My Funny Family Gets Bigger by Chris Higgins
| My Funny Family Gets Bigger by Chris Higgins | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: This third book in the series reads well as a standalone but the whole series is a good investment for girls of 7+. Highly recommended. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 128 | Date: June 2013 |
| Publisher: Hodder Children's Books | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-0340989869 | |
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We've met Mattie Butterfield before in My Funny Family and My Funny Family on Holiday. Mattie is the worrier of the family although she is doing her best to get out of the habit and only makes her worry lists when she feels under pressure. Mattie worries about people - not because there's anything bad going on. You see the Butterfield are a lovely family: they don't have a lot of money but they do their best to be happy and to look after their extended family. They don't have a lot of expensive toys or go on foreign holidays - but they're the sort of people you'd like to live next door to - only you can't, because that's where Uncle Vesuvius lives. He was Mum's foster dad when she was young.
We've known for quite a while that Mum was going to have another baby and between Mattie going back to school in September and the Christmas holidays she gets steadily bigger. Chris Higgins deals with the idea of a baby growing inside Mummy without any coyness AND without too much detail. Children might want to ask questions but there's nothing that will push them into it before they're ready to ask for them selves. The birth itself is also handled well and I'd be more than happy to use this book to introduce the idea of a new baby not least because there's no suggestion that a new arrival is going to be a problem for the existing children.
Other problems are covered too - such as the child who is struggling to read. Actually, scrap that - V wasn't just struggling to read. She refused to even try despite the fact that she was very clever with numbers. It turned out that she needed glasses. Grandma turned up trumps there as it was she who spotted what the problem might be. Grandma could be a bit interfering at times, but Mattie realised that sometimes it had its benefits. It's a very positive book (and series) in that respect - there is always a best to be found in people.
It's an excellent book for girls who are just mastering reading and because there's not a lot in the way of current cultural references it won't date - an can be passed on to younger siblings. The Butterfields would like that.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
If this book appeals then you might also appreciate the Shrinking Violet series by Lou Kuenzler. Older girls - say nine years and older - might enjoy Dear Scarlett by Fleur Hitchcock.
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You can read more book reviews or buy My Funny Family Gets Bigger by Chris Higgins at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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