Tuesday 3 July 2018

"Albie Newton" by Josh Funk and Ester Garay (Sterling Children's Books)

Time for a pitch-perfect rhyming story from two very talented folk. Let's get inventive with Albie!
"Albie Newton" by Josh Funk and Ester Garay introduces a rather special little guy with a superb talent for inventing.

Albie Newton loves to tinker, and there's so many ideas buzzing around in his head that quite often Albie doesn't know what to work on next.

Albie's life is about to change as he heads off to a new preschool but Albie's not nervous, in fact he has a fantastic plan for making new friends in double quick time. 

Unfortunately Albie doesn't think things out, and  his perfect plan takes a turn for the worse when he steals the hamster's wheel, snatches the wings off a toy airplane, and the only result for all his inventing and tinkering is a big huge sticky mess. 

Lena might just help defuse an awkward situation in preschool. 
Albie may not know it yet, but he has made a friend without even meaning to - as a little girl leaps to his defence and shows the other angry kids that perhaps Albie meant well after all. 

This is a beautifully put together little story with brilliant rhymes and deliciously colourful illustrations full of character and fun, with a fantastic core message for kids who may also be heading off to school or nursery for the first time. 

C's best bit: The big reveal of Albie's invention is a real wow moment!

Daddy's favourite bit: A fantastic positive core message and some nicely subtle stuff in here that would be a huge help for kids suffering from ADD / ADHD. 

"Albie Newton" by Josh Funk and Ester Garay is out now, published by Sterling Children's Books (kindly supplied for review).