud to children aged from two upwards. For young independent readers, there are a few tricky words, but the illustrations will of course be a great help in enabling them to work out the names of the animals. I definitely recommend this for children aged between two and five, possibly six, and the Amazon price of £3.49 is excellent value.

Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose

by Julia Donaldson and Nick Sharratt

Macmillan Children's Books, 2006

Paperback, 24 pages

ISBN 140502190X

Price £5.99 (£3.59 on Amazon)

The Three Wishes - David Melling

When a king and queen go away for a few days and appoint their knight and his horse as babysitters to the prince and princess, it sounds like an easy task. Soon, however, the knight and his steed find there is too much tidying up to do, and the knight says he would rather fly out into a 'night of surprises' than babysit any longer. The horse is afraid that magic might indeed make them fly out of the window, and it does.

Outside, they land on top of an old lady riding a donkey. Her bag of spells spills, so she offers the knight and his horse three wishes if they can catch the spells for her. This is another task that is not so simple, but they manage it. The grateful old lady and her donkey vanish in a puff of smoke, leaving magic in the air.

Unfortunately, one extremely naughty spell is still on the loose. It teases the poor knight, making plants grow out of his hair. He asks the horse to make a wish, but the horse thinks of himself and asks for a bucket of carrots and some fluffy slippers. The knight says, 'I wish you hadn't done that,' thus squandering the second wish. He and his horse are not pleased with each other, but they agree to make the third wish together. Oh dear, the knight then has carrots growing from the extremely long plants in his hair, along with the fluffy slippers on his feet. The horse ends up wearing the knight's armour but the knight soon gets it back. The horse trims the unruly carrot plants into a neat shape, but they just grow back again. Fortunately, the prince and princess hear all the noise and come out to see what is going on. They simply pull the carrot plants out by the roots and lead the knight and his horse back inside the castle. The next day finds them all busy doing some DIY and happily play acting. Babysitting doesn't seem so bad after all, although the horse secretly wishes he could have those carrots and fluffy slippers again.

'The Three Wishes' is not of course the first story about being granted wishes and wasting them, but David Melling serves up his version with originality and plenty of humour. His illustrations are always a delight. As the story starts, you feel almost as though you are turning the pages of a mediaeval manuscript. At various stages of the book, we see the knight with a banana skin on his head, a carrot tree growing out of his hair, and down on his hands and knees giving the little princess a ride on his back. The colour scheme throughout centres around autumnal greens, oranges and browns, although the old lady wears a blue dress and the princess has a pink nightie. The horse in his various ridiculous situations will be a great source of amusement for any child.

The text is in a large, clear font and usually on a white background. When it is superimposed on an illustration it is always on a light colour to make for easy reading. There are never more than a few lines per page, but occasionally the lines swirl around, following for example the movement of the really naughty spell. This is of course a read-aloud book, but because of the strong element of humour I'm sure that young independent readers would enjoy it too.

'The Three Wishes' is a sequel to Melling's 'The Kiss the Missed' and 'Good Knight, Sleep Tight', both of which are also very popular with three- to four-year-olds. This is a lovely series that most adults will enjoy sharing with young children. I borrowed a copy of 'The Three Wishes' from the library, but I would say that it is worth buying and could make a great Christmas present. If your family hasn't yet enjoyed the magic of David Melling's picture books, I would definitely encourage you to do so.

The Three Wishes

David Melling

Paperback, 32 pages

Hodder Children's Books, 2008

ISBN 9780340931530

Price £5.99 (Amazon £4.49)

The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson

Although entitled 'The Gruffalo', the star of Julia Donaldson's story is actually a tiny, but very clever little mouse. This mouse seems capable of outwitting any creature in the wood who has designs on making a meal of him.

As mouse takes a stroll through the wood, he meets a fox, an owl and a snake in turn. Each of them invite him back to their lair for either lunch, tea or a feast. Mouse knows full well, however, that they intend to eat him up, so he tells each one that he is meeting a gruffalo for a meal. The other creatures have never heard of a gruffalo of course, so mouse gives them a few details about his appearance to frighten them. Amongst the gruffalo's features are terrible claws, a poisonous wart on the end of his nose, and purple prickles on his back. When each animal is sufficiently scared, the mouse says what the gruffalo's favourite food is. It is not always the same, according to mouse: to fox he says it is roasted fox, to owl he says owl ice cream, and to snake he says scrambled snake. Each time this produces the desired effect of making the animal in question flee and leave little mouse alone.

As mouse continues his stroll, however, he comes face to face with the gruffalo! He is initially panic stricken, but when the gruffalo says the mouse is his favourite food, it doesn't take our tiny hero long to come up with a plan. He tells the gruffalo that everyone is terrified of mouse, and that he can prove it if the gruffalo would care to walk behind him through the wood. The gruffalo, apparently not the brightest creature, is completely taken in and follows mouse back through the wood. When they encounter snake, owl and fox, each one is alarmed by the sight of the gruffalo and disappears in a flash. The gruffalo is convinced that they are afraid of mouse. When mouse eventually announces that his favourite food is gruffalo crumble, the gruffalo cannot get away fast enough. Mouse is all by himself in the wood, having escaped his enemies, and he finds a great big nut to eat.

