I spy Each Peach Pear Plum (Each Peach Pear Plum - Allan Ahlberg)

Member Name: takeachance

Product:	Each Peach Pear Plum - Allan Ahlberg
Date:	08/04/09 (162 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Educational and fun to read with your little one

Disadvantages: dont be fooled by the outdated front cover

Each Peach Pear Plum came home in my daughters bookbag this Easter holiday so we're getting to read it every night. To be honest on initial sight of this book I wasnt wowed. It looked dated and I wasnt sure that I was going to enjoy reading it.On closer inspection it perhaps gives this first impression as it was actually first published in 1978!

Each Peach Pear Plum is written by Janet and Allan Ahlberg.Allan was born in Croydon in 1938 and grew up near Birmingham. From the age of twelve, his dream was to be a writer but before turning to this he tried his hand at a variety of jobs including postman, grave digger, plumber's mate and teacher.
Janet Hall was born in 1944 and spent her childhood years in Leicester. She went to Sunderland to train to be a teacher. Allan Ahlberg had enrolled on the same course. In 1969 they married.
Instead of teaching Janet actually went into graphic design. While Allan worked full time as a teacher, Janet's first work was published. She then convinced her husband to write a text for her to illustrate. Initially their submissions to publishers were met with rejection slips until Penguin took 'The Old Joke Book'. From hereon in there would be no looking back. In 1978 Janet's artwork for Each Peach Pear Plum won her the Kate Greenaway Medal.
By the 80s, the Ahlbergs were big news in Britain but also all over the world. Their books were translated into 21 languages.

Each Peach Pear Plum actually really suprised me. Its a story , a rhyme and an I spy game all rolled into one. There are at least 9 different well known childrens characters all rolled into this one delightful story, each page introducing a new one whilst the picture on the opposite page have that new character hidden within the picture somewhere for your little one to spot.
For example the first page is 'Each Peach Pear Plum I spy Tom Thumb'
In the picture on the opposite page you can spot Tom Thumb hiding in the tree.Next 'Tom Thumb in the cupboard I spy Mother Hubbard' and here as well as everything else going on in the picture your little one can spot Mother Hubbard bent over in the corner....'Mother Hubbard down the cellar I spy Cinderella' ..... and so it goes on until 'Plum Pie in the sun I spy Everyone' where the final picture shows all the characters together having a picnic. My daughter loves pointing out all the characters in this last picture.

I must admit that on several pages my daughter actually found the 'hidden' character before me. Each time we read this together she notices something new in the pictures and when I tried to rush through it this morning she actually noticed when I skipped a page!

I was wrong about this book on first impression. Its actually a very delightful, interesting, fun book that appeals to both myself and my three year old.


Board book: 32 pages
Publisher: Puffin; New Ed edition (27 May 1999)
Language English
ISBN-10: 067088278X
ISBN-13: 978-0670882786
Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 14.4 x 1.6 cm

As mentioned, our copy is on loan from the school but looking online this book can be purchased on amazon for £3.99 new.

Summary: All your favourite characters hiding in one rhyming book