Bing: Make Music by Ted Dewan

Bing: Make Music by Ted Dewan
Buy Bing: Make Music by Ted Dewan at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Lorraine McDonald
Summary: Round the corner, Not far away, Bing’s been bongo-ing all day… Life is full of little adventures for Bing. Today he is making music. What could possibly go wrong? Join Bing bunny with your toddler to learn about everyday life.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: July 2014
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 9780007515424
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Round the corner, Not far away… These are the words I hear in my living room most afternoons followed by 6 minutes and 30 seconds of silence from my boy. I could take advantage and get on with some urgent tasks but, truth be told, I’m happy to snuggle up and drink in the rich artwork that is Bing Bunny brought to life on CBeebies. Unusually, Bing on the box was born out of Bing the book. Also, unusually, my local library have no Bing books so Bing: Make Music was my first experience of the Bingster (as he is known to his fans) confined to paper. There on the first page, just like on CBeebies, were the magic opening words followed by… Bing’s been bongo- ing all day.

So, a bit more about the bunny that is Bing. He lives in a house and town, which look to be styled by Ikea in 1950’s ice-cream Neapolitan pastels with a few primary colour splashes. Bing himself is cuteness personified. All big floppy ears, velveteen fur and eyes like pools. And let’s not forget his trademark red checked dungarees. Bing bunny is looked after by his carer Flop, a creature of unidentifiable pedigree and, curiously, of shorter stature than his bunny charge. The joy of the stories is that they focus on mundane day to day experiences and challenges that an average toddler might encounter. Bing, like many under fives, often lets his exuberance get the better of him leading to mishaps. Not to worry though, Flop can put most things right. It’s just ‘a Bing thing’.

In this Bing tale, Bing and Flop are making music. Using household objects, they shake and jingle and dingle and dang and bingo and bong and bang! Oops – Bing has gone too far. Music box is broken. It’s another ‘Bing thing’. Lesson learned, it is mended and the music can start again.

My expectations for this book were driven by the tv series. They share the same premise of a small event being the focus of the story. However, the tv episodes have a much stronger narrative. In this edition, Bing plays some musical instruments, breaks one and that is pretty much it. There is some rhyming, alliteration and onomatopoeia en route but it wasn’t quite what I expected. Compared to the rich full screen detail of the television series, the artwork in the book is sparse by comparison. My little Bing fan seems to have a mixed opinion. Bing big on the page elicits a toothy grin but the book doesn’t really hold his attention. I think he’d rather bang his own drum than read about Bing banging his.

I’d like to try another Bing book with my boy to see if they all follow the same low key story format. If so, I think this could be a rare case of the book not being better than the 'film'.

We also have a review of Something for Mummy (Bing) by Ted Dewan. For more Bing bunny, you can tune in to CBeebies, 'like' his Facebook page or go to his website. For more rabbit related toddler fun try Miffy at the Zoo by Dick Bruna

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You can read more book reviews or buy Bing: Make Music by Ted Dewan 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 Bing: Make Music by Ted Dewan at Amazon.com.

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