Fantastic new story from Rod Campbell (Buster's Zoo - Rod Campbell)

Member Name: mummy2harry

Product:	Buster's Zoo - Rod Campbell
Date:	10/07/07 (68 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interaction encouraged, simple story, great illustrations

Disadvantages: Pages quite thin so may tear

My son is very much into touch and feel books at the moment, and every day goes to his book basket, grabs one and thumps it down onto my lap for us to read together. I saw this one on the website Red House at a much reduced price, and decided to buy it. It arrived 2 days ago and we have read it 4 times in 2 days! A favourite in my house already.

The author Rod Campbell has been writing and illustrating children's books for over 20 years. His most famous book is "Dear Zoo", a lift-the-flap children's book. He has written several other books with the character Buster and this is the latest book in the Buster book series.

The cover has a wonderful coloured illustration of Buster, the young boy at the centre of this book, and a few zoo animals. It also has a touch and feel patch in the middle of the cover, so your child can get interested in the book straight away.

The pages are made of thin cardboard, but are quite sturdy. I do think if pulled at hard enough they could rip though, so perhaps be a bit careful when letting your child have a play with this book. There are a few lines of the story on each page, in nice big type so children can easily follow the story. The illustrations on each page are so simple and colourful, it is lovely. The colours are wonderfully bold and bright, and always catch my son's attention.

Each animal has a touchy feely surface, just a small patch, and my son loves to rub his hand across the page until he finds the touchy patch and then giggles when he finds it and rubs it more with his fingers. It isn't just furry patches, there are shiny surfaces, a few flaps for children to lift up, and the names of the animals are on each page so you can talk about them to your child. All of the animals are typical zoo animals, such as Penguin, Lion, Polar Bears and Monkeys and I would consider taking this book to a zoo when I go with my son so he can liken the story to the real animals!

The book is fantastic for children. The touch and feel element allows your child to get interactive with the book, and lets them stay interested. The story is simple, short and entertaining. It is another fantastic book for children by the fantastic Rod Campbell so if your child loves any of the other Buster stories or Dear Zoo, I am sure they will love this one!

Available in paperback (Which is thin cardboard actually!) on Amazon for £4.99 but as I said, I got my copy from Red House for just £2.99, a bargain for the hours of entertainment you and your child will get from this book.

Published by Pan Macmillan, the book contains 18 pages.

Summary: Great book for young children