Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Bridget Fidget
Labels:
Bridget Fidget,
Joe Berger,
Puffin Books
Bridget Fidget is like every single toddler you've ever met. Full of seemingly boundless energy, more curious than a cat, and with a wild imagination that produces an endless sense of wonder.
Joe Berger's books are as busy as their central character. When a mysterious (and huge) parcel turns up at Bridget's house, her flights of fancy lead her to believe that her parents have ordered her a surprise pet.
What happens when Bridget dives into the gigantic cardboard box and polystyrene snow? What does she find?
You'll have to read and find out yourself, of course. The book fizzes with energy and is perfect for children who are chock full of wonder and enthusiasm.
Charlotte's best bit: Bridget's 'pet'
Daddy's favourite bit: Slightly dim mummy character.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Topsy and Tim go to the Dentist
Despite the absolute terror Charlotte expressed the last time we visited my lovely dentist, she maintains a healthy obsession with all things dental and medical. Topsy and Tim go the the Dentist is one of a series of 'life lesson' books by Jean and Gareth Adamson, with illustrations by Belinda Worseley.
Published by Ladybird Books, Topsy and Tim books feature likeable characters, bold and clear illustrations and easy to follow text so they're great for young readers as well as great books to read to fidgety toddlers.
In the book, Topsy and Tim both learn the importance of proper tooth brushing, the mysterious qualities of the infamous 'pink drink' and how a tiny little hole in your tooth can turn into a nasty great big hole in no time at all.
It's all fairly gentle stuff and is purposely designed to put children at ease. The book has a neat little puzzle at the end, and a great map of Topsy and Tim's home town. Likeable stuff and it's probably worth tracking down the other books in the series, covering common themes such as new baby brothers (or sisters), swimming lessons and first days at school.
Charlottes best bit: Topsy and Tim's friend who ate too many sweets.
Daddy's favourite bit: The excellent map at the end of the book.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Monday, 14 February 2011
Jinnie Ghost
Apologies for the short hiatus in reviews but now we've got over our colds, and have managed to get to Abingdon Library again, we're back in business.
Starting off with a book that, by rights, should scare the pants off Charlotte, ghosts and monsters are delicately woven into this tale of a roving ghost. Visiting children in the town in turn, Jinnie Ghost peppers their dreams (and nightmares) with visions both surreal, menacing and serene.
It's definitely not a book you'd want to read a toddler at bedtime. Too many instances of 'things crawling under the bed' and a reference to the Bogeyman which could make youngsters slightly squeamish.
And yet...
Perhaps Charlotte does take after me a little, particularly given that her favourite film / CD soundtrack AND popup book of the moment is Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (much to the exasperation of my long-suffering wife!).
There's something intriguing and attractive to youngsters in books of this ilk, where the fantastic, the slightly scary and the paranormal mix with normal everyday children and their lives.
Of the six books we grabbed in our library trip this week, Jinnie Ghost has proved to be the most popular by far and that's partly due to the gently poetic story, and partly due to the superb artwork by Berlie Doherty.
Recommended, but during daylight hours.
Charlotte's best bit: Naturally, the fact that the first child that Jinne Ghost 'haunts' is a girl called Charlotte who wants to be a princess.
Daddy's favourite bit: The dreamlike feel to the artwork and the lovely floaty Jinnie herself
Rating: 4 out of 5
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
What's inside? The Alphabet Book
There are a thousand and one ABC books on the market, but Satoshi Kitamura brings his own quirky style to "What's inside?"
Each page precedes the next two letters of the alphabet, with lots of objects in each illustration for inquiring toddlers to wrap their developing brains around. Kitamura's scratchy illustrations are chock full of detail so don't expect the usual A is for Apple, B is for Bear stuff here.
We've read quite a few of Kitamura's books which are always a delicious mesh of westernised urban life suffused with an underlying current of pure fantasy.
A novel approach to getting your young ones to learn their ABCs.
Charlotte's best bit: I is for Iguana, J is for Jack in the Box.
Daddy's favourite bit: The rat's cute little house.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Monday, 31 January 2011
Save Our Libraries Day - Saturday Feb 5th 2011
ReadItDaddy is firstly and foremostly a children's book review website but from time to time I'll be covering book-related news.
The issue of the government's plans to close down a huge number of local libraries is a shockingly ill-informed decision. Our local library may end up being one of the affected, and without that library this blog most definitely wouldn't exist.
