Newest For Sharing Reviews

Blood and Guts and Rats' Tail Pizza by Vivian French and Chris Fisher

Emerging Readers

Despite a revolting menu with dishes like slug and snail stew or rats' tail pizzas, Billy Bone's café was usually packed at lunchtime. Perhaps because there was no other place to eat. All of their customers were male, because neither Billy Bones, nor his assistant Hank liked girls at all. A large sign in the window proclaimed Absolutely No Girls! But one day the customers disappeared - and what was worse, Hank soon discovered their customers had all been stolen by girls. The girls were very large, green and hairy but they were girls nonetheless, and their traveling cake shop had enticed all of Billy Bone's customers away. Full review...

Pittipat's Saucer of Moon by Geraldine McCaughrean and Maria Nilsson

For Sharing

Pittipat the little black kitten is off to the moon, brave and fearless, for he's heard that the moon is a saucer of cream and he thinks that his brothers and sisters have gone up there without him to drink it all up! Off he sets to chase after them, determined to get his own lick of the cream! Full review...

Ruff and the Wonderfully Amazing Busy Day by Caroline Jayne Church

For Sharing

Ruff, a rather sweet little dog, is a happy fellow. He pootles about, busy all day long and singing little songs to himself as he works. But sometimes he wonders what it would be like to have someone else to sing with him. Busy making himself a new pond in the garden one day he discovers a small mouse who appears to be rather cross about someone digging up his home...oh dear, Ruff! Can he help the little mouse to find a new home to live in? Full review...

The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers

For Sharing

Duncan loves colouring but one day he receives a very surprising stack of letters from his crayons. Some are quite content, but others are really getting fed up. Red and Blue want a break, they get used far too much and are nearly worn away. Purple is delighted to be the colour of the wizards and dragons, but he is rather fussy about staying inside the lines. Black wants to colour in fun things like beach balls, and yellow and orange can't stop quarrelling over which should be the colour of the sun. Peach has had her wrapper peeled off and won't come out at all now, as she is embarrassed about being naked. Pink however is the most upset all. Duncan has never used Pink once. Pink wants to be something fun, like a dinosaur. Full review...

Triassic Terrors by Isaac Lenkiewicz and Nick Crumpton

Confident Readers

With a son who has insisted he will become a palaeontologist since the age of three, we have collected a vast assortment of books on dinosaurs and prehistoric animals. I have never found one yet which so clearly explains exactly what is and is not a dinosaur. The majority of the reptiles in this book are not dinosaurs. The Triassic saw the very first of the dinosaurs to walk the earth, and these were much smaller than their Jurassic and Cretaceous counterparts. There is no shortage of fascinating creatures here though. This book has a wide variety of reptilian life, made all the more fascinating by the fact that these are creatures we see very little of in other books. The text in this book is limited, as this is primarily an activity book, but what is there is surprisingly informative. Books focussing on the Triassic period for children are few and far between. This is a rare treasure for any child with more than a passing interest in dinosaurs, and an absolute must have for budding palaeontologists. Full review...

Wake Up Do, Lydia Lou! by Julia Donaldson and Karen George

For Sharing

Julia Donaldson is probably best known for her collaborations with Axel Scheffler on creations such as The Gruffalo and Stick Man. In this book she has teamed up with illustrator, Karen George, in order to present a charming yet sleepy character, Lydia Lou. Throughout this delightful picture book, we see Lydia Lou, with her sweep of curly brown locks, sleeping soundly and contentedly in her bed with her teddy. She is sleeping so soundly that it appears that nothing will wake her; not even the sly ghost that creeps into her room with the sole intention of making her scream. Full review...

The Bunny That Couldn't Be Found by Angela Mitchell

For Sharing

Princess Lolly is a little girl who is in charge of lots of grown ups, which in itself is a lovely start to any book. But Princess Lolly isn’t a happy bunny because… Johnny Bunny has gone missing! He left her room just as she was waking up, and she can’t find him anywhere! As anyone would be when a favourite pet has gone missing, she is so, so sad! So she sets hoards of policemen on the case to search the kingdom for him. They search high and low in the palace and the gardens but can’t seem to find what they’re looking for. Full review...

How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth by Michelle Robinson and Kate Hindley

For Sharing

Some tasks are just so big and daunting, you don’t know where to start. Like washing a woolly mammoth. I mean, it’s a big job when you think about it. Luckily if you have a woolly mammoth, or just like to imagine you do, there is this book, a step by step guide to the task. Full review...