The charm of 'The Gruffalo' is not just in the story itself but in the delightful verse that Julia Donaldson has used as a means of imparting it to her readers. Almost the entire tale unfolds in rhyming couplets with a strong rhythm that is particularly well suited to reading aloud. As well as alliteration, there is plenty of repetition of phrases used each time mouse meets a different animal. Young children will find it easy to join in here and there as they get used to hearing the same line every so often. The font is very clear; although there is some use of italics, most of the text is printed on a white background to allow for easy reading. There are just a couple of instances where the text is on a yellow-orange background.

Axel Scheffler has provided wonderful illustrations for the story. There are several double-page spreads, including the one where an astonished mouse encounters the fearsome gruffalo, and three full-page pictures. The remaining pages have smaller illustrations, but all are in full colour. Young children will find the expressions of the animals delightful. As well as the main characters, there are a woodpecker, a kingfisher, a frog, a squirrel, a dragonfly and others to look out for.

'The Gruffalo' is intended mainly as a read-aloud picture book for children of three upwards, but could also be suitable for young independent readers. The vocabulary is varied but not too challenging, and the repeated phrases will encourage those who still lack confidence. Although the gruffalo is a large, scary animal, Scheffler depicts him in such an appealing way that young children are unlikely to be genuinely frightened by him. It might, even so, be advisable to read this during daylight hours rather than introducing it as a bedtime story.

Julia Donald has created a masterpiece of a story in 'The Gruffalo', and the book was winner of the Smarties Book Prize Gold Award for children aged 0-5 in 1999. Axel Scheffler has obviously played an important part in the success of this picture book as well. 'The Gruffalo' is a must in any household with young children, as it is likely to appeal equally well to boys and girls. Preschool classrooms are sure to have a copy for reading aloud as well as to provide inspiration for drama sessions. Highly recommended.

The Gruffalo

Julia Donaldson (author), Axel Scheffler (illustrator)

Macmillan 1999

Paperback, 32 pages

ISBN 0333710932

Price £5.99 (Amazon £3.59)

Where the Wild Things are - Maurice Sendak

'Where the Wild Things are', written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak, must be one of the most popular picture books of the last fifty years. Winner of the Caldecott Medal for the Most Distinguished Picture Book of the Year in 1964, it doesn't seem dated at all forty-five years later and maintains its appeal to children of a wide age range.

Max, not a big boy by any means, dresses up in his white wolf suit and gets into so much mischief that he is sent to bed with nothing to eat. First a forest grows in his bedroom, and then an ocean appears with a private boat for Max to sail in. After a year he comes to the place where the wild things are. Unabashed by their roaring, gnashing of teeth and showing of claws, he tames them and becomes their king. Having had fun with them, he sends them to bed without any supper. Max then realises how lonely and hungry he is and insists on sailing home. Back in his room after another long journey, he finds his supper there, ready and waiting for him.

Does Max fall asleep for a while and dream about the wild things? Or does his imagination simply run riot? Whatever the answer may be, almost every child can identify with Max. The urge to dress up and be naughty, the defiance on being sent to bed without supper: Max will arouse sympathy. He becomes a hero when he shows no fear on encountering the wild things and is crowned as their king. He is then the all-powerful one who can send them to bed hungry. What a position to be in. Or is it? He is a little boy after all, and adventure is a wonderful thing but when it's over he wants the comforts of home. It's all so reassuring; you can go home when you're ready and food will be there.

Maurice Sendak's illustrations for 'Where the Wild Things are' make a huge contribution to the book. Before the story begins, the title page shows a valiant Max chasing two wild things that are much bigger than him. One of them has a stripy jumper, scaly legs, long claws, a ridiculously long tail, and horns. The jumper just takes the edge off his potential to scare. Max is seen sailing the ocean and encountering a sea dragon, dancing in the moonlight, hanging from a tree alongside the wild things. Colours are muted pinks, browns, yellows, greens and blues. The brightest thing is Max's sailing boat with its red hull and yellow sails. Many of the pictures feature painstaking cross-hatching, including the entire double-page spread of jungle flowers at the beginning and end of the book.

The design of the book as regards the balance of text and illustrations is particularly fascinating. On the first eight double pages, the text appears on a white background on the left-hand side whilst the picture is on the right. The first picture takes up less than half a page, but the size of the illustrations increases gradually until on the eighth page it covers the whole of the right-hand side as well as about a third of the left-hand side. On the following three double pages, the picture spreads right across the width and the white border at the bottom becomes narrower and narrower. The text appears in this border on both sides of the page. There are then three double pages that consist entirely of illustrations that show Max and the wild things enjoying their rumpus. These present an ideal opportunity for the child that has been listening thus far to fill in this part of the story or talk about it to the adult who has been reading. The last few pages of the book reverse the process of the first section, until we have a white page with text on the left and a whole-page picture on the right. The final page of the story has just a half sentence of text and no picture at all, as if to finish on a teasing note.

