It's a book about Igglepiggle, oh wait.. no it's not (All Aboard the Ninky Nonk - Story 1 - Igglepiggle)

Member Name: karalouk

Product:	All Aboard the Ninky Nonk - Story 1 - Igglepiggle
Date:	27/07/09 (176 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good story, fab pictures, lovely colours, durable, part of a set

Disadvantages: The story is not based on Igglepiggle, probably won't appeal to those who don't watch the programme

Unless you have been living in a shell for the last few years you'll know that 'In The Night Garden' is one of the countrys biggest childrens (mainly pre-schoolers) programmes right now. The shows main characters consist of Upsy Daisy, Igglepiggle, Makka Pakka and The Tombliboos.

Despite Igglepiggles size (he's quite large) he acts very much like a playful toddler. He is blue, fuzzy and is never seen without his red blanket.

My daughter owns a book called 'All aboard the Ninky Nonk!' which is a book that is supposed to be based around Igglepiggle.

Most people don't realise but the book is actually part of a 4 book set. The other 3 books are about the other 'In The Night Garden' characters and are called 'Ooh, pretty flower!', 'Time to wash faces!' and 'The happy waving game!'. The Igglepiggle book is the first in the set and the reason I know this is because there is a number one on the edge of the book.

The book is a good size (not too big, not too small) and is about half an inch thick. It is a hardback which means it's quite durable - our copy is over a year old and is in quite good condition considering. It is also easily wiped clean. The cover is very bright, glossy and eyecatching. There is a picture of Igglepiggle in the Night Garden with the Ninky Nonk behind him (a train which goes around the Night Garden), which covers the whole front cover.

The book has 16 pages and starts on the very first page. The pages are quite thick and are easy for little fingers to turn, aswell as being quite durable.

Each page has a different colour (orange, purple, blue, green and yellow) which is not only very nice to look at but can aid children in learning their colours. On one page is writing (with silhoettes of characters in the background) and on the other page are big, glossy scenes and characters from 'In The Night Garden'. The pictures are exactly as they appear on tv and are great to look at.

The book contains lots of quotes from the programme, such as 'Oh no! It's the Ninky Nonk!' which 'In The Night Garden' fans will love as it will be familar to them and they can even join in with it even if they can't read the words.

The book has a short, sweet and simple story to it - The Tombliboos decide to take a ride on the Ninky Nonk. The Ninky Nonk sets off and the Tombliboos have a bouncy ride. The Ninky Nonk stops and Upsy Daisy and Igglepiggle climb aboard - they too have a bouncy ride. The Ninky Nonk stops again for Makka Pakka to climb aboard but Makka Pakka doesn't want to ride the Ninky Nonk... Uh oh! ... Makka Pakka just wants to give the Ninky Nonk a wash instead!

One thing that I found particularly suprising was that the story was not about Igglepiggle at all and was actually about the Ninky Nonk... even Makka Pakka got more pages than Igglepiggle! Why have 'Igglepiggle' written all over the book (along with his picture on the cover) when it's not even about him!? I think instead of 'All aboard the Ninky Nonk' it should have been about Igglepiggle loosing his blanket or something of that nature...

Overall I think this is a good little book with a cute story. The pictures and colours are great, aswell as the length of the book - long enough to have a story but short enough to hold a young childs attention until the end. It's just a shame that the story wasn't more focused on Igglepiggle.

This book can also work out handy for grandparents that have no idea about 'In The Night Garden' too! Is there anything worse than an uneducated 'In The Night Garden' grandparent? I think not!

Another downside to this book is that it wont really appeal to children who don't watch 'In The Night Garden' because the characters and references will seem abit confusing. It also goes without saying that this book probably won't appeal to older children either.

The RRP of this book is £3.99 but you might be able to get it cheaper if you shop around or buy the book with the rest of the set.

Summary: Book Number 1 in the set (of 4).