One Year With Kipper by Mick Inkpen

One Year With Kipper by Mick Inkpen
Buy One Year With Kipper by Mick Inkpen at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Summary: Kipper and Tiger photograph their way through the year linking the months with the weather and appropriate activities. It's fun, it's educational and it's recommended by The Bookbag.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: 20 Sep 2007
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
ISBN: 978-0340911419
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There can be few children (or parents for that matter) who are not familiar with the irrepressible Kipper and his friends, the brain children of author and illustrator Mick Inkpen. In the latest Kipper book we join him as he photographs his way through the year.

January is the time for New Year's Resolutions and Kipper decided that he wouldn't throw snowballs at Tiger. Miraculously he kept his promise until February - but then it snowed! That too was the month of the icicle which grew to 87cm long. In March Kipper gets a photo of Tiger being blown over amongst the daffodils on the hill. For the three- to five-year-old age group this book is a wonderful introduction to the calendar, the seasons of the year and even the weather, in a light-hearted, amusing way.

A double page spread is devoted to each month with just sufficient text to keep the story going:

By May there was blossom on the pavements, and three ducklings in the park.

One of them followed Tiger everywhere.

Quack! Quack! Click!

And there's the illustration of the duo kicking their way through the blossom, along with the snap that Kipper took of Tiger face to face with a rather bemused duckling. Tiger looks slightly uncertain too! The colours are subtle but clear and there's plenty to talk about on each page. It won't be long before any child is telling you which month comes next and what we can expect to be happening as the activities are all closely related to the time of year.

Each month Kipper takes another photograph and just before Christmas he gathers them together, but finds that he needs just one more to make up Tiger's present. It's snowing outside and when Kipper goes out with his camera Tiger demonstrates that he hasn't forgotten (or forgiven) that snowball in February! There's gentle rivalry between Kipper and Tiger and a feeling that they both have their own distinct personalities. Kipper is not always come the top dog!

The book is perfect for pre-schoolers or reception class children and would make a thoughtful Christmas present - the more so because it's relevant all year round. It's education with a smile on its face.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending this book to The Bookbag.

For more education with a smile we can recommend Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell. For another look at the seasons, check out The Growing Story by Ruth Krauss and Helen Oxenbury.

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You can read more book reviews or buy One Year With Kipper by Mick Inkpen at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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