Iggy and Me and the New Baby by Jenny Valentine
| Iggy and Me and the New Baby by Jenny Valentine | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: Another brilliant books for the emerging reader from the excellent Jenny Valentine. If I had to pick one series for a young girl it would have to be Iggy. Highly recommended. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 176 | Date: June 2012 |
| Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-0007463541 | |
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Flo's little sister Iggy seems to have just one thing on her mind at the moment and that's babies. She's desperate for Mummy to have another baby but Mummy says that two are quite enough - 'one under each arm in an emergency'. Actually, Iggy has something else on her mind too. She longs to grow. At one point she was the smallest in her class - which meant that she was the smallest child in the school. She will do anything to grow - however odd it might seem to everyone else!
Here at Bookbag we love Jenny Valentine and with good reason. We first met her when we read Finding Violet Park, a startling and original novel for teens. We were even more convinced that she a great YA writer when we read Broken Soup. She specialised in kitchen sink dramas for teens which really hit the spot. Then she really surprised us with the first of her novels for the newly emerging reader - and we were addicted ti the stories of Iggy and Me.
They're all gorgeous stories of family life and the preoccupations of girls in the 7+ age group. There's no naughtiness, nothing to make a child worried or upset and a lot about the positives of growing up. Iggy realises that she's tall enough to go on the climbing wall this year - last year she wasn't big enough. Flo points out that she's not the smallest in the house as she marks the heights of Iggy's dolls on the height chart. There's no sibling rivalry - just a family with good values and a lot of love.
There's a gentle start at exploring where babies come from, with an explanation of tummy buttons, a look at how Auntie Kate's pregnancy progresses - and the result. It's very well done. There are no euphemisms (or downright untruths - as there were in my day) about where babies come from but it's neatly pitched at a level which will allow a child to either ask more questions if they want or to simply accept what's said. I was blown away by how well it was done.
The story is excellent but there's a bonus in the illustrations by Joe Berger - they really add to the story. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
The books all read well as stand alones - but it would be a pity to miss the three previous books in the series. There's the first in the series, followed by Iggy and Me and the Happy Birthday and then Iggy and Me On Holiday. There's a lot there to enjoy. .
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You can read more book reviews or buy Iggy and Me and the New Baby by Jenny Valentine 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 Iggy and Me and the New Baby by Jenny Valentine at Amazon.com.
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