We're going to the Zoo, How about you? (Buster's Zoo - Rod Campbell)

Member Name: Autarkis

Product:	Buster's Zoo - Rod Campbell
Date:	26/09/09 (102 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Ideal size for little hands, it also helps with learning about animals.

Disadvantages: The pages are a bit flimsy so are easily prone to tearing.

My son loves to have books read to him and he also likes to look at books alone, he will happily sit for long periods of time flicking through a book looking at the pictures. The only problem is that he is an excited toddler who hasn't learnt how to be gentle with his books just yet. His eager little hands and teeth get carried away sometimes, so some of his more expensive paperback books stay out of his reach so they can be enjoyed together at reading time. I have bought many board books for him so he can have his own books to look at that are toddler friendly.


I often buy books online as you can find many good titles at much lower prices than in shops, which is great to feed my sons book addiction. I often frequent The Book People and Red House, both of which offer a great range of books at discount prices. I generally buy a few books at a time as they are affordable.


My son loved the Dear Zoo book which I ordered from Red House, this is Rod Campbell's most famous book. So I had a look to see what other titles this author had, I came across Buster's Zoo which looked perfect as it was a board book, and it was only £2.99 so I wasted no time in ordering it. This book usually retails around £4.99 and can found on Amazon, Red house or in good book stores.


This book is suitable for toddlers aged between 1 to 3 years; the hard back edition has 16 thin card glossy pages which wipe clean with ease. Buster is a character who features in a range of stories where we follow his daily adventures. In this particular book Buster visits the Zoo, and meets different animals from a lion, a bear, a monkey, an elephant and some penguins.


Each animal has a textured surface on it for your child to explore this offers a great opportunity for your children as they can interact with the story. Each page has a different textured area, the lion has a furry mane for your child to run their finger over, the penguins pool has a plastic cover over it to give it a very different texture and look to it as the light reflects off of it. The baby chimp is hiding under the table and there is a chequered table cover for your child to lift up to discover the cheeky chimp. The elephant has a lift the flap which is opened out over the top of the book, this looked great however it was quite flimsy and my son managed to tear this off.


The story is quite simple with only a few words on each page just enough to hold a young child's attention. The pictures are bold and simple with large illustrations of each animal being spread across each double page, the text is on the left hand corner of each page and on each page you can find a sign post with the animals name on, which is great for young readers to recognise the name of the animals.


My son enjoys having this book read and saying the animal names and making the noises to some of the animals. He was very quick to find the touch and feel areas in the book and he enjoys exploring the different textures; the furry areas gave him a giggle as they tickled his finger. The book is a nice size approximately 20cm by 20cm so it is easy for my son to hold and turn the pages, he will happily sit and look through this book alone and he will often flick back and forth through the pages looking at all the pictures and feeling the textured areas. I also leave it in the bottom of his cot at night so he can find it in the morning and he is often sat in the corner of his cot reading it in the morning.


This is a great interactive book which will introduce young readers to Zoo animals. It will also make a great early readers book as the text is simple and clear which will give young readers confidence in reading along with you and having a go at reading it themselves.


All in all this is another great book by Rod Campbell which both my son and I highly recommend.


To find out more about the author and what other books are in this series:

www.rodcampbell.co.uk

Additional information:

* Publisher: Campbell Books Ltd 2006
* Language: English
* ISBN: 140505445X
* R.R.P: £6.99

Summary: Lets meet the Zoo animals wth Buster.