Fifi's Busy Day: I Can Read ("Fifi and the Flowertots")

Fifi's Busy Day: I Can Read ("Fifi and the Flowertots")
Reviewer: Magda Healey
Summary: Fifi's Busy Day won't become a classic, but is a decent example of reasonable use made of the franchise monster. If you child likes Flowertots and is just starting to read, they might like to use their new literacy skills on this one.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Maybe
Pages: 32	Date: July 2007
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
ISBN: 978-0007254149
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The Flowertots franchise machine, already very successful with the TV show and numerous tie-ins, has produced another one, this time by going under the umbrella of "I can read!" series, in which film and TV characters have recently started to appear in graded "learn to read" stories. As much as I dislike tie-ins, using cartoon characters to populate an early reader, which is a type of book necessarily limited anyway, is not a bad idea: anything that increases the speed at which children get through the first obstacle courses of written English before they can read "proper books" is a good thing.

In Fifi's Busy Day Fifi prepares for the visit of her Aunt Tulip, and in the process tidies her cottage, bakes jam tarts and does so many things that she falls asleep exhausted by the time Tulip arrives. Who's going to welcome her? And have the tarts burned in the oven?

The precocious preschoolers who are rushing ahead with their reading as well as many primary-1 children who often still like preschooler-aimed productions will enjoy meeting the familiar characters in this reading book and it will be just the thing if an extra reading practice with carefuly graded material is needed.

The text difficulty is well set at just the right level. I would place it somewhere similar to the reading books used in the summer term by primary-1. My 6 year old read it with ease but to her satisfaction, and she approached the occasional more difficult word with confidence, especially being helped along with illustrations.

Fifi's Busy Day won't become a classic, but is a decent example of reasonable use made of the franchise monster. If your child likes Flowertots and is just starting to read, they might like to use their new literacy skills on this one.

There is a Fifi and the Flowertots: Activity Pack pack as well, which contains a nice sticker book, A4 poster of Fifi and Bumble, few crayons and two rather poxy colouring/puzzle books, all in a plastic carry case. I would not particularly recommend buying this separately, but if you want to make a bigger Flowertots package, as a present for example, you could get the book and the activity pack to make up a set, all in one case to carry around (and we know they like these!).

Thanks to the publisher for sending this to the BookBag.

For a truly classic early reader, look no further than The Cat in the Hat, but other picture books can also be used by children beginning to read.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Fifi's Busy Day: I Can Read ("Fifi and the Flowertots") 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 Fifi's Busy Day: I Can Read ("Fifi and the Flowertots") at Amazon.com.

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