Newest For Sharing Reviews

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The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

For Sharing

A child's imagination can be a powerful tool, so their imaginary friend could be absolutely anything. How about a giant panda or an octopus that likes to build sandcastles? But what of those forgotten creatures; if an imaginary friend sits in the dark and no one thinks about them, do they exist? An audacious animal may just buck up the courage to stop waiting around for someone to imagine them and instead seek out their friend. Full review...

We're in the Wrong Book! by Richard Byrne

For Sharing

Rarely do you read a book written for adults that breaks the fourth wall, but not a month goes past that I don't stumble across a children's book that has characters talking to the reader, or jumping from book to book. Done well, the idea of leaping from genre to genre within the refines of the same text is a great way of introducing youngsters to different types of reading material. Done averagely and it feels more like an author ticking off that pesky fourth wall breaking book for their resume. Full review...

Cat's Colours by Airlie Anderson

For Sharing

Great Britain can feel like a grey country sometimes, especially on a cold winter's day when the fog is thick in the air. You can barely see your own hand in front of you, never mind the fertile landscape. Bringing a little colour into a grey world is like bringing a little joy in, so perhaps you can find a little happiness following Cat as she looks for some colour? You may even discover a wonderful surprise at the end of the adventure. Full review...

The Lion Inside by Rachel Bright and Jim Field

For Sharing

Books about scary beasts that turn out to be not so scary are immensely popular, and I blame Disney for how much of a hit this one is sure to be. The reason is sitting quietly on top of a rock on page five. Why, hello Mr Lion. Full review...

Peekaboo 1 2 3 by Gareth Lucas

For Sharing

We're waiting for the start of the Animal Antics race and everyone (well nearly everyone, but more of that later) is wondering who is going to win. At the moment is looks as though the lineup is a crab and two mice, but more - lots more - entrants are hidden behind the flaps. Lift the first flap and there's 'One polar bear on a pogo stick'. Under the second we have 'two turkeys on a tandem'. At number three there are 'three gorillas in a gondola'. You're probably getting the idea by now! The crab and the mice are still running, but they're not going to have a chance as we move through the numbers individually up to twenty and then in tens up to fifty, and then a giant leap to a hundred - with the way the entrants are travelling getting more and more outrageous by the minute. Full review...

Where's the Starfish? by Barroux

For Sharing

There's a whale. A large whale. And there's a lot of fish. A lot of fish. They're there in every shape and size you can imagine and in amongst them are the Starfish, the Jellyfish and the Clownfish. On the first page it's actually quite difficult to find those three in amongst all the others, but if you persist you will find them. It will still be quite difficult on the following page, but there's a little something creeping in that's not quite so pleasant. There's an empty plastic bottle and an old tin can. Actually, the fish are quite interested. It's a little easier to spot our three fish on the next page, because there isn't quite so much space. The rubbish has grown, you see. Full review...

Tidy by Emily Gravett

For Sharing

Pete the badger likes tidy. He does it very well. Well, perhaps it's a little bit too well. He's not content with checking all the flowers in the woodland and removing any which didn't quite match, he insists on brushing fox to remove all the brambles and burrs. I'm not certain that using a hedgehog to do this is really a good idea, but Pete seems to find it effective. All the birds have to be bathed, and their beaks clean and even the rocks are scoured and scrubbed. Leaves are a major problem: just think about all that sweeping up and all the bin bags of leaves which have to be stored. There is an obvious solution. Full review...

Pass It On by Sophy Henn

For Sharing

A small girl wakes up one morning, yawns in the morning sun and then bounces through the day finding joy in everyday situations and encouraging those around her to enjoy them too. Even on gloomy grey days she has the happy knack of finding something to smile about. This is most definitely a glass half full little person. By the end of book the reader probably will be too! Full review...

Mr Men Adventure with Dinosaurs by Roger Hargreaves

For Sharing

The Mr Men and Little Misses are branching out. No longer content with simple stories focussing on just one character, they're getting together with their friends for bigger and bolder adventures. Of course it would be Little Miss Curious who, in a curious way, finds the footprint to begin with. She turns to Mr Clever to find out what it is and, being clever, he tells her immediately: it belongs to a dinosaur. How exciting! The pair, along with some friends, set out to find the dinos. Full review...

Now We Are Six by A A Milne and E H Shepard

Children's Rhymes and Verse

We can see the signs in The House at Pooh Corner that Christopher Robin is growing up and now he has school work to do. But he's a lucky little boy as he has Winnie the Pooh to help him. Or is he lucky, given that Winnie is also known as 'the Bear of very little brain'? Actually, Pooh has a message for us in the introduction: he says that he walked through the book one day, looking for his friend Piglet, and sat down on some of the pages by mistake. He hopes that we won't mind. Full review...

Supermarket Gremlins by Adam Guillain, Charlotte Guillain and Chris Chatterton

For Sharing

Have you ever wandered down the aisle at your local Super Marché and found some frozen peas in the bread section, or a lonely carrot hanging out with the cereal. What can be the cause of all the mistakes, spills and wobbly wheels that plague every superstore known to man, women and child? Incompetent staff and lazy customers dumping stock? Nope, these problems are all caused by the sneaky Gremlins who lurk in every shop. Full review...

