Tag Archives: picture book

Dec9

Santa Koala by Colin Buchanan and Glen Singleton

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IMG_3007Santa Koala by Colin Buchanan and illustrated by Glen Singleton, paperback picture book, first published by Scholastic Australia in 2010, this edition published in 2014.

Santa Koala is a Christmas song set to the tune of Waltzing Matilda. While Santa sleeps by the billabong, Koala decides to help out by delivering all of the presents for him. Along with his Australian animal friends, Koala sets off to do Santa’s job, what could possibly go wrong?

I found Santa Koala to be an amusing book. I especially liked the ending, very funny! It really is best sung, so get out your awesomest singing voice and go for it!! My kids loved the singing, even though they were totally out of tune. They also asked me to sing it while they followed the pictures.

Santa Koala is a bit of Aussie Christmas fun best suited for younger children, though I think all ages could do with a bit of upbeat Christmas singing at this time of year!

 

Dec9

The Twelve Cats of Christmas by Kevin Whitlark

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IMG_3004The Twelve Cats of Christmas by Kevin Whitlark, paperback picture book, first published by Scholastic Australia in 2010, this edition published in 2014.

The twelve days of Christmas, cat style. On each of the days of Christmas, my true cat sends me something kitty related, such as “eight felines fishing”.

My kids like this twist on the old Christmas song. They like singing the book, and laughing at the quirky pictures. The story is simple and repetitive, so it’s easy for the kids to learn all the words too. I like the “cats a’ clawing” best, except when my own cat wants to join in!

Enjoy some Christmas entertainment with this fun Christmas book for toddlers, preschoolers and lower primary school children.

Dec9

What does Santa do When it’s not Christmas? by Heath McKenzie

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IMG_3000What does Santa do When it’s not Christmas? by Heath McKenzie, hardback picture book, published by Scholastic Australia in 2014.

When Christmas is over for another year, does Santa and all his helpers get a good rest?

This humourous rhyming book is an excellent read for Christmas, we just love it! It is my new favourite Christmas book to share with the kids. The story is very clever, and is a delight to share with children of all ages (though teenagers may feel “too old” for such a book!)

The illustrations are beautiful with so much detail, and plenty of funny things to spot, like the elves’ shopping  and the reindeer’s plans for greater efficiency. My absolute favourite page is where the gingerbread men are making themselves less delicious using hot mustard, fish paste and asparagus heads, it’s just ingenious. Every time we read this book we find more interesting things within the illustrations. There are also Christmas mice throughout the book to spot, which was a fun activity for us to share whilst reading.

For us Where does Santa go When it’s not Christmas? is the Christmas book to have this year. Read it and laugh with your children. It will inspire Christmas cheer and reinforce belief in Santa and all the Christmas magic that surrounds the North Pole.

 

Dec5

Underpants Wonderpants by Peter Bently and Deborah Melmon

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IMG_2804Underpants Wonderpants by Peter Bently and Deborah Melmon, paperback picture book, published by Paragon Books Ltd in 2014.

Wonderpants is the ultimate superhero, flying around and saving everyone with awesome underpants power! Underpants can help in any situation, even when saving the world from an alien invasion.

Underpants Wonderpants is much loved by my preschooler. The story is a bit silly, but amusing, and the language is simple enough for children learning to read. The illustrations are colourful and engaging, my preschooler likes to find the duck on each page.

Underpants Wonderpants is best suited to preschoolers and kindy children, but I get a chuckle each time I read it too. Kids will love what Wonderpants does with his undies. Underpants have many more uses than I previously thought!

 

Dec4

The First Christmas by Rod Campbell

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IMG_2803The First Christmas by Rod Campbell, boardbook, first published as My First Nativity by Macmillan Children’s Books in 2011, this edition published in 2014.

This sturdy boardbook offers a simple introduction to the original Christmas story for toddlers and preschoolers.

The illustrations are simple and appealing for young children, and the language has been simplified somewhat to reflect the intended audience. However, my kids had not encountered a couple of the words, such as ‘lowly’, which I needed to explain. They also had other questions related to the story, so The First Christmas was a good talking point to begin a discussion on the stories surrounding Christmas.

Nov30

Book Advent Calendar

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Each December as we count down to Christmas, the kids like to have an advent calendar to mark the days. There are many types of advent calendars available for purchase, but this year I was vaguely thinking about making one. Before I had decided on what I was going to make, I saw a picture of an advent calendar that someone had made up with books (I don’t know where the photo originated). I thought this was brilliant, as L and A love books. The picture I’d seen was using Christmas themed books, but I ended up just using books that I thought the kids would like.

Some of the books ready to be wrapped.

Some of the books ready to be wrapped.

A lot of the books came from my favourite secondhand bookshop (Canty’s Bookshop in Canberra), and some I bought from the Scholastic Book Club at the kids’ school. A few of the books were mine when I was a child, and I am now giving them to my kids. There is a mix of fiction and non-fiction, with a couple of Christmas themed books. I think L and A will enjoy these books, and they will form part of their Christmas presents.

 

All wrapped up.

