The Disgusting Sandwich by Gareth Edwards and Hannah Shaw

The Disgusting Sandwich by Gareth Edwards and Hannah Shaw
Buy The Disgusting Sandwich by Gareth Edwards and Hannah Shaw at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Ruth Ng
Summary: Silliness all the way through - deliciously disgusting, great for sharing with your gross little monsters!
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: March 2013
Publisher: Alison Green Books
ISBN: 978-1407131450
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What do you do if your sandwich falls on the floor? Do you have a three second rule? Does it depend on how good a sandwich it is?! I stopped worrying so much when my daughter began to crawl and one day, in a cafe in town, I discovered her under someone else's table eating crumbs and fluff and goodness knows what off the floor there, with no adverse effects thank goodness! Here in this story Badger, poor Badger, is very, very hungry. He spots a delicious looking sandwich, peanut butter on fresh white bread. But the little boy holding the sandwich accidentally drops it in the sandpit. A little girl sees and she says you can't eat it now. It's disgusting. What about badger though? Does he still want to eat it?

Badger doesn't seem put off by a bit of sand, and he sets off to try and get the sandwich but unfortunately a squirrel gets there first and takes it up into the tree to her family. Her squirrel children aren't very good at sharing though, and the sandwich falls down and into the pond. The mother squirrel looks down and says well...we can't eat it now. It's disgusting. Those of you paying attention might have guessed that this will now be the pattern of the story and indeed the sandwich just gets more and more disgusting as the day goes on until finally it is covered in sand and goop and ants and feathers and slime and slugs! Ugh! But when Badger finally gets his hands on it will he eat it at last, or is it too disgusting even for him?!

Stories with that element of repetition always go down well with toddlers. They like the anticipation and expectation I think, and will merrily join in with the cry of 'it's disgusting' as you read! This is a silly tale that's well written and works perfectly with the funny illustrations. Badger is endearing, and it's fun to watch him struggling to get to the sandwich, just missing out each time thanks to slipping on a banana skin, or being hit in the head by a tennis ball! His expressions are brilliant, and all the other animals too are fun to look at. I like that Badger is wearing a jaunty neckerchief, and also that the frog has yellow wellies on! There's plenty to look at on each page with lots going on in the park, and of course we get to see the sandwich becoming more and more disgusting!

The end is funny, and unexpected. Look away now if you want to maintain the element of surprise! Badger, once he has the sandwich, eats the slugs - he discards the sandwich because of course, by then it was too disgusting! Small children will enjoy the speculation about whether they'd eat the sandwich with sand on, or after being dropped in a pond, as well as seeing the sandwich become increasingly revolting. It's certainly a book you can return to repeatedly and I enjoyed it myself so it withstands that re-read test. Fun to share, a delightfully yucky bedtime treat!

For more disgusting delights try Whiffy Wilson by Caryl Hart and Leonie Lord or Peek-a-Poo - What's In Your Nappy? by Guido van Genechten. We think you might also enjoy Edwards' Never ask a Dinosaur to Dinner by Gareth Edwards.

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You can read more book reviews or buy The Disgusting Sandwich by Gareth Edwards and Hannah Shaw at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Disgusting Sandwich by Gareth Edwards and Hannah Shaw at Amazon.com.

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