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 are part of a successful double act, travelling the world making people marvel at their antics.
Their adventures span the globe but life takes a rather tragic turn - and the rest of the book is a bittersweet melancholy lesson on how you should treasure life when life is good.
It's difficult to describe just how Mini Grey puts together a seemingly higgledy piggledy hotch potch of page layouts and knowing references to the original nursery rhyme in such an original way but it's a fantastic book chock full of superb illustrations and storytelling.
Charlotte's best bit: Poor cracked dish!
Daddy's favourite bit: The classic Dish and Spoon LP at the back (with accompaniment by other characters from the nursery rhyme)
Rating: 5 out of 5