Paddington and the Disappearing Sandwich by Michael Bond and R W Alley
| Paddington and the Disappearing Sandwich by Michael Bond and R W Alley | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A brilliant board book about shapes and it'#s part of a series, all of which are equally good. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 26 | Date: January 2015 |
| Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books | |
| ISBN: 978-0008159757 | |
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Paddington has a list - a list of shapes which he has to find. The first one was easy - it was a rectangle and he spotted that the front door was a rectangle as he closed it on his way out. There was another shape ticked off as he walked away - all the paving stones were squares! At the corner of the road, there was a 'Men at Work' sign (or 'roadworks ahead' if you prefer not to be sexist) and this was a triangle and there, round the roadworks were some cones! There are still quite a few shapes on his list though - an oval, a circle, a star, a diamond and a heart. It was the heart which would prove most difficult to track down and I'm not going to tell you how Paddington did it, but there just might be a clue in the title.
I sometimes feel a little bit sorry for children when I see them reading or being shown books about 'shapes' that are very clear, but there's nothing to engage the child's mind. A circle means so much more when you think about it as a manhole cover and you can actually go out and find one, just the way that Paddington did. An 'oval' is just an abstract shape - but eggs actually mean something which a child can understand.
It's a lovely book. The story is clear and simple and the illustrations, by R W Alley, support the story perfectly. The board book is substantial and will stand a lot of toddler loving and as two of the corners are rounded the chance of injury when it's thrown is reduced by 50%. The surfaces are glossy and will wipe clean when they've been used to wipe hands on. There are more shapes than in most pre-school books about shapes - nine in total - and it's gently educational without being too worthy. There's a format which you can follow at home too - finding the shapes around the house or out on a walk - and it brings to life the principle that shapes are real things and not just abstract ideas in a book.
I love the idea that there's a story in the book - so many board books lack this and it does give the book longevity. It's a delightful book and part of a series of three books. We've also seen Paddington: King of the Castle in which we count seagulls and Paddington at the Rainbow's End in which Paddington goes looking for the colours of the rainbow. They're of the same high standard as Paddington and the Disappearing Sandwich and I'd like to thank the publishers for sending copies to the Bookbag.
For another board book which looks at shapes we can recommend Flip-A-Shape: Go! by SAMI. If you'd like a collection of Paddington stories, we can recommend Best-loved Paddington Stories by Michael Bond and R W Alley.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Paddington and the Disappearing Sandwich by Michael Bond and R W Alley 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 Paddington and the Disappearing Sandwich by Michael Bond and R W Alley at Amazon.com.
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