Over in the Clover by Jan Ormerod and Lindsey Gardiner
| Over in the Clover by Jan Ormerod and Lindsey Gardiner | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Keith Dudhnath
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| Summary: A charming one to ten counting book, with beautiful illustrations. It's brimming with potential. Awkward rhymes detract a great deal from what should have been a huge success. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Maybe |
| Pages: 32 | Date: February 2009 |
| Publisher: OUP Oxford | |
| ISBN: 978-0192791702 | |
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Over in the Clover is a one to ten counting book, with an interesting set of animals, including moles, kangaroos and warthogs. Each page is accompanied by a rhyme, along the lines of:
Over in the jungle, in a leafy glade,
Two stripy tigers tumble in the shade.
"Roll!" says the daddy.
"We roll!" say the two.
And they jungle, bungle, tumble in their shady glade.
Read that aloud to yourself. You want to say "zoo" at the end, or something else that actually rhymes. Every page is set up for a tight rhyme and every page clunks at the end. I wanted to love Over in the Clover, and I went back a number of times to see if I could read it with the rhythm of a limerick, but try as I might, I couldn't make it flow.
Loose rhymes are fine, breaking the rules is always great, but there needs to be a reason for it. Here, everything builds to a conclusion, then walks away from it. When learning to read, when learning to count, when even simply learning to appreciate books and hearing words, children need things they can latch on to. If they expect, they can remember. If they remember, they can recognise. If they can recognise, they can learn. It seems hyper-critical to wheel out poetry criticism for a book aimed at such young children, but it stood out for me.
If you can read it and make it flow, if you can read it without minding, then pick up a copy of Over in the Clover. There's lots to enjoy: the charming illustrations, the quirky mix of animals, the subtle collage style that rewards poring over every page. Counting books are always hugely popular, as are books about animals. Apart from that one rhyme at the end of every page, Over in the Clover does everything right.
Thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag. If you're looking for a counting book, check out What's in the Fridge? It only goes up to eight, and has press-out pieces that children will love and parents will hate, but it's lots of fun. The Selfish Crocodile Counting Book covers one to ten in a more traditional manner.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Over in the Clover by Jan Ormerod and Lindsey Gardiner 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 Over in the Clover by Jan Ormerod and Lindsey Gardiner at Amazon.com.
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