Jo-Jo The Melon Donkey by Michael Morpurgo and Helen Stephens

For Sharing

Jo-Jo is donkey, but he desperately wishes he were something else. His is a life of hard work and little comfort. He works all day hauling melons, tormented by flies, derided by passers-by and despised by his owner. Finally he finds a friend. A kind and gentle child who looks into his sad eyes and finds beauty rather than just a shaggy old beast. The child runs out each day to buy a melon, and for a few minutes Jo-Jo knows happiness - but this is no ordinary child, this is the Doge's daughter. Sadly, the Doge does not share his daughter's ability to see the inner beauty of things, scorning Jo-Jo as a lowly beast. His daughter will not give up on her friend though, and when disaster strikes Jo-Jo repays her kindness by saving all of the people of Venice. Full review...

Isabel's Noisy Tummy by David McKee

For Sharing

Isabel is a very good little girl with a very naughty tummy. It burbles and rumbles and gurgles loudly at school, and her teacher is not impressed. Everyone has advice on what to do to stop it making such rude noises. Her mother tells her to eat slower, but that doesn’t work. Her father suggests exercise, her doctor medicine, but still, no joy. But, one day on a school trip, Isabel’s tummy saves the day, and saves her classmates. And after that, well, no one really minds a noisy tummy any more. Full review...

The Pet Itch by Elli Woollard and Elina Ellis

For Sharing

Most children want a pet at some point. Mossy Monster wants a pet itch more than anything else in the world. But his family (refreshingly consisting of a Granny, an Uncle and a sister) have all sorts of reasons why he shouldn't have one and his sister just seems to delight in tormenting him - as sisters do. But Sister comes though in the end with a crafty plan that will help Mossy get the Itch of his dreams, and make sure the grown ups do all the work as well. There is never a dull moment in this book with temper tantrums, rude rhymes and absolutely delightful illustrations. The best part of all though is the way the adults are so easily bamboozled. Full review...

ABC and Do by Lee Singh and Karen Wall

For Sharing

Being able to recognise letters is an essential aspect of emergent literacy. I know so many parents and children who feel that being able to sing their ABC's is the same as knowing the alphabet. It isn't. A child must be able to recognise the letter forms, in upper and lower cases, identify them by name and understand the sound or phoneme made by each. Learning the alphabet is something that most children will need some help with at home. No matter how good the school your child attends, it is impossible for a teacher to give each child the individual attention required to master this subject easily, and failure to do so often leads to lifelong difficulties in literacy. Full review...

Ernest and Celestine: The Picnic by Gabrielle Vincent

For Sharing

Ernest, a large bear, and Celestine, a small mouse, have made themselves a beautiful picnic. Everything is packed and ready to go for when they get up tomorrow morning. However, when morning comes it's raining very heavily. Ernest says that unfortunately they can't have their picnic after all but poor Celestine is distraught. Is there any way Ernest can make things up to her? Full review...

Mary's Hair by Eoin Colfer

Dyslexia Friendly

Mary hates her hair. It has black bits and brown bits, curly bits and straight bits and Mary feels that it looks very much like a bush. Her Daddy says if you don't like something, you should change it (instead of whining about it to your parents when they want to relax with a cup of tea). Mary's Daddy, like many others, should watch what he says to children. Mary follows his advice with hilarious results. First she cuts her hair, but when that doesn't go to plan she decides to dye it. She has learned something from the whole hair cutting experience though, this time she plans to try the dye out on someone else first. Full review...

Eleanor's Eyebrows by Timothy Knapman and David Tazzyman

For Sharing

Eleanor just can't see the point of eyebrows. They don't do anything. They just sit there, two silly, scruffy, hairy, little bits of fluff! Sadly for Eleanor, her eyebrows overhear her describing them in this way, and they refuse to stay where they aren't wanted and so pack their bags and set off into the big world to find a place where someone will love them! Full review...

Mmm...Let's Eat! by Libby Koponen

For Sharing

Children often have a tendency to end up eating brown and white foods, not wanting to branch out into any more colourful territory for fear of the unknown of purple aubergines or blue blueberries. This book aims to get children thinking a little bit more about the colours of foods, perhaps encouraging them to try something a little bit out of the ordinary one day. Full review...

