Are We Nearly There Yet? by Katherine Lodge

Are We Nearly There Yet? by Katherine Lodge
Buy Are We Nearly There Yet? by Katherine Lodge at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Kerry King
Summary: A joyful, clever little 'peep-thru' book, packed with cars, boats, trains, buses and planes. Every kind of travel for your little one and wonderful wee finger puppets to boot!
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 12	Date: October 2008
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing plc
ISBN: 978-0747594789
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The Seriously Cute brand is a new addition to the children's books stable and a very, very welcome one.

Are We Nearly There Yet? is a wonderfully tactile board book with five finger puppet characters and cut through pages that reveal ingeniously placed illustrations on the pages both before and after.

The story itself is a series of trips made by the characters on their journey to visit their friend using various modes of transport, and details the vehicles they are travelling in and the sounds that those vehicles make. It's rhythmically written in short bursts and the cut-outs (through which you put your be-puppeted finger) make the experience both exciting and completely different for each reading. For my money, I think this makes the book just about the best value you can find as each time you re-read the story, the scenery seems to change because of the potential for variation using the puppet characters. It's like putting on a show, rather than reading a story and this takes the anticipation factor onto a different level.

'Are you ready?' said Otto
'Absolutely!' cried Chip and Missy 'Let's go!'

The illustrations (done, I believe, by the author herself) are robust, detailed and captivatingly drawn. Actually, the drawings look bouncy – this was the word that sprang to mind when I saw the book - and the use of such vibrant colour is quite simply marvellous; bright reds, yellows, greens and blues that lure the eye and seize the imagination of the reader. The cherry on the cake is most definitely the sounds of the vehicles - they make for a very engaging read aloud!

'All aboard!' cried the Captain.
And they set sail. Toot, toot!

Are We Nearly There Yet? is aimed at the 1-3 year-old books-for-sharing market as performing with the puppets and turning the pages could prove tricky for small hands and little fingers. That said, it will probably be a firm favourite in the nursery for the early reader as the text is clear and concise with small, manageable words with the occasional 'big' one thrown in to challenge an enquiring mind.

We had lots of fun reading this book and I am sure you will too.

If Are We Nearly There Yet? sounds like your little one's kind of book, you will certainly enjoy The Beginner's Guide to Bears by Gillian Shields and Sebastien Braun – the illustrations are divine. Similarly, Miaow! by Mick Inkpen or any of Jez Alborough's Duck books (Fix-It Duck and Ssssh! Duck Don't Wake the Baby even if only for the pop-up surprise at the end) are likely to please and entertain your little ones again and again.

We would very much like to thank the publishers for sending this volume to The Bookbag for review.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Are We Nearly There Yet? by Katherine Lodge 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 Are We Nearly There Yet? by Katherine Lodge at Amazon.com.

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