Animals Galore! (Lift-the-Flap Animal Book - Rod Campbell)

Member Name: tb4ms

Product:	Lift-the-Flap Animal Book - Rod Campbell
Date:	17/10/09 (68 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Full of educational opportunities.

Disadvantages: No major ones.

The book / The style and Format -

The 'bumph' on the back of this book states:
~ 'Sturdy card pages and flaps' - This is very thin card, as for me the use of the word 'sturdy' suggests a board book thickness which it certainly isn't.
~ 'Easy to read text and simple rhymes'
~ 'A perfect book for the nursery'

This book consists of 12 double pages. It is made up of 18 simple rhymes, from the very familiar 'Two Little Dicky Birds' and 'Little Miss Muffet' to new ones:

Our Pets
'Sally has a tortoise, Billy has a dog,
Katy has a rabbit and Freddy has a ......'
There is then a flap to open to reveal a frog.

Nesting Box
'Little bird cannot speak,
She's got a worm in her beak.
Can you guess who it's for?
Take a look behind the door!'

On this page there is a bird box which the reader is asked to open in the rhyme to reveal some chicks that the bird is flying towards to feed.

The rhymes vary in length. There are some very short ones that are very easy for young children to commit to memory whereas as others are quite a bit longer.

There is at least one flap to open on each page and some pages have even more.

The rhymes are very interactive with the children being asked to count the number of chicks under a flap or fill in the missing word in the rhyme by lifting the flap and naming the animal hidden underneath it.

- Illustrations -

The illustrations are simply done but very appealing to pre-school children. They are all set against a white background and the illustrations work hand in hand with the text, e.g. one of the poems is of a kitten that goes under the table, through the socks and over the dustpan and the illustrations show the kitten in each of these positions.

- Educational Values -

~ Encourages fine motor skills with the lift-the-flap opportunities.
~ Develops and encourages young children's awareness and identification of rhyme.
~ Encourages children to name a wide range of animals, for example: kangaroo, ducklings, giraffe, horse, frog etc.

- The Author -

Rod Campbell is probably most well-known for 'Dear Zoo' which has sold more than 2 million copies.

His books are ideal for very young children.... Simple texts which are sometimes repetitive (great for pre-school children).

Rod Campbell uses lift-the-flap, touch and feel as well as the 'odd' pop up book, all of which cater extremely well for 2 years and upwards.

There are also a few cloth books, ideal for the under 2s as they can be washed and re-used etc... ' Baby's Busy Book' & ' My Farm'.

He is also the creator of Buster, a well-known and much loved character.
I have listed some of Rod Campbell's books:
~ I'm hungry
~ Farm Chase
~ Buster Zoo
~ Oh Dear!
~ It's mine!
~ I won't bite, I'm not scary
~ Noisy farm

Rod Campbell has also produced a range of books for Longman publicatons:
~ Come in to the garden
~ Hungry animals
~ Who's there?

For more information visit www.rodcampbell.co.uk
On the website there are pictures to colour as well as reading skills guidance for parents.

- Price -

My paperback, ISBN: 0-333-63339-3 was £4.99
However used and new copies are available from amazon from just 1p!

- My Verdict -

The book has a number of educational values and unlike some of his other lift-the-flap books this has them in abundance!

I've used this with 3 year olds and have recently given it to the youngest member of the family who is just under one year and the flaps withstood his supervised opening of them so they are sturdier than most I've come across.

Overall this is a lovely book for young children, full of interactive and educational benefits.

N.B. Review is also posted on ciao.

Summary: A lovely book for young children.