Showing posts with label animal books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animal books. Show all posts

Monday, 21 October 2013

The "Mouseton Abbey" Blog Tour. Special guest post from Lord Mouseton himself!

Lord Mouseton from the "Mouseton Abbey" stories. Dapper chap with excellent book taste!
We're very lucky to be joined on the blog by landed mouse-gentry today as part of the "Mouseton Abbey" blog tour. None other than Lord Mouseton himself has popped by to share some brilliant cheese recipes, and his favourite five animal books. So without further ado, we will tug our forelocks and doff our caps to His Lordship!

Hello fellow bookworms! Lord Mouseton here. Now, as everyone knows, we have a  magnificent library here at Mouseton Abbey and many an evening you'll find me sitting there, glass of port in my hand and a book in my lap. Sometimes I'm even awake.

I love books. From classic novels like Bleak Mouse, to thrillers like You Only Live Mice to plays like Julius Cheeser. But today I’m going to share with you my list of best loved animal tales… In no particular order…

1.  The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham
The classic tale of friendship, morality and adventure. Featuring one of my favourite characters of all time, the jovial Mr Toad. I knew him, you know, lovely chap. And, of course a warning to us all: you can never trust a weasel…

2. Oi! Get Off Our Train by John Burmingham
A modern Noah’s Ark story illustrated by the brilliant John Burningham. A boy and his toy dog board a train in his dreams. At each stop, they meet endangered animals who explain argue why they should be saved. Children are able to understand the environmental messages in a simple, straightforward way.

3. 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
A wonderful adventure to rescue kidnapped puppies starring the ultimate baddie, Cruella de Vil. I like the way dogs consider the humans their pets, but allow the humans to think that they are the owners.

4. The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
I like tigers. And I like tea. So I like this! A tiger causes mayhem in the home at tea-time. Just like when I lost the Great Big Cheesy Diamond at Cheesmas!

5. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
A wonderful story of a human growing up in the jungle and learning the law of the jungle from Baloo the bear and Bagheera the Panther. And there's another tiger in this – the fearsome Shere Khan. you wouldn't want HIM coming round for tea!

A fabulous list, thank you My Lord! 

Don't forget to check out our review of "Mouseton Abbey - The Case of the Missing Diamond" and do drop by the Mouseton Abbey Facebook Page for more information on this fab book series and the characters (like Lord Mouseton) who star in it!
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Sunday, 8 September 2013

#ReadItMD13 Theme Week - "All the Awesome Animals!"

Even rats can be cuddly and cute!


Without a doubt, one type of book dominates our book collection at ReadItDaddy. This week we'll be looking at all the awesome animals, and the books they star in. From fictional fables, to true stories of animal derring-do, there'll be something for everyone. 

We thought we'd kick off with a few of Charlotte's favourites - favourite animals featuring in favourite animal-based children's books of course!

Charlotte would probably have a tough time choosing between our first two books and the animals who feature in them but with her it's all about the bunnies and the kittens. 

"The Stray Kitten" by Judy Waite and Gavin Rowe
"The Stray Kitten" is a bit of a heart-wrencher, so make sure you are armed with plenty of tissues to sob into as you read the tale of a lost little kitten looking for a loving family. A kitten's life in the wild is fraught with danger, but little kitten digs deep to find bravery and courage and eventually someone spots the poor little mite and saves it from starvation. It's darkly tinged but definitely has a lovely ending. 

"Rabbityness" by Jo Empson. The most perfect animal-based picture book. 
We wouldn't dare feature an animal round up on the blog without one very special bunny in particular. "Rabbityness" captured our hearts the moment we first laid eyes on the cover, and it only gets better from thereon in. It's a book that deals beautifully with a very tough subject of course, the subject of loss - but as the book celebrates life too, in particular the life of one very special artistic and wondrous bunny, we love the way it makes us feel happy, sad, then happy again. Don't take our word for it, I dare you to try and find a bad word spoken about this book, it's pretty much as perfect as it gets. 

From the sublime to the ridiculous. We love it when animals misbehave and there are so many books where animals arrive to teach us a lesson or two about good manners and decorum. 

"I Am The King" by Leo Timmers. Animals behaving badly!
In Leo Timmers' superb "I Am The King" we see what happens when animals find a crown lying around one day. Animal egos clash as each animal thinks they have a particular attribute that means they should rule over all others. 

Of course, being a big showoff, or having the loudest grunt or even the curliest tale isn't a good enough reason to be king. Humility and caring about others are far more 'royal' traits so dive into Leo's book to see who comes out on top. 

We've got lots of other animal books waiting in the wings to join us throughout the week so these are just a small taster to whet your appetite. Join us for our next article where we settle one of the biggest arguments in children's picture books - which are best, dog books or cat books?
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