We're back for a second look at Guy Parker-Rees' fantastic Tom and Millie books. This time Tom and Millie aren't on a Great Big Treasure Hunt , they're wondering what they'd like to be when they grow up (depressingly, I put the question to Charlotte while we were reading this and she said "I want to work in a shop!" and I said "A bookshop?" and she replied in stern tones "NO silly, Co-Op!" - eep!)
Tom and Millie decide to visit their relatives and friends to find out what jobs they do, and how much they enjoy them. Mum works at the hospital and loves it to pieces. Auntie is in charge of a building site, and Uncle drives a recycle truck!
As with Tom and Millie's Great Big Treasure Hunt, this book encourages children to find lots of different things in each busy and detailed scene - and threaded throughout the book is the challenge to find a tiny little ladybird who features in each double page spread (we particularly loved the GIANT version in the museum, hehe!)
Lots of people have compared the Tom and Millie books to the works of the late great Richard Scarry - which would be a heck of an honour for anyone indeed. But I think Guy has carved out a neat little pair of books that are absolutely perfect in their own right, and great books for spurring a child's imagination, creating great discussion points and of course playing "I-Spy" as children search for their favourite characters in each scene (as well as that elusive ladybird), play counting games in some of the panels and enjoy the story too of course, mean that you end up with a nice multi-faceted book to read and re-read again and again. Top work Mr Parker-Rees!
Charlotte's best bit: The dinosaur museum (and the naughty kid hiding in the dino eggs! Tsk!)
Daddy's favourite bit: Love the Scarry-esque anthropomorphised animals, but love the different approaches you can take with this book (and The Great Big Treasure Hunt too, of course). Stunning stuff!
(Kindly sent to us for review by Guy / Orchard Press)