Stick Man's First Words by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

For Sharing

Does your child roam the house dressed as the Gruffalo? Do you know the words to Tiddler off by heart? Have you read and loved Stick Man as we at The Bookbag have? Well, this is one for the fans, a first words book full of wonderful illustrations by Axel Scheffler and based on the Stick Man story. Full review...

Squiglet Pig by Joyce Dunbar and Tim Hopgood

For Sharing

Squiglet Pig is based on a real deep sea creature, the piglet squid. This is one of those creatures you have to see to believe. It honestly does look like it always smiling, and very much like the main character in this book. Full review...

Wild by Emily Hughes

For Sharing

Wild is the story of a girl who has grown up in the forest with only the animals to care for her, but this is where she belongs and she is happy. All of the animals love her and she loves them. She learns how to speak from the birds, what to eat from the bears, how to play from the foxes, and the deer and the rabbit keep her company as she sleeps. She has no clothing, nor does she need it, Her long mane of unruly green hair covers the important bits and gives her the appearance of something that has sprung to life from the forest itself. She is creature of pure innocence. Full review...

Trumpety Trump by Steve Smallman and Adria Meserve

For Sharing

Two subjects guaranteed to have any nursery age child in stitches are bums and farts. This book has plenty of both, along with some other very rude behaviour which will have children begging to hear this again and again. Although the book reads like a non stop riot of rude and raucous behaviour, it does teach children about friendship and manners as well. Adults will appreciate the moral to the story, but children will be so busy laughing, they'll hardly notice that they are learning at the same time. Full review...

My Zoo by Rod Campbell

For Sharing

My children have always been drawn to Rod Campbell's simple but appealing illustrations, so I was delighted to have a chance to review this book, even though my boys are now older than the expected age range. This is a very simple book. There are fifteen large die cut animals on a pastel coloured background. The illustrations have a unique quality to them that I can only describe as Rod Campbell. The animals all have friendly appearance, and a kind of gentleness to them. The front view of each animal has only the animal's name in bold black print. When you turn the page, there is a single sentence about the animal in smaller print. With a very young baby, the parent can read only the animals name, perhaps adding the sound for each animal. As the child grows older, the parents can begin reading the extra line on each animal. The fact the animals are larger than usual in these pictures, and on sturdy pages that are perfect for little hands, means this book would be ideal for babies as young as six months. I feel this would make a lovely first book for young child. As much as we loved Dear Zoo, I feel this book is even better for infants. Full review...

Robot Rumpus by Sean Taylor and Ross Collins

For Sharing

My sons tore open the parcel with Robot Rumpus and were already reading it themselves before I could even get the tape from the rest of the box, so they had one up on me when we settled down to read it later as a family. We began looking through the robot models on the inside of the front of cover, and as I mentioned which ones I wish we could have, the boys were already laughing with a just wait and see look on their faces. Full review...

Baggy Brown and the Royal Baby by Mick Inkpen

For Sharing

Baggy Brown had the best possible start in life. He was the first bear off the production line at Better Bears Limited and was destined for The Palace. Baggy was to be the bear of Princess Sophinyiniannia - that's Sophie to you and me - but life went disastrously wrong for Baggy before he reached the end of the conveyor belt. A NOT FOR SALE notice was stuck on his nose and a NO 1 tag in his ear, but it was the NOT FOR SALE notice which proved his undoing. He didn't line himself up correctly, and fell straight off the end of the conveyor belt and into the big red teddy bear machine. Full review...

The Radically Awesome Adventures of the Animal Princess: Balloon Toons by Pranas T Naujokaitis

For Sharing

I know so many parents who are completely fed up with the stereotyped role of little girls and especially princesses in stories. If you are looking for stories with a totally different type of princess, then this book is for you. The little princess, or Animal Princess as she is known, is most certainly not a damsel in distress. She is an active heroine boldly seeking adventure, and the messier the better. Rather than looking like a beauty pageant winner in a formal gown, the little Animal Princess looks refreshingly child like in the illustrations. I am delighted to see a princess drawn with the proportions of an ordinary child rather than a Barbie doll. She also prefers nice comfortable animal pyjamas to ball gowns. Full review...

My Friend Fred (the Plant) by Daniel Cleary and Kanako Usui

For Sharing

I loved comic books as a child. As an adult. I love them even more as wonderful way to encourage literacy in young children. Unfortunately comic books for children are hard to come by now, and there are very few books in this format for children under age 8. Ballooon Toons seems poised to change this with a delightful new series of children's books printed in comic book style format, but with a sturdy hardback binding. Full review...