The House at Pooh Corner by A A Milne and E H Shepard

For Sharing

The title of the book comes from the first story, in which Winnie and Piglet build a house at Pooh corner for Eeyore, but perhaps the most famous story in this second book is at chapter six, when the game of Pooh Sticks is invented. We also meet Tigger for the first time and as with the first book Winnie-the-Pooh each chapter is a short story in its own right, except for chapters eight and nine which have a degree of continuity as Owl's house is blown down in chapter eight and a new one is found for him at the Wolery in chapter nine. It's still not overly long even if you end up reading both as a bedtime story! Full review...

Pets A Slide and Play Book by Surya Sajnani

For Sharing

Pets is two in one, a book and a game, and for little ones who can't or won't sit still long enough for a full story, it's a great way to introduce books while keeping it fun. Full review...

Little Home Bird by Jo Empson

For Sharing

Little bird loves everything about his home. All his favourite things are there or very nearby; his favourite branch, his favourite view and his favourite music too. All is happy in his little world until autumn draws near and his older brother tells him that they do in fact have two homes and the time has come to travel far to the south to move to their second home. Little bird is saddened by this news and knows that he will miss all his special, favourite things. Then little bird has a good idea! He will take his favourite things with him and then wherever he goes it will always feel like home. So we accompany little bird on his long journey and discover how he finds happiness in his new home in ways he had not expected. Full review...

Dozy Bear and the Secret of Sleep by Katie Blackburn and Richard Smythe

For Sharing

There's nothing worse than sleep deprivation. I remember when my daughter was just a few months old and I was getting up with her four or five times a night I would sometimes find myself shopping in Tesco with absolutely no recollection of how I got there (or quite what I was shopping for). Sadly, this won't help with those squawky newborns, but once your little one gets a bit older this is certainly worth a try, especially if your bedtime routine tends to resemble feeding time at the zoo! Full review...

Mog and the Baby and Other Stories by Judith Kerr

For Sharing

I've never been a fan of cats. I'm more of a dog person. Mog, however, has weaseled her way into my heart, and although I certainly wouldn't want her as a pet in my house, we love reading her stories. This collection of Mog and the Baby, Mog's Bad Thing, and Mog on Fox Night is perfect for a nice afternoon bumper storytime together with your little one, or you can just read them one by one over three nights. Full review...

Strictly No Crocs by Heather Pindar and Susan Batori

For Sharing

You can’t go wrong with a good crocodile story. Not that these crocodiles are good, oh no, after being banned from attending Zebra’s party they have grand plans to sneak in and eat everyone there! Once they are secretly dressed up as a leopard, a parrot and a bee (!) their plans don’t go quite as they’d wished… Full review...

Dylan's Amazing Dinosaurs - The Triceratops by E T Harper and Dan Taylor

For Sharing

Imagination is one thing; what wonderful adventures you could have should you be able to travel to the distant past and walk amongst the dinosaurs. Reality is different; running around in bone shaking terror as various man-eating dinos crave your flesh. This has not stopped Dylan embarking on another amazing adventure – will he survive a velociraptor attack and why does he keep doing back? Full review...

My First Mr Men 123 by Roger Hargreaves

For Sharing

As first books go, board books are good because they withstand a bit of biting, a bit of dribbling, a bit of roughness induced by not quite there yet hand-eye coordination. And as topics go, counting is great when you're trying to teach the skill and just need repetition. Plus it doesn't require the focus of attention that a proper story might. So a board book for counting? Perfect. Full review...

Quick Quack Quentin by Kes Gray and Jim Field

For Sharing

Quentin is a very downhearted duck because his quack is too quick. In fact all he can manage is a Quck. This will never do, so Quentin visits his local doctor to see if there is anything he can give him to make things better. Sadly, although the Doctor is swiftly able to diagnose Quentin's problem, he cannot provide what he needs. Quentin really needs an A so waddles off on search of one. On his journey he visits a succession of animals who, whilst being sympathetic to his plight and helpful in their own way, only manage to subtly change his problem rather than solve it. Therefore, poor Quentin's quest for the missing vowel continues. Full review...

We Are Not FROGS! by Michael Morpurgo and Sam Usher

Dyslexia Friendly

After the storm the frogs and the toads all came out onto the lawn to play long jump. This was the frogs' choice as they could jump further and the toads just wanted an easy life. But - through a series of unfortunate incidents involving lorries, dogs, children, a cart and an ice cream container, first the toads ended up in the ice cream container and after they sold the frogs down the river in exchange for being put into a muddy ditch, the frogs - all twenty two of them - were in the same prison and it was only thanks to Mutt the dog that they escaped. Full review...

