The Terrible Plop by Ursula Dubosarsky and Andrew Joyner

The Terrible Plop by Ursula Dubosarsky and Andrew Joyner
Buy The Terrible Plop by Ursula Dubosarsky and Andrew Joyner at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Keith Dudhnath
Summary: A fun tale about fear of the unknown, scared little rabbits and a big grumpy bear. It may be going toe to toe with some of Bookbag's recent favourites, but The Terrible Plop holds its own nicely.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: January 2010
Publisher: Egmont
ISBN: 978-1405251372
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The rabbits are sitting by the lake, munching on cake and carrots. An apple falls in, with a terrible plop, and they scamper off scared. All the other animals join in the stampede and get as far away as they can from the terrible plop. Bear is far too big and grumpy to be scared, so he gets the littlest rabbit to show him just where the scariness lies...

The Terrible Plop is a fun little tale about fear of the unknown and getting the wrong end of the stick. I was reminded of both Jumpy Jack and Googily by Meg Rosoff and Sophie Blackall and The Dudgeon is Coming by Lynley Dodd. Although Plop doesn't quite live up to their giddy heights, it does sit comfortably alongside them and has an enjoyable voice of its own. It all rhymes nicely and flows well, building the tension and comedy, with a satisfying pay-off at the end. It'll get plenty of chuckles from the little 'uns, especially if you go the whole hog and give all the characters silly voices.

Andrew Joyner's illustrations fit nicely. At first, they seem direct and rather simple, but actually have a lot of character and charm to them. The rabbits are cute and the bear appropriately gruff. They accompany the story, rather than overwhelming it, and strike just the right tone.

The vocabulary is clear and simple, making it suitable for any young book fan. The strong rhymes throughout make it great for any child on the cusp of reading for themselves - they'll be able to guess words when they're not 100% sure. There's plenty of interest and amusement. Worth checking out.

My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.

Jumpy Jack and The Dudgeon are the obvious choices for further reading. If you like grumpy bears, A Visitor For Bear by Bonny Becker and Kady MacDonald Denton is great fun. Tappity-Tap! What Was That? by Claire Freedman and Russell Julian deals with fear too. You might also appreciate Never too Small by Zanib Mian and Laura Ewing Ferrer which deals with fear as a whole rather than just a particular fear. Slightly-older children might enjoy Dubosarsky's The Red Shoe.

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You can read more book reviews or buy The Terrible Plop by Ursula Dubosarsky and Andrew Joyner 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 Terrible Plop by Ursula Dubosarsky and Andrew Joyner at Amazon.com.

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