What's Harry Up To? (The Adventures of Harry - Francesca Simon)

Member Name: belfin

Product:	The Adventures of Harry - Francesca Simon
Date:	30/03/07 (135 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple story with lovely pictures

Disadvantages: none

***Background***

Francesca Simon is probably better known for her popular series of Horrid Henry books. This one is for slightly younger children and has two stories combined in one book.

Combined with the illustration talents of David Melling, this charming book is a great find.

***The Stories***

*What's That Noise?*

Harry is a little dog who is going to stay at his Grandpa and Grandma's house for the first time. He is a bit nervous in such a big strange bed and when he hears a strange noise, it's not long before he's shouting for his Grandpa and asking him, "What's that noise?"

All seems quiet until Grandpa realises that it's the radiator making a funny noise and tells Harry to snuggle back down and go to sleep, but Harry can't settle and hears other noises that turn out to be fire engines, aeroplanes and even the woman next door hammering.

Finally Grandpa settles down in his bed to read but it's not long before he hears a strange noise too. He shouts for Grandma and the pair of them climb upstairs to investigate, only to find that the strange snuffling noise is little Harry, snoring gently.

The story ends, with Grandma telling Grandpa to snuggle down and go to sleep.

*Where Are You?*

Grandpa takes Harry for his first ever visit to the supermarket but when Harry smells some delicious cake, he takes off to find out where it is. Grandpa realises he is missing and searches all over the store to find him, causing chaos as he knocks items off the shelves to see if Harry is behind them.

Harry is having lots of fun trying to find the cake and eventually he sees a big display of all different types of cakes and cookies. He then realises that his Grandpa isn't with him and runs around the store trying to find him, feeling all lost and lonely.

Eventually they bump into each other and have a big cuddly reunion. The story ends with them happily leaving the store with a big bag of shopping.

***The Illustrations***

These drawings have lots of things going on in the backgrounds and the bright colours really catch a child's eye. There are a lot of funny illustrations, especially in the second story where Grandpa and Harry are both running around the store.

***My Thoughts***

Harry is a delightful little character and the stories in this book are lovely as children can relate to both experiences. My son has been disturbed quite a few times at night recently with the high winds blowing things about and we've had quite a few calls down the stairs with his cry of "I can hear something." Luckily he's always settled quickly again but the worrying tone in his voice shows us he has been genuinely scared and sometimes it takes a bit of talking to convince him that there are no monsters trying to get into his room in the middle of the night.

Luckily we've never had the experience of him escaping from us in the supermarket and he has never actually been lost from us although I do recall a time when he was busy playing in the park and he lost sight of us, even though we could still see him. The panic on his face was very real as he searched round for us as we frantically waved to him to get his attention.

I think parents often forget how scary new situations can be at times and this book is ideal for bringing them to our attention as well as giving us a chance to discuss the benefits of staying close by when they are out shopping with us. Showing children what to do in certain situations before they happen often alleviate their fears and put their minds to rest and this book is just the thing for showing them that there is really nothing to worry about when staying in a different bed or going someplace new, as long as they don't run off on their own.

The simple story and the lovely pictures go so well together that I would be surprised if any toddler pushed this book aside. My son loves them both and laughs out loud as Grandpa searches all over Harry's room to try and find the elusive sound of the radiator spluttering away. The sounds are also written in big, bold text so it's fun for him to read them out with me and recognise, as they get louder or softer. To start with he liked to guess what the noises were and now he loves to remember them as we go along.

This really is a lovely storybook and having the two stories in one book means that you are getting a great bargain.

***Price And Availability***

The price on the back of this hardback is £9.99 but you can buy it from Amazon for only £6.59.

ISBN No. 0340878541

Summary: Teaches children why it's important to stay close to parents