Time for bed, my little bunny! (5-minute Bunny Tales for Bedtime - Sally Sheringham)

Member Name: AmyAmy

Product:	5-minute Bunny Tales for Bedtime - Sally Sheringham
Date:	17/10/09 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: educational, entertaining, attractive, cheap

Disadvantages: hard to find

I have always been an avid reader. I never moaned when we received our books home about Biff, Kipper and Chip for homework, and I loved raking in car boot stalls to find a bargain book to add to my shelf. When I was too young to be able to read for myself, I enjoyed having stories read to me from my selection of favourites. One of the books I loved was the 'Five Minute Bunny Tales for Bedtime'. When I was sorting through my books the other day, I came across this again and felt a sudden rush of memories and happiness. So much joy from one little book!

The Bunny Tales book is a hardback book, which I think is always good as it makes the book last longer. Though mine, now about fifteen or sixteen years old, has started to peel at the spine and looks a little bashed. The cover of the book is incredibly attractive and eye catching! On the front of the large book there is a picture that covers from top to toe. It is a wonderful cartoon image of a meadow with a beautiful blue sky and luscious green grass, with bunnies from all walks of life sitting around an old rabbit who is reading them a story from this very book. They're all smiling and having a good time - it's very welcoming. On the back of the book there is a short description telling you that this book contains 'more than 100 charming tales about bunnies'. Underneath, there is a picture of a bunny in its burrow, tucked up fast asleep under the night sky. Its a great little message to encourage you that if you read this to your child, they will fall sound asleep afterwards, ready for a good night's sleep!

The cover is adorable, but of course its what is on the inside that I love th emost. When you turn the first page, and indeed the last, you will find a white sheet full of little images of bunnies, each one a character that you will read about in the book. The page following that is just an introduction with the title, and then you come to the stories. The way the stories are laid out is wonderful. Each one is written in the centre of the page, with a colourful border around it. At the top, the title is written in black block capitals with a coloured background, and the first letter of the story is written in a large font, with a matching coloured box around it. Underneath the story, and occasionally around the page, you will find the illustrations of the rabbits underneath which correspond with the story. It's so bright and colourful, and gives the children something to talk about too.

There are in fact 130 little stories in this book, each one a page long. They're all unique too, with their own characters and morals. There is a story about Molly and her bossy sister who never shares, but her sister learns to share and they build a big sand castle together. Another story is about Brian Bunny who always boasts about his lovely fluffy tail, but then one day he gets his comeuppance when his lovely tail is ruined when he falls in the pond. A third is about Florence. She has a floppy ear and thinks she is ugly but when she receives a Valentine's Day card, she feels much better. Each page has a story to tell with a meaning and is sure to teach children a thing or two about morals!

The stories in the book are written by Sally Sheringham and Joan Stimson. Now apart from this very book, I haven't actually heard of them before. Neither of them are parcicularly well known to me and a trip to Amazon.co.uk informed me that Sheringham has very few publications. However Joan Stimson seems to be quite a popular children's author with many published material. The lovely illustrations are provided by Peter Stevenson, who too has done work for many children's books before.

There is no indication on the book as to what age range this is aimed at, but I would say around the age bracket of 4-6, depending on child's reading levels. Although the font is quite big and bold, there are too many words on a single page for a very young child to focus on and follow, but at the same time the language is quite basic so they can understand what is being read to them. The illustrations are quite good to help them understand better and they can connect with the stories whilst learning at the same time.

The book was published in Ferbruary 1992, and I have not once seen it in a store so it has obviously been removed for quite some time. However you can purchase it from Amazon.co.uk for just 1p, and even with the £2.75 postage and packaging price, that is still wonderful. There is no RRP price on the book itself but I imagine it would have cost a fair bit originally.

This is a wonderful book full of stories which are both entertaining and educational. They do take just five minutes to read one, and after a few questions from your little one, they will be asleep in no time. If read during the day it is a great way to encourage children to discuss events in books and adapt their abilities. I am thrilled that I was bought this, and am simply delighted that I have kept it - it's perfect!

Amy 2009

Summary: /