Watch out! Big Bro's Coming, by Jez Alborough

A little white mouse comes running to a frog to ask for help because Big Bro's coming: “He's rough, he's tough, and he's big.” The mouse stretches his arms out as wide as he can to show just how big, then he runs away to hide. The worried frog conveys the same information to a parrot before hopping off to hide as well. The parrot tells the story to a chimpanzee and stretches out his wings to show just how big Big Bro is, but of course his wing span is far greater than the span of the mouse or the frog's arms. By now it seems as though Big Bro really must be a fair size and a creature capable of striking fear in the heart of any other animal. The parrot flies off to hide in his turn, and the chimpanzee rushes to tell an elephant about Big Bro. The chimp can stretch out his arms even wider than the parrot's wings, so the elephant decides that there is good reason for them both to hide.

The animals are all huddled together and the elephant thinks one of them should creep out and have a look around. They are, however, all terrified, but the little mouse bravely offers to go. He soon rushes back, shrieking that Big Bro is on his way and that they must hide. The animals all cover their eyes in trepidation as they hear footsteps. When they finally discover that Big Bro is in fact a mouse, albeit a largish one, they comment on how tiny he is. Not wishing to be made to look a fool, Big Bro takes a deep breath and shouts “BOO!” which really makes the animals jump. The story ends with Big Bro marching his little brother off home while the others remark that he really is rough and tough.

Jez Alborough's “Watch out! Big Bro's Coming” is a simple but effective story that cleverly uses the idea of size and builds the tension up gradually for a young audience. This is a great book for talking about the various animals and how big they are, and how likely they are to be frightened of other creatures. There is plenty of humour and repetition to keep a young child's interest throughout the story.

The text is in a large, clear font that is superimposed on the illustrations, usually on a light blue background so there is no difficulty in deciphering it. On average there are about ten lines per double page, occasionally more but sometimes less. A two-year-old child might be impatient to turn over, but a slightly older child will enjoy taking in the illustrations while listening. A child who is gaining confidence in reading would probably not have too much difficulty tackling “Watch out! Big Bro's Coming”. Rough, tough and chimpanzee may not be the easiest words to read, but there is enough repetition of sentences throughout the book to making reading the story not too challenging.

Alborough illustrates his own picture books, and this one is particularly colourful and appealing. There is always a bright blue sky and plenty of greenery; while the mouse, chimpanzee and elephant are rather neutral colours, the parrot is a beautiful yellow, orange and red plumed bird and the frog is rich green and yellow. The animals usually have wide-eyed, open-mouthed, flabbergasted facial expressions that bring each illustration to life.

“Watch out! Big Bro's Coming” has proved to be one of the most popular picture books that I have successfully used as the basis for a drama session with a group of four-year-old children. Almost all children love pretending to be animals, making the appropriate noises and hopping or flapping their arms like wings. It is an ideal length, and the children enjoy hiding and whispering while waiting for Big Bro to arrive. The story obviously captured their imagine, as they were still saying “Big Bro's coming” during an outdoor play session after the drama. I had suggested that before they go off to school in September we might repeat some of their favourite dramas, and they said that this would definitely be one of their choices.

It is hard to go wrong with Jez Alborough, and if you and your young family have not yet become familiar with his picture books, “Watch out! Big Bro's Coming” would be an ideal one to start with. It is likely to appeal to both boys and girls from the age of two up to five or six. It's great fun for reading aloud, and I thoroughly recommend it.

Watch out! Big Bro's Coming

Jez Alborough

Paperback, 32 pages

Walker Books, 2005

ISBN 0744598346

Price £5.99 (Amazon £5.39)

Everyone is special

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.