Bookbabbler Wendy has reviewed Mike the Knight – Meet Mike! for us…

Mike is a knight so brave and so bold. He’s daring and strong but not very old. As the name suggests this book is about meeting Mike the Knight, his friends and the land of Glendragon. It is based on the television series and is the first in a series of books tied in to it.

The graphics in the book are bold and bright and are based on screenshots from the series and there are lots on each page so it is a great book to look through as well as to read. My children had not watched the show but were still interested in the book as it goes through each character, explains about the land of Glendragon and gives a snapshot into some of the adventures that they have had too. So I am sure viewers of the series will love it.

The book is nicely written in a simple style that is ideal for early readers too and my 6 year old loves reading it to her brother with him enjoying all the pictures.

Thanks Wendy and thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending us a copy to review.

Bookbabbler Anne has reviewed Zoe and Beans The Magic Hoop for us…

My nearly-four year old son, Joel, loved this story from the very first read through! He’s a big animal fan so a story with lots of animals in is a good start, but the story is quirky and simple, funny and imaginative. Joel is developing an interest in letters and words and so a book with lots of different text sizes, shapes and directions gives us loads to talk about.

In the story, Zoe bribes Beans the dog to jump through a hoop, not realising that it’s magic. Beans eventually jumps and a Beans-looking rabbit appears on the other side. In the hope of even more exciting animals Zoe encourages Beans to jump again. Inevitably the animals get more dangerous (try getting a crocodile to jump on demand!) and then too
big. How will Zoe get an stuck elephant out of the hoop?

The illustrations in this book are lovely; bright, colourful and very clear. They are supported by the beautifully presented text that jumps out, hides away or weaves around on the page and generally adds to the story. There are pages with lots of words and others with a single word on – it gave us a great opportunity to talk about what individual words
say (Jump! and Snap! in particular) and for Joel to guess word meanings from the way some of the words are written.

It’s a fun, charming book to read to pre-schoolers or for early readers to enjoy on their own.

Thanks Anne and thank you to Macmillan for sending us a copy to review.

Bookbabbler Wendy has reviewed My First London Bus for us…

This is a book on wheels and what could be better for little hands than a book that you can push along as well as read. There is also My First London Taxi by the author in the same style.

It is a sturdy 8 paged board book that takes you on a tour of London with sites such as the London Eye and Buckingham Palace. The text is simple so ideal for early readers too and the illustrations are bright with plenty for children to look at. My 4 year old would highly recommend it.

Thanks Wendy and thank you to Macmillan for sending us a copy to review.

Bookbabbler Wendy has reviewed It’s a Book for us…

This book is a witty story about a book. One character, a large monkey is reading a book and the other one, a jackass, wants to know things such as how do you scroll down, where’s the mouse, can it text and how do you charge it but of course as soon as he starts reading the book he is hooked.

It is a picture book but has the very serious message that reading is important in a time when teachers and authors are all raising concerns about the amount that children are reading and whether they would have the attention span to read an actual novel. Being an avid reader who has read to my children since they were weeks old I think this is a very important issue to address and in this book it is covered in a very funny way.

My children, who are 4 and 6 found it funny with my 6 year old particularly enjoying it as she understood the computer language and found the term jackass very funny, even after I explained to her it was just a word for a male donkey!

Thanks Wendy and thank you to Macmillan for sending us a copy to review.

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Wendy…

This is a book about the Snoreys, a family of dormice – Mummy, Daddy, Mop, Snuggle, Snuffle and Pignut who live in Dozy Down. They are all fast asleep and snoring except Pignut who decides he is not at all sleepy and sets off on an adventure.

Pignut meets a bat who tells him to hang upside down and he’ll soon fall asleep, then a hedgehog who tells him to roll in leaves to fall asleep and then a toad who hops him back into his Mum’s arms. His Mum takes him home and reads him ‘The Secret Book of Sleep’ which helps all Dormice go to sleep and soon he is fast asleep.

The first thing you notice about this book is the beautiful illustrations which are in old fashioned water colour style and complement the story perfectly. It is written in a style to help relax children and is designed to have a soporific effect on the listener. The book also includes an audio cd.

I would highly recommend this book and both my 4 and 6 year old love it. They can’t help but relax as I read it to them and I can’t help cuddle them as I read it. I would say a perfect bedtime book.

Thanks Wendy and thank you to Templar for sending us a copy to review.

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Wendy…

This is a debut children’s novel by R P Harris that was inspired by a day trip to the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand. He met the founder of the park who explained to him the plight of the Asian elephant and he actually fed the elephants by hand and bathed with them in the river. The story uses a simple vocabulary to introduce the complex issue of animal poaching to children
It has 202 pages and a recommended reading age of 8 to 12 and is a chapter book with illustrations. My 6 year old managed to read it with some help with the Thai names and language.

The story is based around Tua, which is peanut in Thai. Tua lives with her mother in Chiang Mai, Thailand on a quiet lane near one of the city’s most popular night markets. One day when her Mother was at work Tua was out exploring the night market and she finds an elephant that is not being looked after by its mahouts. A mahout is supposed to become one with his elephant and look after them. Tua feels an instant connection with the elephant and follows it to see what is happening. Tua realises that the elephant is being abused and decides to rescue her. Thus begins the adventure of Tua and the elephant who she names Pohn Pohn and their journey to the sanctuary of an elephant refuge and away from the vile mahouts.

The descriptions in this book evoke the nature of Thailand and this is helped by the use of Thai phrases and the connection created between Tua and the elephant is wonderful. It is a lovely story that both I and my 6 year old enjoyed and I would say a very good debut novel.

Thanks Wendy and thank you to Chronicle for sending us a copy to review.

I really enjoyed In the Deep End (by the same author) so was excited to get a copy of Not On a School Night.
I think it is good how they make up things about superheroes and monsters and stuff.
I like how mum and dad always come in the bedroom and tell off the kids. It was just like real life.
The funniest bit is at the end when they’re all jumping about on Saturday morning.
It was really good and I liked the illustrations because there was lots of detail and you can tell if they are happy or tired.

Reviewed by Bookbabbler Georgie

Thanks Georgie and thanks to Macmillan for sending us a copy to review.

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Wendy…

This is a story about a family of rabbits who are preparing for the arrival of a new baby. They are decorating the nursery, making it all warm and snug and buying gifts. When all the waiting is finally over they are full of joy over the new baby and the good news spreads and all the relatives come to visit.

The only way to describe this book is beautiful with a simple rhyming text and water colour style illustrations that capture the love that is being described. As a parent it pulls at your heartstrings in a lovely gentle way.

It would be an ideal book for a new Mum or for a child that is expecting a new sibling. My children loved it and after we had read it we discussed about waiting for a baby to be born and how my little girl felt when her brother was born.

Thank you Wendy and thanks to Bloomsbury for sending us a copy to review.