Tag Archives: children’s book

Jun11

T-rex’s Terrible Tooth by Kathryn England and Ben Redlich

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IMG_0445T-rex’s Terrible Tooth by Kathryn England and illustrated by Ben Redlich, paperback picture book, published by Koala Books in 2010.

Young Tyrone the T-rex has a toothache. A toothache so bad that he is unable to eat his normal meaty diet without horrendous pain. Convinced that he is about to die of starvation, he breaks down wailing. A passing Brontosaurus informs Tyrone that soft fruit and vegetables are plentiful, and by changing his diet he will certainly survive. Tyrone gives his new diet his full attention with unexpected results.

This is a delightfully humourous rhyming story featuring dinosaurs, one of my kids’ favourite topics, so it is a hands down winner in our house and has been read numerous times to both my preschooler and second-grader. We love reading this book out loud to make the most of the rhyming text, and it always makes us laugh. My preschooler likes the meat meals Tyrone dreams of but can’t eat, such as Triceratops lollipops, while I like his melodramatic response to his toothache. The ending is very satisfying and my kids think it is hilarious. A great book for preschoolers and lower primary school children, I highly recommend T-rex’s Terrible Tooth for every little dinosaur fan!

Jun11

The Pocket Dogs by Margaret Wild and Stephen Michael King

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IMG_0439The Pocket Dogs by Margaret Wild and illustrated by Stephen Michael King, paperback picture book, first published by Omnibus Books in 2000, this edition published by Omnibus Books in 2001.

Mr Pockets owns a big blue coat with two big pockets. His little dogs, Biff and Buff, ride in his coat pockets every day as he walks to the shops. A hole develops in Biff’s pocket, and it gets bigger and bigger until Biff falls right through it and is lost. Several people try to help Biff, but he runs away because he is Mr Pocket’s pocket dog and he just wants to be reunited with Mr Pockets and Buff.

This is a cute picture book that my kids really like, it is also popular at their school with the preschoolers and lower primary school children. The language is easy, the story interesting and the pictures are engaging. It shows that knowing who you are and feeling that you belong somewhere are important in life. Biff finds that he is a pocket dog and only a pocket dog, and he belongs with Mr Pockets and Buff, and that makes him happy. My preschooler likes to curl up in my lap to read this book together when she is tired. She likes Biff’s short adventure and his reunion with his best friends.

Jun10

When Henry Caught Imaginitis by Nick Bland

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IMG_0442When Henry Caught Imaginitis by Nick Bland, paperback picture book, first published by Scholastic Australia in 2008, this edition published by Scholastic Australia in 2010.

Henry was an unusual child, neat and tidy and always serious. Then a strange thought popped into Henry’s head, and suddenly he was off on a pirate adventure, and wrestling with dragons. This didn’t seem right to Henry, so he looked for a good sensible book to read instead, and discovered he had caught imaginitis. There’s only one cure for imaginitis, and he has a long wait to fill.

Another wonderful book from Nick Bland. I love his style of illustrations, with black and white tones moving into more and more colour as Henry’s imagination is sparked. Children don’t need to be always serious and sensible, they should relish their imaginations and play and pretend for as long as possible, that is the joy of childhood. Henry finds out that he shouldn’t be in a rush to grow up, his imagination can take him anywhere and let him be anyone. This is a nice message for our children.

This book is suitable for lower primary school children to read and for sharing with preschoolers. My preschooler is very fond of this book, she likes the things that pop into Henry’s head, especially the big red dragon. The illustrations are lovely and the story is different and I enjoy sharing it with my kids, and then discussing some of the things we would like to pretend to do.

 

Jun10

The Bus to the Zoo by Mary Murphy and Josh Lee

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IMG_0441The Bus to the Zoo by Mary Murphy and illustrated by Josh Lee, paperback picture book, first published by Omnibus Books in 2009, this edition published by Omnibus Books in 2011.

The big blue bus is on its way to the zoo, picking up passengers at every stop along the way. The passengers waiting for this bus are a bit unusual though, there are seagulls in school ties, a donkey with earrings, a goose in a party hat, and many other animals. The bus driver is a penguin, and she wants the passengers to keep moving down the bus to make room for more and more passengers, but it’s getting pretty crowded, and it’s looking very chaotic. Who is the last passenger to get on the bus?

The bus to the zoo is also the bus carrying the zoo, a bit of a Noah’s ark on wheels. It quickly becomes packed with an assortment of interesting creatures. While the story is fun, and it rhymes, it is the illustrations that make this book so engaging. My preschooler loves to study the pictures, finding different animals, and strange things that the animals are wearing or holding, such as the monkey’s camera, or the toad’s snow globe. When we read this book together we like to try to name and count as many of the animals as we can. This is a great book for sharing with preschoolers, and for independent reading for lower primary school children.

Jun10

Pete the Sheep by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley

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IMG_0443Pete the Sheep by Jackie French and illustrated by Bruce Whatley, paperback picture book, published by HarperCollinsPublishers in 2004.

Shaun is a shearer, and Pete is his pet sheep. Pete helps Shaun in the shearing shed. The other shearers have sheepdogs to help them, but when Shaun and Pete come along, suddenly all the sheep want to see Shaun. The shearers kick Shaun and Pete out of the shearing shed. Shaun doesn’t know what to do then, as shearing is his life, but Pete has an idea to start a Sheep Salon for funky sheep-cuts.

This is a very Australian book, and we love it. The illustrations are amusing, and we love the special hair cuts the sheep get. The story is fun and different with simple language. Until I’d read this book I’d never thought about sheep (or other animals) getting such unique hair cuts. And it has a happy and inclusive ending, where everything works out just right, which is important to my kids, they like their books to end well.  My preschooler particularly likes that when Pete says “Baaaaa!” he’s actually talking to the other sheep, but Shaun can understand him too. Suitable for young children such as preschoolers and lower primary school children, we like to read this book together.

