How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth by Michelle Robinson and Kate Hindley
| How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth by Michelle Robinson and Kate Hindley | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Zoe Morris
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| Summary: A How To guide for something you probably don't know How To do. As useful as it is entertaining. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: August 2013 |
| Publisher: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books | |
| ISBN: 978-0857075802 | |
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Some tasks are just so big and daunting, you don’t know where to start. Like washing a woolly mammoth. I mean, it’s a big job when you think about it. Luckily if you have a woolly mammoth, or just like to imagine you do, there is this book, a step by step guide to the task.
Flicking through the pages, this really wasn’t what I had expected. Complete with scientific figures and illustrations, it’s a bit more technical than I imagined. A bit more grown up. A bit more serious. But it’s very fun too. It’s quite light on words, but then the pictures are so detailed that the story comes across easily.
This is one of those case where you learn from other people’s mistakes, because the child in the book, whose name we don’t know, doesn’t always get it quite right. This is, of course, funny to watch. Cue lots of giggles as the woolly mammoth gets stuck in a tree, drinks all the bath water and makes the whole place a big soggy mess.
This book is written like an instruction manual: don’t forget to wash behind those ears, we’re warned. Careful: a mammoth’s tummy is terribly tickly we’re reminded, with alliteration that’s just so perfect for reading aloud. As a concept I’d never have thought it would lend itself to a children’s book, but it works beautifully and you can just imagine little minds taking notes, remembering the tips just in case they too ever find themselves with a mucky mammoth to make clean.
Even though it has far fewer words, this book reminded me in a lovely way of The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr. It’s the idea that a normal life can be turned upside down by the addition of a larger than life, though not too scary, animal, though the woolly mammoth doesn’t seem quite the uninvited guest that the tiger was.
The illustrations are bright and seem more classic in style than some brash modern books. There’s an almost Scandinavian feel to it all, which combines with the scientific style to make it a book that children can enjoy even if they’re a little bit older. I got this one with a 3 year old and a 5 year old in mind, but I can see it lasting them for years to come as it’s one you can appreciate on several levels.
An unexpected gem, I would not hesitate to recommend this one, regardless of whether or not your home currently houses such a hairy beast.
Thanks go to the publishers for supplying this book.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pop-Up Book by Eric Carle is another classic for animal lovers - this updated version adds a fun twist.
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You can read more book reviews or buy How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth by Michelle Robinson and Kate Hindley 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 How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth by Michelle Robinson and Kate Hindley at Amazon.com.
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