An action day is taking place across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on Saturday 5th February 2011. The nation's book lovers are encouraged to show their support for their local library by using it on this day. Show the government that this valuable resource should not merely be swept under the carpet or put out to seed in the vain hope that enough kindly volunteers will step in and run library services. The plan is ill conceived and ridiculous in the extreme, and libraries already struggling to maintain a service will be forced to close as a result of this policy.
Oxfordshire library users will be treated to a passionate speech or three on the matter by bestselling Oxford-based author Phillip Pullman, the genius behind the 'His Dark Materials' books. Pullman is currently raising the profile of the campaign to halt the government's ridiculous plans to sever library services.
Stand up for your local library. Get bookish on saturday.
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
Baggy Brown
Labels:
Baggy Brown,
Hodder Children's Books,
Mick Inkpen
Mick (Wibbly Pig, Spot) Inkpen has produced some of the best loved children's books of the last decade or so. With his characters making the leap to the small screen, it's nice to hunt out some of his less well known books for a quick look.
Baggy Brown tells the story of a rather special teddy bear, number 1 of a limited edition set of bears. Number 1 is special, as he was made for a royal Princess but after a series of accidents he ends up not in royal hands, but the arms of a very ordinary boy.
Wrapped around the tale of Baggy's adventures is a superb side story but I won't spoil it for you, it's worth grabbing the book and leafing through yourself to see how much emotion and storytelling can be constructed around a fairly simple tale of a bear.
If you think you're all burned out on bear books, think again.
Charlotte's best bit: Seeing the princess's tonsils when she's screaming the castle down
Daddy's favourite bit: Some great expressive work by Inkpen for the human characters in the story.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Thursday, 27 January 2011
The Duck with No Luck
A clumsy, lazy unlikeable duck embarks on a quest to join his duck friends as they fly south for the winter. The Duck with No Luck is an unfortunate feathered friend and ends up getting completely and hopelessly lost as he asks his bird chums for directions in a variety of exotic locations.
The book's illustrations are ace, as is the cameo from Winnie the Witch's Wilbur (at least that was the only bit Charlotte liked) - but the book seems to dribble along with very little plot (yes it's a children's book but if your toddler starts to yawn and gets you to turn the pages quickly before you've even finished reading each one, you know something's wrong).
A pity as this was another Korky Paul Picture Book we hadn't seen up till now and could probably have got along fine without seeing, in all honesty.
Charlotte's best bit: Wilbur sneaking around the bins in one illustration
Daddy's favourite bit: Meagre pickings with this one but I did quite enjoy seeing The Dog Who Could Dig picking over bones with a vulture
Rating: 2 out of 5 (and 5 out of 5 for the pics)
Sanji and the Baker
Our quest to hoover up every Korky-Paul-Illustrated book on the planet continues, as this week we struck gold at the Library by grabbing one of the few Korky Paul Picture Books we haven't seen yet.
Sanji and the Baker is excellent, almost like a modern fable. Sanji the down-at-heel travelling adventurer takes up residence above a Baker's Shop. Every morning he wakes up to the delicious smells emanating from the Baker's wares.
The Baker takes great exception to this and brings Sanji up before a judge for stealing his smells.
The twist in the story at the end is superb. Even more superb is the fact that the book features a good dose of excellent Korky Paul cameos from various other books he's illustrated (yep, Winnie Witch is in the book as one of Sanji's generous friends).
A winning attention to detail, a great moral tale and a rather original setting. Brilliant book.
Charlotte's best bit: Winnie the Witch as a magical money lender
Daddy's favourite bit: Sanji's excellent steampunk smell-grabber
Rating: 5 out of 5
Richard & Judy-endorse new Kid's Book Club
Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan are extending their book recommendations to cover children's books, in a partnership with both WH Smith and The Book Trust.
The initial selection of books carries recommendations from contemporary titles, such as 'Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder' (highbrow stuff) as well as classics like Elisabeth Beresford's 'Wombles' books.
The aim is a good one - to make more and more parents aware of both the Book Trust, and a selection of new and established writers whose works are worthy of mention in the Richard and Judy 'list'.
As with the adult book recommendations, a team of individuals work in conjunction with the popular daytime TV presenters to ensure that recommended books meet exacting standards.
The adult scheme has seen many authors propelled into the best sellers list almost overnight. Anything that generates a huge amount of interest in reading and books can only be a good thing particularly when it's aimed at youngsters.
More information is available from the Book Trust website: http://www.booktrust.org.uk/Home
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