My girls have an endless appetite for fun bedtime reading; our two or three pictures books that we share together before bed are some of my favourite moments with them. New this week is The Cow Who Climbed a Tree which is a fun picture story book by Gemma Merino.
Tina is a cow who breaks the mould. A cow who wants to discover and explore without living within the traditional grass-munching boundaries of most cows. Tina is one of four sisters, the others of whom frown upon Tina's frivolous activities. When Tina the cow tells her sisters that she has learned how to climb trees and discovered a new friend - a vegetarian dragon - they dismiss her story as nonsense.
One day, Tina doesn't appear for her meal (more grass) and so the sisters go in search of her. When they reach the base of a mysterious-looking tree, their lives are changed for ever!
The Cow Who Climbed A Tree is a fun story that is great for reading to toddlers, preschoolers and younger children. Lara, who is now 6, reads it alone.
The girls enjoyed the illustrations too - the cows and animals are all very stylised with brightly coloured watercolour-style trees and scenery. Holly most enjoyed the picture of the vegetarian dragon who sits at the top of a tree - she recognised its tail instantly! Lara most enjoyed seeing parachuting animals jumping out of the sky.
Gemma Merino also wrote and illustrated The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water which has won a number of children's literature and illustration prizes.
Tina is a cow who breaks the mould. A cow who wants to discover and explore without living within the traditional grass-munching boundaries of most cows. Tina is one of four sisters, the others of whom frown upon Tina's frivolous activities. When Tina the cow tells her sisters that she has learned how to climb trees and discovered a new friend - a vegetarian dragon - they dismiss her story as nonsense.
One day, Tina doesn't appear for her meal (more grass) and so the sisters go in search of her. When they reach the base of a mysterious-looking tree, their lives are changed for ever!
The Cow Who Climbed A Tree is a fun story that is great for reading to toddlers, preschoolers and younger children. Lara, who is now 6, reads it alone.
The girls enjoyed the illustrations too - the cows and animals are all very stylised with brightly coloured watercolour-style trees and scenery. Holly most enjoyed the picture of the vegetarian dragon who sits at the top of a tree - she recognised its tail instantly! Lara most enjoyed seeing parachuting animals jumping out of the sky.
Gemma Merino also wrote and illustrated The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water which has won a number of children's literature and illustration prizes.
