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)

The Scallywags - David Melling

No, they're not naughty children: these Scallywags are a pack of wolves. We see all nine of them curving over the double-page spread of the frontispiece in a line. Brooz is pushing Jumble in a wheelbarrow, and they are followed by Earwax and YoYo, each holding onto the tail of the wolf in front with their teeth. Knits, along with her babies, knitting wool and needles has YoYo's tail in her hand while Scribble, behind her, has designs on the banana in Knits' hand. Scribble is followed by Hairball and then Grub, whilst poor Crumbs brings up the rear but is being dragged along the ground. They look friendly but capable of all sorts of mischief.

As the story begins, we see all the other animals: bears, pigs, geese, sheep, foxes, rabbits, meerkats and a moose. They are all lined up ready to have their photograph taken in the light of the full moon, and the photographer decides that he can wait no longer for the wolves or the special silver light will be gone. Turn the page, and the wolves crash in on the scene, sending all the other animals flying, along with the photographer. The following morning the animals are so angry that the wolves ruined the photo that they decide not to invite them to breakfast. They never liked the wolves' bad manners anyway. When the wolves realise they are no longer being asked along to meals, they try playing on their own but come to the conclusion that they need to learn good manners so that the other animals will like them.

After spying on the other animals to see how to do things properly and then practising hard at home, the Scallywags dress in their very best and go to have supper with the other animals. The trouble is, however, they are just too fussy, and the other animals wish they could have the fun-loving Scallywags back. As the full moon comes out the wolves become restless and return to their old ways, and the other animals can enjoy themselves so much more. The photographer even succeeds in getting his photo this time.

David Melling's picture books never fail to delight, in terms of story, characters and illustrations. The Scallywags is full of humour, as Earwax squashes a pea on Jumble's nose or decides to use a toothbrush to clean his ears. Every single page has colour illustrations showing animals wearing silly hats, having a bath on a balcony, or sitting upside-down on a car seat playing with a broken steering wheel. The caricatures are wonderful and the colours very varied but not too garish.

This is essentially a book to be read aloud to a child of perhaps three years old up to five or six. The font is quite large and well-spaced, with just a few lines of text on most pages. Sometimes the text is on a cream-coloured background, but on other pages the text is superimposed on a full-page illustration, on a turquoise or brown background. It is not always in straight lines; sometimes the line of text itself curves, and sometimes a single word, such as 'nipped' or 'popped', has letters that jiggle around. This adds to the fun but might be challenging for a young reader. The vocabulary is varied and would be interesting for a confident young reader to attempt, but words such as 'nincompoops' or 'delicious' will be tricky for children who are just beginning to learn to read independently. They will enjoy the book more when sharing it with an adult.

I have used 'The Scallywags' as a basis for a drama session with a group of four-year-olds. It is an ideal book for a largish group because there are so many characters. But there is also a huge amount of fun to be had while acting it out; most of the children wanted to be wolves, but a few of the quieter ones were glad to take the parts of the other animals. After reading or acting, it is interesting to talk about how it's a good idea to have some manners, but if you take things too far and criticise every little mistake your friends make, they might not enjoy your company so much.

I would say that 'The Scallywags' is a book that can appeal to boys or girls alike, and I'm sure most adults will enjoy reading it aloud and pointing out all the hilarious details in Melling's illustrations. I borrowed a copy from a library, but I think it is a book that will stand a few readings and therefore may be well worth buying.

The Scallywags

by David Melling

Hodder Children's Books, 2007

Paperback, 30 pages

ISBN 9780340884065

Price £5.99 (Amazon £4.49)