Jun9

At the End of the Rainbow by A H Benjamin and John Bendall-Brunello

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IMG_0428At the End of the Rainbow by A H Benjamin and John Bendall-Brunello, paperback picture book, published by Little Tiger Press in 2004.

Badger and Fox see a rainbow in the sky and try to follow it to find the treasure at the end of the rainbow. Along the way they meet some animals, all with a different idea as to what constitutes treasure, and it isn’t gold or jewels. Badger and Fox discover that friendship is a far greater treasure than any material goods could ever be.

This gentle story about friendship and what is really important in life is a very nice picture book for sharing with young children from preschool age. I particularly like Old Hare with his half-spectacles, and his wisdom. Both my children like this book, and it has been read many times in our house. When my eldest daughter was three she even took this book to playschool to show for news because she liked it so much. She said it makes her feel happy.

 

 

Jun9

Freak Street: Meet the Zombiesons by Knife & Packer

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IMG_0424Freak Street: Meet the Zombiesons by Knife & Packer, paperback graphic chapter book, 93 pages, first published by Scholastic Australia in 2008, this edition published by Scholastic Australia in 2013.

The Zombiesons live on Freak Street along with some other unusual families. Within their family, there is Mr and Mrs Zombieson, their children Zigi and Zoey and the baby Zee. They also have a three headed dog called Zlobba. They are all bright green with red hair and their brains exposed, they also have an interesting house and yard, including a man-eating hedge that likes mouldy pizza. Granny Zombieson is coming to stay and celebrate her 500 year birthday with her family. She is a whiz in the kitchen at making the most delicious pizzas, such as Haunted Hawaiian, for which she guards the recipes closely.

Zigi plays soccer with the Freak Street School team, and whenever Granny Zombieson comes to watch, the team never loses, so it is important to Zigi that she attend the big final. On the morning of the final the whole family goes to the theme park Danger World for Granny’s birthday. Matters are complicated when Granny has her brain stolen, but by whom and why, and will she still make it to the game to be Zigi’s lucky charm?

This was a funny story filled with amusing colour illustrations. The faces of some of the characters captured their nature extremely well. Granny Zombieson was my favourite character, with her skateboard and attraction to terrifying rides, despite her age. Her friends from the Ridiculously Old Age Zombie Home also made me laugh, especially when Scary’s eyeball fell into the fish bowl. Even though the Zombiesons were zombies, they were mostly just like any other family, though maybe with a few more rather unusual quirks.

My second grader enjoyed Meet the Zombiesons so much that she has asked for more b0ooks from this series, and she is looking forward to meeting more of the Freak Street families. Meet the Zombiesons was a simple yet exciting adventure best for lower and middle primary school students, though I liked it well enough too. It makes zombies seem not very frightening at all, so younger readers shouldn’t be scared to give this book a go, especially with an adult.

 

Jun4

There Was an Old Bloke Who Swallowed a Chook by P. Crumble and Louis Shea

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IMG_0169There Was an Old Bloke Who Swallowed a Chook by P. Crumble and Louis Shea, paperback picture book, published by Scholastic Australia in 2011.

P. Crumble and Louis Shea have created another Aussie twist on the tale of the Old Lady who swallowed the fly. This time it is an Old Bloke, and he’s swallowed a chook! And a galah and a possum and a number of other Australian animals, until he swallows his ute.

This is a funny book great for pre-schoolers and lower primary school children. The story is simple, fun and repetitive, and very appealing for kids. The illustrations are fantastic too, making both myself and my children laugh. My preschooler likes the chook that is knitting while sitting on her eggs, the mole that is using a map, and the dinosaur skeletons that were preserved mid-chase. I like the illustration of the bloke on the front cover with the chicken leg sticking out of his mouth. This is also a great book to share.

 

Jun4

Grug and the Rainbow by Ted Prior

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IMG_0160Grug and the Rainbow by Ted Prior, small format paperback picture book, first published by Hodder & Stoughton Australia in 1982, this edition published by Simon & Schuster (Australia) in 2009.

Grug is a creature from the Australian bush, and features in his own series of books. An Australian classic, these books have been republished for a new generation to enjoy.

In Grug and the Rainbow, Grug sees a rainbow in the distance for the first time. He is curious, and tries to get closer, but it keeps moving further away.

The story is simple and easy to read, perfect for lower primary school children. Grug is a lovable character. I like his adventures, and the solutions he creates for any problems that arise. The illustrations are lovely, and the small format is great for little hands. I loved Grug as a child. They were some of the first books I read independently, and now my children love them too. It is such a joy to read some of my childhood favourites with my own kids.

 

Jun3

Sheep on a Beach by P. Crumble and Danielle McDonald

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IMG_0167Sheep on a Beach by P. Crumble and Danielle McDonald, paperback picture book, published by Scholastic Australia in 2012.

This is a story about Sheep and what he gets up to on his visit to the beach. For each thing that Sheep does, there is a little crab there helping him out. My pre-schooler was very interested to see what the crab was doing in each drawing, from building a sand castle to stealing a dropped chip.

The story is cumulative, so that the story to that point is repeated and one new sentence added on each double page. It reads a bit like a list, and is a great use of repetition, which kids will love, but which may irritate some adults. Each new line was presented in a different coloured text than the previous parts of the story. I liked this, as it was easy for my pre-schooler to find the new information on the page. The illustrations are funny and colourful with the text overlaid on part of each picture (usually the sand, sky or sea for clarity).

This was an enjoyable read with my pre-schooler, she loved the pictures and the repetition. I also liked the illustrations and I liked what Sheep did at the beach, it was very Australian. A fun book for bed time (or any time!)