 |
Noisy Farm - Rod Campbell
by karlsm93
I have found recently that I can bring out slightly longer books with slightly more text for my 13 month old daughter and she will concentrate well and I am very glad about this, as there is obviously a bigger range of books that we can read together now. One book that I had purchased several years ago when I worked as a substitute ... teacher was this 'Noisy Farm' book by Rod Campbell and I have been reading it with my little girl for the last month and it is now one of her favourite at bedtimes, as when I go to put it down, she lifts it again for me to re read.
This book as you would guess from the title, is based around the animals on a farm and the noises that you hear there. This is a lift the flap book, which is another reason why my daughter enjoys it, as she is at the stage of loving lifting any kind of flap in a book to see what is behind.
THe story starts with the cockerel waking up everyone on the farm and then follows Sam the farm dog as he explores the farm, looking to see who is making the various noises and seeing which of the animals have babies with them in their various lodgings.
Sam, the farm dog gets a lift on a chugging farm, before he follows the sound of the likes of the mooing cow with her baby calf, the pig with her piglets, the duck with her ducklings, as well the as the sheep with her lambs, until eventually the only sound that can be heard on the farm is the sound of a dog sleeping behind a few sacks. Who could it be?!
As I said, my daughter absolutely loves this book. She has shown a lot of interest in animals and likes listening and having a go at the sounds that the animals on the farm make, so this book is right up her alley! The text is slightly longer that some of her more babyish books but she listens intently and reaches out for each and every flap.
All in all, this is a lovely book for a toddler. It is a good length to keep their attention, and with the added lift the flap element it makes it much more interactive. I can see this being a popular bedtime book for quite a while!
Read the complete review |
|
|
The Princess Diaries - Meg Cabot
by bettyboop2002
I found this book in the children's section of my local library. I picked it up as it is on a BBC 'Top 100 books' list which I am currently making my way through.
ABOUT THE BOOK
This is the first book in 'The Princess Diaries' series. There are ten books in the series in the following order:
1) The Princess ... Diaries
2) The Princess Diaries Take Two
3) The Princess Diaries Third Time Lucky
4) The Princess Diaries Mia Goes Fourth
5) The Princess Diaries Give Me Five
6) The Princess Diaries Sixsational
7) The Princess Diaries Seventh Heaven
8) The Princess Diaries After Eight
9) The Princess Diaries To The Nines
10) The Princess Diaries Ten of Tens
At least with having the numbers in the titles it should be easy to keep track of which book to read next.
This first book was published in 2001 by Macmillan Children's Books. The R.R.P on this book is £5.99 although it is available on Amazon for £4.49 including delivery.
The book is 230 pages long.
THE AUTHOR
Meg Cabot has published a variety of books for children of all ages. For younger readers there is 'The Alfie Finkle' series, for older readers there are single books and more series' including 'The Heather Wells' series, for those ages in between there are plenty of books and series' to choose from.
The author's website allows fans to discuss the books, view the author's online diary and her latest 'tweets', as well as getting information on upcoming books.
STORYLINE
As you may have gathered from the title, the book is set out in the form of a diary. The diary is written by a 14 year old girl named Mia.
Mia wasn't too keen to write a diary and didn't see it as a very "cool" thing to do, but her mother thought it would be a good idea to write down her feelings as she doesn't seem to want to talk to her about them.
Mia's parents split up before she was born, she lives with her mother in Manhattan and starts by expressing her disgust at the thought of her mother choosing to date her algebra teacher instead of one of the other 2 million men in Manhattan.
Mia's dad lives in Genovia, he is recovering from cancer. From the book, here are Mia's thoughts:
'Cancer is a scary thing. Fortunately, the kind of cancer my dad had was pretty curable. They just had to cut off the cancerous part, and then he had to have chemo, and after a year, so far, the cancer hasn't come back.
Unfortunately, the part they had to cut off was...
Ew, I don't even like writing it.
His testicle.
GROSS!
It turns out that when they cut off one of your testicles, and then give you chemo, you have, like, a really strong chance of becoming sterile. Which is what my dad has just found out he is.'
Mia's dad calls and tells her he is coming to visit her to discuss the fact that he can't have any more children. It turns out Mia's parents have been keeping a big secret from her and her dad is actually a Prince. As he can't have any more children this means that Mia is heir to the throne, and overnight becomes Princess Amelia.
Mia is an awkward teenager, she doesn't want to be a princess, just work for Greenpeace and she certainly isn't impressed when her grandmother comes to visit to give her Princess lessons to teach her how to look and act like a princess.
The diary continues to follow Mia's everyday life, trying to hide her news from her friends, falling out with her best friend, her crush on the school hottie, her arguments with her parents and making new friends. All whilst trying not to fail algebra and learning to become a princess.
OVERALL
The book is obviously aimed at teenage girls. I think the fact that it is in diary format with a few notes and lists included makes the book easy to read and would appeal to young readers.
I thought the author did a great job of writing from a teenager's prospective and think most young girls would enjoy it.
Read the complete review |
 |
Tip Tap Went the Crab - Tim Hopgood
by walsha11
This is another fairly recent discovery I made at the bookshop I work at. I have come across a couple of Tim Hopgood books before and absolutely love his bright illustrations and his imaginative writing. The book in particular is designed for children under 5 learning to count, but could also be used with older children that struggle ... with number work.
The concept for the book is about a crab who decides to go for a walk one day to discover what is out there in the ocean. She stumbles across many exciting and new creatures which gradually increase in number. The further she goes, the darker the sea gets and the more ominous the creatures she meets. Eventually she is terrified by what she sees and returns back home to leave the reader with an amazing final surprise of 10 baby crabs!
I think the narrative is really well thought out and written. It counts up in ones and the vivid and colourful pictures would definitely help to cement the numbers in a child's mind. The storyline is fun with plenty of twists and turns and in this way differs from a lot of other counting books which tend to be fairly uniform and a little dull. This actually have a proper narrative even without the numbers, which is fantastic as children will feel as though they are getting a proper story whilst also learning.
The illustrations are my favourite part of the book and will definitely entice readers young and old. The books are really stunning, with eye-popping colours and loads of texture. Each page is different from the last so there is always something to look at and I think children will respond will well to the bright colours.
The book comes in both a paperback and board book format. I bought the paperback for £5.99, though if you are looking to use it with under 3s I would recommend the board book because it is more durable and will stand the test of time. The cost is definitely worth it because this book is not only educational but also really enjoyable to read. It is also perfect for over 5s who struggle with their numbers as it feels more like a story than a simple counting book. It will help them to learn their numbers without even realising it is an educational book, which is perfect as they can often be a little dry and unappealing for children.
Overall, I great counting book with a really fun narrative and bright illustrations.
Read the complete review |
