Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble by Tracey Corderoy and Joe Berger (Nosy Crow Books)
My Nan (Charlotte's great nan) is a witch. We have known this for some time now, and it stems right back from being at school and her eerie insider knowledge of what we'd be having for school dinner, her deep love of cats and bats and lots of other creatures, and her uncanny ability to predict the weather.
She loves a good steaming cauldron of broth, she doesn't wear a pointy hat but has been known to wear a dazzling tabard or two and rather than riding a broomstick she used to terrify drivers riding around on a Norton 500 (which, at times, I'd cling to the back of, scared out of my wits).
We love her though. She's 91 and as sharp as a tack.
In 'Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble' Tracey Corderoy and Joe Berger celebrate 'different' grannies everywhere. You know the ones, they don't like cardigans, they definitely do not like bingo but they love being slightly subversive, dressing differently and they know EVERYTHING!
A little girl thinks that her Granny could do with a bit of a makeover, to be like everyone else's granny and so she whisks her into town for some new clothes, a new (more cuddly) pet, and a seriously sharp hairdo.
Alas, it turns this wonderful witchy granny into a plain and boring one, so when the little girl calls on her one morning, she finds her tucked up in bed with no joie de vivre.
Can the damage be undone in time?
This is a brilliant book full of superbly detailed illustrations and fun & fabulous rhyming text. Also look out for 'Whizz Pop Granny Stop' by the same team (which we'll be picking up as soon as we can!)
Beautifully presented and produced by Nosy Crow with a great innovation tucked inside the cover - a QR code you can scan with a smartphone or a tablet PC, to hear the story read aloud to you (A fantastic idea we'd definitely like to see used more and more).
We really hope we see more of this dynamic duo! In the meantime, give your granny a big cuddle if you can. Grannies are special!
Charlotte's best bit: She really wants to see the film 'Scary Poppins' and has talked at great length about how she imagines that movie would be! Eeek! She also loved the granny's new pet (and what eventually happens to it!)
Daddy's favourite bit: A superbly entertaining tale about standing out and being different, and how that's a VERY good thing! Yay for grannies!
(Kindly sent to us by Nosy Crow Books to thank us for Charlotte's rather groovy princess drawing used on a Nosy Crow Blog Piece!)