Macavity's Not There!: A Lift-the-Flap Book by T S Eliot and Arthur Robins
| Macavity's Not There!: A Lift-the-Flap Book by T S Eliot and Arthur Robins | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: Inspired by Macavity we have a lift-the-flap book which takes the youngest readers on a trip around the house in search of the loveable rogue. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 16 | Date: July 2016 |
| Publisher: Faber and Faber | |
| ISBN: 978-0571328635 | |
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Looking back, one of the first games I've played with every baby I've encountered is the one where you hide behind your hands and then appear surprised when you drop them and see the baby. It never fails to get a smile. (I know - it was probably wind...) Macavity has perfected the game, because - wherever you look - he's not there. Here at Bookbag Towers we loved the full version of T S Eliot's poem, but what about the very youngest children - the ones who really love the idea of someone - or something - not being where you expect them to be?
Enter Macavity's Not There! from the same dream partnership of Eliot and Arthur Robbins. We don't go into the same scenarios as in the original, and restrict ourselves to a more domestic setting with which the young child is going to be more familiar. We begin though, with that inimitable verse:
Macavity's a ginger cat.
He's very tall and thin:
You would know him if you saw him,
For his eyes are sunken in.
And we begin by wondering if Macavity is in the bed. There's a flap to lift and whilst the flap is reasonably sturdy it will not be all that easy for small fingers to work their way into the hole at the side of the bedcover. I struggled slightly (you need nails) before seeing a teddy bear and being assured that Macavity's not there! We work our way through the bathroom (duck was hiding under the bubbles), the kitchen (a trio of mice tucking into the cheese), the sitting room (a dog hiding under the cushion), the garden, the shed and the rabbit hutch before finally discovering him under the table enjoying an illicit piece of birthday cake.
There's only the one item on each page, so a young child is going to quickly catch on to what is required of them. Assistance might be needed with the flaps, but it won't be long before they know what to expect of each page. The book is sturdy in external construction and the flaps as hardy as any could be in this situation. Corners are neatly rounded so far as is possible to reduce the likelihood of injury when the book is inevitably used as a missile. It could be a neat way of easing them into a lifelong love of Eliot's poems and I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag.
Do try the full version for slightly older children, or even all the poems. For more search antics, have a look at Bear and Hare: Where's Bear? by Emily Gravett.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Macavity's Not There!: A Lift-the-Flap Book by T S Eliot and Arthur Robins 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 Macavity's Not There!: A Lift-the-Flap Book by T S Eliot and Arthur Robins at Amazon.com.
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