Rhyme Crime by Jon Burgerman
Sometimes books for sharing need to be calm and gentle, soporific even, to lure little ones under the duvet and off to sleep. And sometimes books need to be utterly zany, full of bright colours, daft doodle-style illustrations and crazy rhymes for the child to shout out loud. Please, dear parent, do not try to read this wonderful book to your offspring within an hour or two of lights out. Seriously, be warned - You Will Regret It.
| Rhyme Crime by Jon Burgerman | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Linda Lawlor
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| Summary: Silly rhymes and even sillier drawings will make this a favourite with anyone who likes to giggle. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: August 2017 |
| Publisher: OUP Oxford | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9780192749505 | |
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The premise is anarchic, simple, and thoroughly loopy. There's a thief in town, and he's stealing all manner of things, from hats to brains. But he's not your average crook: this one replaces what he steals with something quite different, but which rhymes with the first item. Eventually he gets his come-uppance (in a very clever way) but is that the end of the story?
In each case, readers will have to turn the page to discover the rhyming word, and little ones will have lots of fun guessing the word, or trying to come up with even more extravagant suggestions. Because the pictures are simple, with little or no background to distract, the youngest member of the family will have no trouble in browsing the book by themselves and naming the items well before they can read the words.
The word-play and rhyming in this hilarious tale, together with the highly coloured and eccentric illustrations, will provoke giggles and possibly even guffaws, but some of the humour will be over the head of the youngest toddlers. In fact, a couple of the jokes and asides are funny enough to have adults laughing (or groaning) too. You may well find yourself having another sneaky look at the book once the sprogs are safely in bed: it really is that attractive. And you won't be alone: according to his bio, there are several pieces by Mr Burgerman in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London!
If you enjoy this, you'll probably love Jon Burgerman's first book V too. Its humour is based on the somewhat unusual idea that when you close a book, what's on one page splats all over the opposite one, which means the hero has a very, very sticky day. And if these have given you a taste for quirky picture books, try Hairy Maclary by Lynley Dodd, Grrrrr! by Rob Biddulph and, of course, one you may remember from your own younger days, The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss. It's a classic for a reason, after all!
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You can read more book reviews or buy Rhyme Crime by Jon Burgerman 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 Rhyme Crime by Jon Burgerman at Amazon.com.
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