Kipper's Beach Ball by Mick Inkpen

Kipper's Beach Ball by Mick Inkpen
Buy Kipper's Beach Ball by Mick Inkpen at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Zoe Page
Summary: Fun at the beach until the weather intervenes. A typical British summer, then!
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: July 2015
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1444924022
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It's play time at the beach for Kipper and Tiger in this magical book about living in the moment because it might be over before you know it. There are some characters you are just supposed to know. Think Paddington by Michael Bond or The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss. I hadn't realised Kipper was on the list but the reaction when I pulled this one out in the office told me otherwise. Oh I LOVE Kipper came at me from more than one direction. It was a good start as I hadn't come across the little chap before. And it's always nice when a group of 20 somethings reflect fondly on childhood memories that are still so strong all these years later.

I wasn't misled. Kipper's Beach Ball is a lovely, summertime read. It starts with something that harks back to my memories of childhood, of a toy coming free inside a cereal box. What a wonderful treat that always was! Not knowing what you might get, but hoping to collect the whole set. That's not the only twinge of nostalgia that emerges from the pages, either, and as someone who grew up at the seaside I loved seeing the sandcastles with little retro flags in the top.

When Kipper gets a beach ball, the first challenge is to work out how to inflate it, but once that's done it's time to play. The wind and sea may have other ideas, blowing the ball around, lifting it high out of their reach, but it's still fun until the poor thing deflates. Is that the end of Kipper and Tiger's fun?

I adored this book. Kipper is just the cutest little dog you ever did meet. I'm not known for being a dog person, but he could make me change my mind. Add in Tiger and you have a lovely pair of friends who have a happy life enjoying the simple things without any complications. I especially loved the ending because again that took me back to my childhood…and many mornings of eating up cereal I'd persuaded into the trolley just on the off chance of what we might find inside.

This book works for a good few years because the story and pictures are both simple and welcoming for toddlers, but the words and sentences are longer and could be a nice challenge for those learning to read by themselves. This is not one of those 5 words to a page picture books, and there's a clearly staged story with a beginning, an adventure, and a conclusion.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book, and it's perfect for this time of year when it could be a good preview for a day at the beach, or a lovely book to share together when you're back home after a good few hours playing on the sand. Every step of the story is identifiable, you can relate to all of it, and it's timeless so a great investment to pass down to future offspring or nieces or nephews. You couldn't not like Kipper, it's as simple as that. I'm his newest fan now, there's no doubt about it, and I'm sure I would recommend any of his other adventures.

Mick Inkpen has a lot of other books worth a look, while the ball theme continues in Kicking A Ball by Allan Ahlberg which is just lovely.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Kipper's Beach Ball by Mick Inkpen 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 Kipper's Beach Ball by Mick Inkpen at Amazon.com.

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