Going Nuts (Tales From Acorn Wood - Julia Donaldson)

Member Name: belfin

Product:	Tales From Acorn Wood - Julia Donaldson
Date:	08/08/09 (56 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lovely rhymes make this a pleasure to read.

Disadvantages: none

***Background***

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler have compiled quite a lot of books in the past putting clever rhymes and fun pictures together to make fantastic reads for young children. Of course Julia Donaldson is well known for stories such as The Gruffalo but this one doesn't seem to be so widely known.

It is actually a compilation of three stories that have been separately published in the past but they are put together here to give children lots of fun as they find out what is behind the flap on each double page.

***The Stories***

Rabbit's Nap is the first story and starts with a little bunny sitting on a chair with a big cushion.

"Rabbit's feeling sleepy.
She curls up in a chair.
Tap! Tap! Who's that?
Oh dear! It's Builder Bear."

The poor rabbit tries everywhere to settle down for a nap but is disturbed every time by band-playing mice, a wood-chopping fox and a tortoise ringing his bike bell. Eventually she returns home only to be awakened once more by a knock at her door. When she opens it she finds all the friends who have been keeping her awake who come and sing her a little song to lull her to sleep.

"'Hush-a-bunny! Tra-la-la!
We'll sing you off to sleep!'
Zzzzz! Zzzzz! What's that?
Shall we have a peep?"

Under the last flap, under the quilt on the bed, bunny curled up with her dolly, sound asleep.

Postman Bear continues this set of stories about the animals in Acorn Wood and starts with a bear sitting writing letters. He has three letters to deliver and each one is to one of his friends who live in the woods. We are asked,

"What was in those letters,
One, two, three?
Would you like to open one?
Havea look and see."

When the flap of the letter is opened we see that Bear has invited his friends to a party and then we see him preparing food and cakes. The story ends with a knock at the door.

"Someone's knocking at the door.
One, two, three.
Bear goes to open it.
Who can it be?

When the flap of the door is opened we see all his friends standing there and underneath are the words, "Happy Birthday, Bear!"

The last story in the book is called Hide-and-Seek Pig, and starts with Pig playing hide-and-seek with Hen. When it comes to Pig seeking she looks everywhere for hen but instead of finding her, finds other friends instead who join her in her searching fun.

It's not long before there are a whole host of friends looking for hen and the story ends with them all standing beside a picnic basket.

"'Come on, Badger, follow me.
I'll lead you to our picnic tea.'
Still no Hen! Where did she go?
Pig can't think. But do you know?"

Inside the last flap on the picnic basket is Hen who jumps up to give Pig a surprise.

***The Illustrations***

I'm a big fan of Axel Scheffler's drawings and this one is no exception to the rule. His bright colours and realistic sketches make this book a joy to look at and there are always things to discuss in the pictures. The writing in this book is bold and black making it easier for young readers to follow.

***The Flaps***

These are quite sturdy in this book and not as easily torn as in books such as the Spot series. There are a variety of items that incorporate these flaps including doors, gates, tent flaps and even an oven door. Underneath there is always a lovely picture waiting to be found.

***My Thoughts***

Julia Donaldson is one of my son's favourite authors. Her lovely rhymes in the past have been easy for him to memorise when was learning to read now at school, but he is more than capable of reading this book by himself now.

The stories are gentle and enjoyable for a bedtime read and the pictures that go with them are fantastic. The outdoor illustrations always have things like dragonflies or little insects crawling around for children to spot and there are lots of details on the indoor pictures too.

The idea of putting these three stories into one book is a great idea and of course flaps seem to be very popular with most children who enjoy discovering what is hiding behind them as much as the story itself. The characters are lovable too and the stories are realistic so children can associate with them.

This really is a good buy for the price and I would have to recommend it, as another winner from Julia Donaldson.

***Price & Availability***

The publishing price for this hardback book is £12.99 but you can find it for only £8.44 at Tesco.

ISBN No. 1405053895

Summary: Another great read from Julia Donaldson.