Pigeon Pie, Oh My! by Debbie Singleton and Kristyna Litten
| Pigeon Pie, Oh My! by Debbie Singleton and Kristyna Litten | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Madeline Wheatley
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| Summary: Tiny chick saves the day when a galumphing goat and a group of greedy pigeons cause chaos in Farmer Budd’s cornfield. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: September 2013 |
| Publisher: Oxford University Press | |
| ISBN: 9780192734143 | |
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This tale is a gently humorous picture book gem from Debbie Singleton and illustrator Kristyna Litten. Farmer Budd goes about his daily work, feeding animals and repairing the old scarecrow. But when he sets off to market he forgets to close the gate…..leaving the way open for the goat to cause havoc. Down tumbles the scarecrow and in come the pigeons with their beady eyes set on the corn crop. Tiny chick cleverly stops their plan in a way that may remind some young readers of a certain mouse in Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo.
Pictures and text are perfectly blended in Pigeon pie, Oh My! to create a page turning, smile making and very satisfying read aloud. While the words tell the reader exactly what is going on, the pictures are dotted with extra tiny features and characters to follow. A trio of rats fool around in the background on every page, while a goggle eyed snail makes a regular appearance but gets no mention in the text at all. In fact if anyone can spot the snail on the centre spread, please let me know where it is. One of the children who looked at the book with me is keen to know.
The wealth of crisply drawn detail in the illustrations makes the book particularly good for story time with a mixed age group. While older ones will be following the plot the younger listeners can pick out their favourite things from the pictures. A good deal of time can also be pleasantly passed flipping from the front to the back end pages which contrast the scene at the farm in the morning with the farm at dusk. My only slight reservation was that the 1950’s retro feel of the pictures left Mrs Budd glued to the house making cherry pies while Farmer Budd was out and about. This was soon being acted out along a boy/girl divide by my audience.
Yes, I know, I probably need to lighten up, particularly as the main thing you need to know is that Pigeon pie, Oh My! has a huge sense of fun that is well tuned to the under fives. The page where the goat eats the scarecrow’s hat is a big hit thanks to the goat’s resounding BURP! While this doesn't lead to a burping competition in the book, it certainly led to one out of it.
For more farmyard fun try Farmer Joe and the Music Show by Tony Mitton and Guy Parker-Rees.
For tiny heroes but more of a scare try The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson.For more from Singleton, try The King who Wouldn't Sleep by Debbie Singleton and Holly Swain.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Pigeon Pie, Oh My! by Debbie Singleton and Kristyna Litten 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 Pigeon Pie, Oh My! by Debbie Singleton and Kristyna Litten at Amazon.com.
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