All wrapped up.

I took 24 books and wrapped them in Christmas wrapping paper. Then I randomly sorted them and numbered them from one to twenty-four. I placed them all into a cardboard box with the numbers facing forwards. On the first of December, L will open the parcel numbered ‘1’, with one parcel for each day leading up to Christmas.

This is an advent calendar that you can really customise to your own child, by choosing books to their reading level and interests. It would be a lovely present for an adult too. Library books could be a good alternative to buying the books, especially if you want to use picture books or Christmas books, but don’t forget to return them!

Ready to be opened.

Ready to be opened.

Nov25

Mog at the Zoo by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski

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IMG_2736Mog at the Zoo by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski, paperback picture book, first published by William Heinemann Ltd in 1982, this edition published by Puffin Books in 2014.

Meg, Mog and Owl visit the zoo, but Mog is mistaken for a tiger. The zoo keepers chase him past lots of animals until they catch him and lock him in a cage. Meg tries to rescue him, but her spells don’t always work the way they should.

This book is part of the popular Meg and Mog series. I loved it as a child, and now my own children love it! The story is easy to read and fun, while the illustrations are bright and simple. Lots of solid blocks of colours with black outlines make this book good for helping younger children to learn colours, as well as making it easy for them to enjoy the pictures without being overwhelmed by too much detail.

Mog at the Zoo is a great book to share with toddlers, preschoolers and older children. It is also perfect to read alone for lower primary school students. I like when the crocodiles cheer Mog on, and my preschooler liked that the monkeys gave Mog a banana to cheer him up. Kids will love all of the adventures that Meg and Mog have!

Nov22

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Star! by P. Crumble and Louis Shea

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IMG_2545There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Star! by P. Crumble and Louis Shea, paperback picture book, published by Scholastic Australia in 2012.

Yet again, P. Crumble and Louis Shea has made us laugh with a wonderful twist on the tale of the Old Lady who swallowed some things that really couldn’t be good for her. In this wonderful Christmas themed story the Old Lady is up to her old trick of swallowing larger and larger items, including an elf and a whole tree!

Hilarious illustrations complement the funny text, and make this an excellent book for sharing. My kids like to spot things in the pictures, like the little mice that are hoarding lollies and having a ride on the reindeer. My favourite illustration was of the bookshelf when she swallows the elf, the names on the spines of the books are parodies of real books. The kids didn’t appreciate this as much as me, and preferred the scene with all the Christmas lights.

This edition has a very cool lenticular cover. When you tilt the book, the Old Lady goes from the bottom of the tree, up the tree into a position of eating the star. My preschooler loves to do this over and over.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Star! is a fun Christmas read for children in preschool and primary school.

Nov10

Tortoise and the Hair by P. Crumble and Louis Shea

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IMG_2517Tortoise and the Hair by P. Crumble and illustrated by Louis Shea, paperback picture book, published by Scholastic Australia in 2014.

Tortoise is getting ready for his big singing performance, but he can’t find his favourite wig! He needs that wig to perform, but where has it got to? He starts searching all over the house. Meanwhile, the wig is having its own interesting journey, after Bear picks it up on the bus, and eventually Hare acquires it. Can Tortoise get the wig in time or will he perform without it?

We have laughed plenty through many readings of Tortoise and the Hair. It is an unusual twist to the old tale of the tortoise and the hare, playing with the words hare/hair. When we read this book the first time, I told my preschooler that Tortoise’s wig made me think of Elvis, and she said “who’s Elvis?”…. I really must try to educate my kids on such important things! Despite this shocking lack of knowledge, both my kids liked Tortoise, with and without the wig. I liked the message of the story that Tortoise can accomplish his dreams without the external reassurance of his wig. He is talented and special just being himself. It is an important thing for our children to remember, that everyone is special and being ourselves is the best we can be.

Amusing rhyming text and fantastic illustrations make Tortoise and the Hair a great book to share with preschoolers and lower primary school children. My kids like picking out funny things in the pictures, like the kangaroo paperboy and Monkey in his hammock. I was pleased to see Hare make an appearance too, racing to the venue!

 

 

Oct31

Sleep Tight, Ginger Kitten by Adèle Geras and Catherine Walters

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IMG_2447Sleep Tight, Ginger Kitten by Adèle Geras and illustrated by Catherine Walters, paperback picture book, first published by Little Tiger Press in 2001, this edition published by Ice Water Press in 2001.

The sleepy little ginger kitten is looking for a place to nap. He gets disturbed in the bathroom, and on the bed, the box is too small and the shoes too lumpy, will he ever find a cozy and comfy place to sleep?

This picture book is suitable for preschool and lower primary school children, and is just perfect for kitten and cat lovers. The ginger kitten is extremely cute, and the book is beautifully illustrated throughout. I can remember my cats acting just like this when they were only kittens. Kittens are beautiful and funny creatures, and this story reflects their behaviour well. It reminds me of how lovely it is to have a sleepy kitten curled up on my lap purring. Sleep Tight, Ginger Kitten has been a favourite for both my kitten loving daughters from about three years old.