Beep Beep Beep Time for Sleep by Claire Freedman and Richard Smythe

For Sharing

Bedtime books are a great way of winding a toddler down before they go to sleep, but haven't they all been done before? Coming up with something a little different that encourages a child to nod off is not always easy and new ideas can be a little bizarre when you think about it. Do bulldozers really need to doze off at the end of the night? At least we will have fun listening to all the machinery as it goes off to bed. Full review...

Winnie-the-Pooh by A A Milne and E H Shepard

Confident Readers

Is there anyone who doesn't know about Winnie-the-Pooh? You might know him as Pooh Bear and even if you haven't read the stories you'll know about playing Pooh Sticks or The Bear of Very Little Brain. This first book about the bear, originally published in 1926, has been translated into numerous language, including Latin - and that edition featured on the New York Times bestseller list. It's difficult to believe that Pooh will be ninety in October 2016, not least because he's ageless and the books which feature him are not in the least dated. Full review...

Blue and Bertie by Kristyna Litten

For Sharing

Bertie is a creature of habit. Every day is predictable but Bertie likes the certainty of the routine. I know how he feels. One day, though, something happens. He oversleeps and when he wakes up the others are gone and he is all alone. Although he still ventures out, he gets a little lost and is soon quite upset. Enter Blue who is just like him but oh so different too. Full review...

Mungo Monkey to the Rescue by Lydia Monks

For Sharing

Fans of lift the flap books may have come across Mongo Monkey before as he has a series of adventures that always seem to entail lifting up some things and flapping others. The interaction in the books is very enjoyable, but sometimes it feels like you are just following a monkey and his family around on a normal day. Couldn't creator Lydia Monks combine this touch and feel element with a story that actually goes somewhere? Perhaps Mungo's day out with his Dad will be key. Full review...

I Love You Already by Jory John and Benji Davies

For Sharing

You may have met Bear and Duck before; one is a recluse who just wants to go to sleep, whilst the other is full of energy and just wants to play. The friction between the two may have been resolved by the end of Goodnight Already by Jory John and Benji Davies, but that does not stop Duck from wondering if Bear really likes him or not. Do our best friends really have to tell us they love us, or should we just assume by their actions that they do? Full review...

Little Why by Jonny Lambert

For Sharing

Many of us have felt the pain of insistent question asking from the back of the car; are we there yet or why is the sky blue? In 2016 we can attach our children to multimedia devices so that they learn all they need to know from the Matrix whilst we get on with driving. However, curious young minds will keep asking questions. Sometimes it is better to give them an answer, rather than just telling later. Full review...

I Am Bear by Ben Bailey Smith and Sav Akyuz

For Sharing

The first time we meet Bear he is bare! Imagine – a naked animal, in the forest with his bottom on display. Squirrel is so shocked he's dropped his nuts. Ooh matron. Full review...

Little One by Jo Weaver

For Sharing

There is a subtle balance needed when finding a book to read to a toddler; one that takes into account the needs of the child, but perhaps also the needs of the adult. Do you really want to be stuck reading an ugly book about a pair of underpants for several months? (Oops we seem to have lost that book!) However, a book with striking visuals that strikes a chord with a parent may not always chime with a child. Is a children's book always meant to be just for kids? Full review...

I Love You More and More by Nicky Benson and Jonny Lambert

For Sharing

I'm something of a connoisseur when it comes to books about bears. I suppose it probably started with Winnie the Pooh, and my dad doing all the funny voices, but even these days I find I am irresistibly drawn to stories with bears in, and this one did not disappoint. If you're looking for a good old pull-at-the-heartstrings read for cozy afternoons with your momentarily quiet little one, then this is a good place to start. Full review...

Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman and Zachariah OHora

For Sharing

It may be that you are on the lookout for a useful picture book that deals with sibling rivalry in a helpful way. It may be that you have a wolf or rabbit obsessed toddler. Or it may just be that you like a good story that's fun to read. Fortunately for you, this book will cover all of those requirements! Wolfie the bunny arrives in the Bunny family's lives in a rather suspicious way, when he is left on their doorstep in a basket. Mama and Papa Bunny are immediately charmed by their new baby, but big sister Dot remains alarmed, shouting out 'He's going to eat us all up!' but receiving no response from her smitten parents! Full review...

Ralf by Jean Jullien

For Sharing

I'm rather partial to sausage dogs. I met one in Japan once who I would quite happily have tucked into my suitcase to sneak back home. Ralf the sausage dog is just as endearing as these pups usually are, although he is also just as troublesome. For a little dog, he manages to take up quite a lot of space, make a lot of noise, and generally make a nuisance of himself (as most dogs do really). Yet when suddenly the family find themselves in great danger, it is Ralf who saves the day! Full review...

Odd Socks by Michelle Robinson and Rebecca Ashdown

For Sharing

Socks, eh? They never used to trouble me, and would return from the washing machine in pairs, just as they had entered. I never fully understood the whole Land-of-missing-socks thing. Suki and Sosh are Mr and Mrs Sock, a matching pair who live happily together in the sock drawer. They too have never visited the Land-of-missing-socks. See? It's not just me. But something even worse is about to happen to tear this couple apart. Something quite horrible: Suki has a hole. Full review...