Charlie Cook's Favourite Book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
| Charlie Cook's Favourite Book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Rachael Spencer
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| Summary: Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler demonstrate fabulous story telling and illustrations in the tenth anniversary edition of this, the perfect bedtime story book. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: January 2015 |
| Publisher: Macmillan | |
| ISBN: 9781447276784 | |
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As a parent, you’re always in search of it. That one, elusive thing; the perfect bedtime story. Well, in Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book, I think we quite possibly have it. This ten year anniversary edition of the book will hopefully bring it to slightly wider attention than some of Donaldson’s more well known titles, as it is a completely charming and timeless book.
This story takes the form of a book within a book and runs with it with great fervour. It is the story of Charlie Cook who is sitting in a cosy chair and reading his favourite book. We find out what’s happening inside his favourite book, and the one after that and the one after that. This creates a perfectly lovely whistle-stop tour of lots of different stories and worlds, all going on from the confines of Charlie’s cosy chair. It’s basically a tour of wonderful bedtime stories, interlinked expertly in a melodic way which really makes this book a joy to read, and to listen too.
This particular edition isn’t just a new, spangly front cover, it also has a couple of very nice extras. A long forward from Julia Donaldson which talks about various aspects about writing the book. It also has some wonderful drafts of the illustrations which came to be the final images in the book. These come together to give a good reason to buy this particular edition of the book, making it just that little bit more special to own.
As I already said, I think this really is a perfect bedtime story. Its calming, relaxing pace alongside the material covered mean that it is definitely best read in bed, under a duvet, exploring so many possible adventures. What make it so enthralling are the different worlds it manages to explore whilst still feeling like one cohesive book. Its different sections draw you deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole until you find yourself back where you started, and that I think is a masterclass in picture book writing.
This is just another example of how Donaldson and Scheffler work together to create complete joy in storytelling for young children, and this may be one of my favourites that they have ever produced. I hope this edition helps a little more to make it a classic which endures for many, many years to come.
If you're new to Donaldson and Scheffler's work, then what are you waiting for? Try The Gruffalo and The Smartest Giant in Town to get yourself started. For more from Donalson and Scheffler try Zog by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Charlie Cook's Favourite Book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler 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 Charlie Cook's Favourite Book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler at Amazon.com.
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