Oliver and the Noisy Baby by Mara Bergman and Nick Maland
| Oliver and the Noisy Baby by Mara Bergman and Nick Maland | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Keith Dudhnath
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| Summary: A delightful tale of Oliver Donnington Rimington-Sneep retreating into his imagination to avoid the cries of a noisy baby. In its own right, it's great - particularly Nick Maland's illustrations - but as is often the case with sequels, it's not quite as good as the earlier books. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: January 2011 |
| Publisher: Hodder Children's Books | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-0340997451 | |
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We've met Oliver Donnington Rimington-Sneep before - he has had trouble sleeping and travelled far and wide. This time, he's suffering with a noisy baby. He does what every sensible older brother does: he goes and plays with his toys, retreating into his imagination and flying around the world, taking in all the sights and sounds.
As with the previous Oliver books, this is an exciting, imaginative and adventurous tale. There's a powerful sense of rhyme and rhythm throughout - always a plus when reading to and with young book fans. The repetition of and he flew! punctuates each section of the tale, tying it all together nicely. Mara Bergman's writing is descriptive, energetic, and engaging, making it ideal for reading to a mix of young ages.
We always love Nick Maland's illustrations. They bring to mind classic picture books from our childhood, yet with plenty of freshness and originality to not feel remotely stuffy. They're charming and cosy, yet interesting and exciting too. It's a gorgeous book, and we'd happily look at the pictures in many repeated readings.
If this was the only Oliver book, we'd be gushing with praise. As it is, it doesn't quite compare to the others - the plot is just a touch less well-rounded than the previous books. If not directly comparing them, it wouldn't be a problem, but in a straight choice between this and a previous book, Noisy Baby loses out. If you've rightly loved the previous books, then Noisy Baby will sit happily on your bookshelf alongside the others. It's still certainly worth checking out, though.
Thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag. We also have a review of our authors' Snip Snap, look who's back!
For other fun tales of siblings, check out Green by Mark Sperring and Leo Timmers, Baby Baby Blah Blah Blah! by Jonathan Shipton and Francesca Chessa, Bedtime Without Arthur by Jessica Meserve and Just Because by Rebecca Elliott.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Oliver and the Noisy Baby by Mara Bergman and Nick Maland 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 Oliver and the Noisy Baby by Mara Bergman and Nick Maland at Amazon.com.
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