Monday, 31 January 2011
Save Our Libraries Day - Saturday Feb 5th 2011
ReadItDaddy is firstly and foremostly a children's book review website but from time to time I'll be covering book-related news.
The issue of the government's plans to close down a huge number of local libraries is a shockingly ill-informed decision. Our local library...
Friday, 28 January 2011
The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon
Mini Grey's books are a real treat. The genius behind Biscuit Bear, Egg Drop and Traction Man turns her attention to the classic nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle", concentrating on two of its characters, Dish and Spoon.
No ordinary dinnerware these two, Dish and Spoon...
Baggy Brown
Labels:
Baggy Brown,
Hodder Children's Books,
Mick Inkpen
Mick (Wibbly Pig, Spot) Inkpen has produced some of the best loved children's books of the last decade or so. With his characters making the leap to the small screen, it's nice to hunt out some of his less well known books for a quick look.
Baggy Brown tells the story...
Thursday, 27 January 2011
The Duck with No Luck
Oh well, it had to happen sooner or later. The second of our Korky Paul Picture Book reviews for this week isn't quite as successful as Sanji the Baker. If this blog gave separate scores for illustrations and stories, we could just about scrape by giving this top marks for Korky Paul's...
Sanji and the Baker
Our quest to hoover up every Korky-Paul-Illustrated book on the planet continues, as this week we struck gold at the Library by grabbing one of the few Korky Paul Picture Books we haven't seen yet.
Sanji and the Baker is excellent, almost like a modern fable. Sanji...
Richard & Judy-endorse new Kid's Book Club
Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan are extending their book recommendations to cover children's books, in a partnership with both WH Smith and The Book Trust.
The initial selection of books carries recommendations from contemporary titles, such as 'Doctor Proctor's...
Wishmoley and the Little Piece of Sky
A bittersweet little story of a Mole's wonderment at what lies "up there" above the clods of earth. Wishmoley's trip to the outside world sees him bringing back "a little piece of sky" that turns out to be something completely different and unexpected.
Gorgeous illustrations...
Gorilla
Labels:
Anthony Browne,
Gorilla,
Walker Books
The master of the surreal, Anthony Browne definitely has a thing about simians. Gorilla follows the story of a young girl who is obsessed with all things Gorilla-shaped. She dreams about Gorillas, draws Gorillas and decorates her room with Gorilla posters. Her father doesn't...
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
The True Story of Goldilocks
How did Goldilocks end up breaking into the three bears' house, stealing porridge and wrecking beds? Before Goldilocks was naughty, she was a sweet and polite self-help guru. That's according to Sandro Natalini and Agnezzi Baruzzi's novel retelling of the classic fairy tale.
We...
Mr Big
Labels:
Ed Vere,
Mr Big,
Puffin Children's Books
It's not easy being big. Mr Big, a huge hulking great big Gorilla might look scary and daunting but he's an ape with a heart, and a musical soul.
In this tale, Mr Big is sad, has no friends and only has his music to fall back on. Finding a piano in a music store, Mr...
Friday, 21 January 2011
Mog on Fox Night
This is the fourth Mog book we've read and Charlotte shows no signs of getting fed up with this egg-obsessed cat.
Mog is having a tough time at home, and doesn't like the tasty fish or cat food that's laid out for her supper every night. Mog wants eggs, but Mog's...
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Pigeon Street - A Light in the Sky
Labels:
Alan Rogers,
BBC Books,
George Layton,
John Telfer,
Pigeon Street
Kids of the 80s will probably be familiar with the bouncy and rather funky theme tune for Pigeon Street (if you can remember all the lyrics, you're officially old!) Mum recently found a stack of my brother's old books in the loft and this was one of the books that was rescued...
The Great Dog Bottom Swap
Every now and again you happen across a kid's book that makes you think "Wait, WHAT?"
Skimming through the library boxes for new books, I stumbled across The Great Dog Bottom Swap and instantly thought "Well, no, it couldn't possibly be about...er...dog's bottoms could it?"
...
Friday, 14 January 2011
Balamory - Travel
Labels:
Balamory,
BBC,
Edie McReadie,
Josie Jump,
Miss Hoolie,
Red Fox Children's Books
As I've said before on this humble blog, TV tie-in books are often hastily thrown together cash-in items that don't really give children much of a flavour of the show they're based on.
Such is the case with Balamory - Travel, one of a series of paperbacks published...
The bear went over the mountain
The song "The bear went over the mountain" is a particular favourite on one of Charlotte's in-car CDs (other parents will probably be all too familiar with the concept of never being allowed to listen to their own choice of music in the car, and probably have a car cluttered...
Baby Sister
Labels:
Baby Sister,
Look and Say,
Usborne Children's Books
Despite my protests, Charlotte often latches onto books in the library and won't let them go, leaving poor flustered Daddy to book them out regardless of their suitability.
Charlotte has previously loved the Usborne Look and Say range of books, and Baby Sister uses...
Archie hates pink
Archie doesn't have anything against the outrageous singer of the same name. Nope, Archie really does not like the colour pink. Pink is the colour of nasty medicine, itchy flea powder and scratchy brushes so when Archie's owner paints her whole house pink, Archie leaves home...
I'd rather go to Grandad's
Charlotte knows that the source of the world's Chocolate Button surplus is located at Grandad's house. So we spotted this book that is a cute little tale about a grandchild going off to stay with their adventuresome Grandad at his Lighthouse home.
The illustrations...
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Teeny Tiny Tales
Mum was clearing out her loft and found this long forgotten classic hidden amongst the books. It was a book picked up from one of Nan's endless jumble sale outings and I remember the 11 stories being a haphazard mix of Richard Scarry's excellent drawings coupled with simple...
Friday, 7 January 2011
The Peppa Pig Collection (Ladybird Rucksack Edition)
Labels:
Mark Baker,
Neville Astley,
Peppa Pig,
Rucksack,
TV Tie in
Charlotte received this collection of Peppa Pig hardback books from friends of ours (Thanks Harvinder and Mohinder!) and they've since been amongst the most read of Charlotte's christmas book gifts. Gathering together ten short but sweet Peppa Pig tales in a handy wearable...
Holly: The Story of a Cat
Ruth Brown is a cat lover, and her book (based on her own experiences of housing a rescued kitten) is a joy for any feline fans. Brown has captured the essence of moggy-dom perfectly, and she uses her masterful artwork and gentle storytelling to good effect, detailing the...
The Princess and the Wizard
Julia (The Gruffalo) Donaldson and Lydia (What the Ladybird Heard) Monks team up for a classic children's fairy tale that feels fairly familiar at first, but will soon be adored by younger toddlers thanks to the neatly illustrated panels (which help teach younger children colours) and...
Thursday, 6 January 2011
A Cat Called Scratch
Take one cat, with one rather irritating flea and one particular favourite artist with an equally scratchy inkpen and you've got a recipe for genius. Korky Paul teams up with author Jonathan Long for a superb rhyming book chock full of trademark KP illustrations that are a joy to pick...
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Fairies and Magical Creatures - a Pop Up Book
What an astonishing book.
Given to Charlotte as a christmas present, Fairies and Magical Creatures is literally brimming with detailed illustrations and some of the best papercraft I've ever seen in a pop-up book. From the fluttering wings of Titania, Queen of the Fairies (as...
Zoo
Labels:
Anthony Browne,
Red Fox Picture Books,
Zoo
Happy New Year to all and welcome back to ReadItDaddy after a brief break. The first review of 2011 takes a look at Zoo by Anthony Browne.
Browne is a modern master of the surreal. As Children's Laureate you have to wonder what sort of influence the man would have over...
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