'Where the Wild Things are' is a wonderful story to read aloud to children from the age of three upwards, and by the time children are able to read themselves it is likely that they will still have an interest in this book. The fact that the text is printed throughout on a white background in a bold font makes it very clear to see. There are never more than three lines of text per page, so a young reader will not be discouraged by large blocks of text. There are, however, some extremely long sentences that run from one page over to the next.

Maurice Sendak's story can also lend itself readily as a resource for drama sessions with groups of young children. They will delight in pretending to be wild things that roar, roll their eyes and show their frightening claws. They can bow to Max, dance and play with him, then try to scare him again as he prepares to sail home.

Children who enjoyed this book when it was first published in 1963 have no doubt taken pleasure in reading it again to their own children, and perhaps even one or two grandchildren by now. The combination of fantasy, adventure, mischief and finally seeking home comforts have made 'Where the Wild Things are' a classic picture book that is likely to remain a favourite for many generations yet to come.

Where the Wild Things are

Maurice Sendak (Author, Illustrator)

Paperback, 48 pages

Red Fox, 2000

ISBN 9780099408390

Price £5.99 (Amazon £4.49)

Splat the Cat - Rob Scotton

Splat the Cat wakes up early on his first day at Cat School. He is worried about starting school and makes all sorts of excuses for not going: he's having a bad hair day, or the gate won't let go of his fingers. Mum, however, has an answer for everything, so he makes sure he has his pet mouse, Seymour, in his lunch box for company, and off they go.

Arriving at school, Splat is welcomed by his teacher, the buxom Mrs Wimpydimple, another feline of course. The other cats in the class (who all seem to be grey whilst Splat is black) give Splat a friendly welcome. Mrs Wimpydimple begins her lesson about cats – what else? - on the blackboard. When she mentions that cats chase mice, however, Splat wants to know why but doesn't let on that he has a pet one in his lunch box. Splat asks why so many times that Mrs Wimpydimple sighs and announces that it is time for lunch.

When Splat opens his lunch box and his classmates notice Seymour, they immediately start to chase the poor mouse. Seymour frightens them by hiding behind a glass bottle that magnifies his face and makes him look like a monster. They flee, Seymour chases them, and they all knock poor Splat flat on his back. To calm them down Mrs Wimpydimple declares that it is milk time, but she cannot open the milk cupboard. Seymour saves the day when he finds a tiny hole through which to enter the cupboard and is able to open the door from inside. His skill and resourcefulness prompt Mrs Wimpydimple to write on the board 'Cats don't chase mice', which rouses a cheer from the class.

Mum comes to take Splat home and on the way he tells her that he has made lots of friends. The following morning when he wakes up his tail is wiggling with excitement rather than the worry of the previous morning.

Rob Scotton, of 'Russell the Sheep' fame, has created another character and story full of delight and humour in 'Splat the Cat'. Whilst not being the first book on the trauma of starting school, this is an original take on the idea. The cats behave like typical cats in some ways, but Scotton depicts them as people who wear clothes, ride bikes and walk on two legs. Strangely enough, Splat himself doesn't wear anything, except that he has a small red helmet when he is on his bike.

Scotton's illustrations are charming. Splat has a lovely furry body and head but his legs are like matchsticks and his tail is extremely long and wiggly. We see his classmates welcoming him with big grins, some with missing teeth, some wearing glasses, and one hugging a Russell the Sheep toy. There are lots of little amusing details, such as a notice attached to a drainpipe that states 'Strictly no dogs', and many others that do not require any reading. My only criticism would be that not many bright colours have been used; there is rather too much grey, and even the clothes of the cat pupils are mostly dull turquoises, greens and mauves.

The font used for the text is large and clear. It usually appears on a white background other than a few pages where it is superimposed on a light grey area of an illustration. Sometimes a very large font is used for one or two words, for instance when the cats all shout “Mouse!” or “Hurray!” The amount of text on each page is never so much that a young child will get bored and want to turn over too soon.

This is of course an ideal book for a four-year-old who is approaching the time to start school, as the story is intended to make children feel that school is a place to have fun and make friends rather than a place to cause worry. Because of the humour, however, a three-year-old could also get a lot of enjoyment from 'Splat the Cat', and I'm sure a five-year-old would not find it too babyish. A young independent reader with some degree of confidence might enjoy reading the book alone; the illustrations will provide encouragement as well as clues to what is going on.

The story itself may not be wildly exciting, but I would recommend 'Splat the Cat' as an entertaining read-aloud book. The humour and illustrations make it a book that most young children would enjoy listening to and looking at again and again. I borrowed a copy from the library, but Amazon's price of £3.69 could make this well worth buying.

Splat the Cat

By Rob Scotton

Paperback, 32 pages

Harper Collins, 2008

ISBN 9780007284542

Price £5.99 (Amazon £3.69)