Every evening when I pick my daughter up from nursery she is engrossed in a book. I find it hard to meet her insatiable appetite for new books and often find myself drawn to the same old classics when we visit the library so I was really happy to be asked to review three brand new books for toddlers that were published at the start of this month.
All of the following books are suitable for children from 2 upwards.
BOOK REVIEW: Not on a School Night by Rebecca Patterson
Not on a School Night is about a pair of boisterous brothers; after their parents switch off the lights each night they get upto all sorts of fun and adventures, much to Mum and Dad's annoyance.
On a school night the boy's fun and games are always cut short but at the weekends... well, what can I say?
Lara liked the pictures of the boys making duvet dinosaurs but I don't think she found the story very compelling (she wouldn't think of playing up on a nursery night, would she??!?!). I found the illustrations a little disappointing and there just wasn't enough magic and mystery for Lara.
Mellow Rating : 2 / 5
BOOK REVIEW: Zoe and Beans : The Magic Hoop by Chloe and Mick Inkpen
This is the first of the Zoe and Beans stories that I've read with Lara and I really enjoyed it and will definitely be looking for more. Zoe and her fun doggy friend Beans discover a magic hoop; every time Beans jumps through it he turns into a different animal. Eventually Beans turns into an animal too big to get through the hoop so Zoe puts him on a diet!
The story is well written and engaging. The illustrations are lovely and have that little element of magical sparkle that gets Lara excited. Lara particularly liked it when Zoe resorted to chocolate bribery!
We have already read this book together numerous times and I can see it being one that Lara goes back to time and time again.
Mellow Rating : 5/5
BOOK REVIEW : DOGS by Emily Gravett
DOGS is a picture board book all about... well, dogs! It is not a new book but had never previously been available as a board book. Because it is board, Lara feels confident reading it alone.
The book has beautiful pencil and watercolour illustrations and each pair of pages features two opposite dogs such as 'stripy' and 'spotty' or 'slow' and 'fast'. I love the simplicity of it and the cute twist at the end of the story (which I shan't give away here).
The book reminds me a lot of 'Happy Dog, Sad Dog' by Sam Lloyd but somehow it just can't quite compete. The illustrations, although gorgeous, are a bit too pale and detailed for a toddler to really appreciate and some of the words such as 'stroppy' and 'soppy' are not ones that a toddler would commonly use elsewhere so Lara struggles to recognise them as opposites.
Mellow Rating : 4/5
All of the above books are now available from Macmillan Children's Books.
All of the following books are suitable for children from 2 upwards.
BOOK REVIEW: Not on a School Night by Rebecca Patterson
Not on a School Night is about a pair of boisterous brothers; after their parents switch off the lights each night they get upto all sorts of fun and adventures, much to Mum and Dad's annoyance.
On a school night the boy's fun and games are always cut short but at the weekends... well, what can I say?
Lara liked the pictures of the boys making duvet dinosaurs but I don't think she found the story very compelling (she wouldn't think of playing up on a nursery night, would she??!?!). I found the illustrations a little disappointing and there just wasn't enough magic and mystery for Lara.
Mellow Rating : 2 / 5
BOOK REVIEW: Zoe and Beans : The Magic Hoop by Chloe and Mick Inkpen
This is the first of the Zoe and Beans stories that I've read with Lara and I really enjoyed it and will definitely be looking for more. Zoe and her fun doggy friend Beans discover a magic hoop; every time Beans jumps through it he turns into a different animal. Eventually Beans turns into an animal too big to get through the hoop so Zoe puts him on a diet!
The story is well written and engaging. The illustrations are lovely and have that little element of magical sparkle that gets Lara excited. Lara particularly liked it when Zoe resorted to chocolate bribery!
We have already read this book together numerous times and I can see it being one that Lara goes back to time and time again.
Mellow Rating : 5/5
BOOK REVIEW : DOGS by Emily Gravett
DOGS is a picture board book all about... well, dogs! It is not a new book but had never previously been available as a board book. Because it is board, Lara feels confident reading it alone.
The book has beautiful pencil and watercolour illustrations and each pair of pages features two opposite dogs such as 'stripy' and 'spotty' or 'slow' and 'fast'. I love the simplicity of it and the cute twist at the end of the story (which I shan't give away here).
The book reminds me a lot of 'Happy Dog, Sad Dog' by Sam Lloyd but somehow it just can't quite compete. The illustrations, although gorgeous, are a bit too pale and detailed for a toddler to really appreciate and some of the words such as 'stroppy' and 'soppy' are not ones that a toddler would commonly use elsewhere so Lara struggles to recognise them as opposites.
Mellow Rating : 4/5
All of the above books are now available from Macmillan Children's Books.