The Belly Book by Fran Manushkin and Dan Yaccarino

For Sharing

The formula for the perfect children’s picture book may go something like this:

Simple Theme + Rhyming Text + Memorable Phrases + Great Illustrations = Happy readers.

In which case, it would seem that the authors of 'The Belly Book' have followed this blueprint to the letter, resulting in a delightful book that is perfect for cosy snuggle time on the sofa. Full review...

My School Day by Ellen Crimi-Trent

For Sharing

The feature that initially attracted me to My School Day was the huge, interactive clock face on the front cover. Learning to tell the time is such an important life skill, but sometimes young children can struggle with the concept. A hands-on approach, combining the senses of sight and touch can be an effective method of teaching. The child is learning through play and having lots of fun at the same time. Full review...

Little Owl's Orange Scarf by Tatyana Feeney

For Sharing

Little Owl's Mummy knitted him a scarf. A long, itchy, orange scarf, and Little Owl does not like it! He tries to get rid of it, using it as wrapping for a gift, and hiding it in a suitcase bound for Peru, but no luck! Mummy finds it every time. Then one day, Little Owl goes on a school visit to the zoo and he comes home without his scarf. What will Mummy say? Full review...

The Hundred Decker Bus by Mike Smith

For Sharing

Can you imagine if one day, you're on the bus to town and suddenly the driver decides to take a different road? Perhaps he carries on down this road, just to see where it might go. I know what I'd be doing, and it isn't sitting happily in my seat waiting to see where we end up! However, in fiction anything can happen and in this story, when the driver heads off on his own little jaunt, his passengers come along quite happily with him! Full review...

Elephantantrum! by Gillian Shields and Cally Johnson-Isaacs

For Sharing

Ellie is one of those children. You know, the sort you see lying on the floor in the supermarket screaming that they won't go anywhere until you buy them the pink fairy doll with the flashing wand. We've all been there, or at least I have an awful memory of trying to fold my daughter back into her pushchair in M&S and her going stiff as a board and screaming a high pitched scream for what felt like 5 hours rather than 5 minutes! Anyway, Ellie gets whatever she wants when she wants it, and this time she's decided that she wants an elephant. Her dad manages to get her one, but once the elephant arrives Ellie finds that sometimes getting what you wish for isn't quite what you actually wanted... Full review...

Llama Llama Shopping Drama by Anna Dewdney

For Sharing

It's a few months since we first met Llama Llama. At the time he was suffering from night-time terrors, but today Mama is taking Llama Llama shopping and she promises that there'll be a treat when it's all finished. Llama Llama was happily playing in the sun: he doesn't want to go shopping and the trip doesn't begin well. It's a big building, with lots of signs and lots of aisles. He doesn't like the music, the ladies around all small far too sweet and he's staring at their knees. And that's before he gets to the agony of trying on sweaters and shoes. You know what's going to happen, don't you? Well, Llama Llama does it big time. Full review...

Bang by Leo Timmers

For Sharing

It all starts with a deer in a bright yellow car. He has a stack of books tied to the back of his car, but couldn't resist reading one while he drives. It might have been OK if a bin had not fallen from the lorry in front of him, but engrossed in his book he never notices until with a very loud bang he comes crashing to a stop. This sets off a chain reaction resulting in a ten-car pile up as every car but one comes crashing into the car in front of it. The quick thinking of Mr Gecko means he is able to stop just in time with a screech of the brakes, but Mr Penguin in the ice cream van is not so lucky, crashing into the gecko and his truck load of multi coloured paint and forcing the Gecko forward to smash into the last car in the pile up. Full review...

Akissi by Marguerite Abouet and Mathieu Sapin

For Sharing

Many parents are becoming upset with the over sexualisation of female characters in children's films and books. I know many are also fed up with the stereotyped princess character. If you are looking for a book for a little girl who doesn't suit the stereotypes, Akissi is absolutely perfect. In addition to breaking stereo types in children's literature, this book gives children a first hand look at life in another country. I have often read that children exposed to stories of other cultures usually grow up more tolerant. Whether it is the stories themselves, or simply the type of parent who chooses that type of story, I don't know. Still I have always gone out of my way to make sure my children have books which depict children from a wide variety of locations and cultures. This book gives the reader a very realistic vision of what life in Africa might be like. Best of all though, this book lets the children just be children. They don't look like adults and they don't act like adults. I think we need more books like this. Full review...