Betty’s Birthday

It’s Betty’s sixth birthday and she is having a party! Readers are invited to join her in her preparations and for the celebrations!

Bright and colourful, ‘Betty’s Birthday’ is a fun-packed read which engages little ones on every page. Betty is introduced as living in a ‘big house’, a cross section of which is shown to allow readers to guess which is Betty’s room. There is plenty to discuss here with a helipad and a hot air balloon on the roof, a swimming pool room complete with sauna and a cinema and lots of other things to notice! Having located her room, she then needs to find her glasses amongst all the clutter and mess strewn across the floor before choosing an outfit for the party. At each step, the reader is encouraged to help her out or offer their opinion, encouraging little ones to use different skills as they explore both text and illustration.

The page showing Betty’s wardrobe is sure to inspire some readers to create a paper doll of Betty and trace her clothes, adding tabs before cutting out and colouring so that they can play at dressing her up or creating their own outfits to add to her collection!

Once her guests arrive, there are all manner of games to play and things to find as the party gets underway. Children can join in with the dance competition as they are asked what their ‘best moves’ are before it’s time for party bags and home and Betty is left to open her presents and go to bed! With so many ways to interact with the story, this is possibly not one for bedtime, but would be great fun to share with siblings or friends!

Betty’s Birthday

Celine Ka Wing Lau

Cicada Books ISBN: 978-1800660496

Nibbles The Very Hungry Book Monster

Nibbles the Book Monster has gone searching for snacks, but he can’t seem to find a book to satisfy his tastes. One’s too slimy, one’s too sweet and the next is too smelly- will he ever find a book which tastes just right?

‘Nibbles The Very Hungry Book Monster’ is the fifth adventure for everyone’s favourite mischievous monster. Like the other stories, there is so much for little children to enjoy as they follow Nibbles, peeking through die cut holes, lifting flaps and following trails of footprints, making this certain to become an ‘again, again!’ story.

This book about books is perfect for starting discussions about other stories and different types of books. In his search for a tasty snack, Nibbles eats his way through a recipe book, the story of ‘Hansel and Gretel’ and a version of ‘Old MacDonald Had a Farm’ which is certain to get readers giggling, but there are plenty of other books to explore in the pictures, offering many little jokes along the way. As Nibbles eats his way into the ‘Cats Pop-Up Book’, for example, he leaves them an escape hole, making a mouse in ‘Hansel and Gretel’ look very worried! Children could suggest other books which Nibbles might enjoy tasting and perhaps create their own pictures exploring his adventures. They might like to make mini books, complete with holes for a Nibbles finger puppet to pop through, allowing them to develop their own stories about this loveable monster.

Readers are sure to enjoy spotting little details in the illustrations, like the wanted poster for Nibbles in the library or all the things he has nibbled on his way across town! Like each of the previous books, ‘The Very Hungry Book Monster’ is sure to become a firm favourite, to be read again and again!

Nibbles The Very Hungry Book Monster

Emma Yarlett

ISBN: 978-1801046541

PUBLICATION DATE: September 5th 2024

You can read about how to make a Nibbles pencil topper here and see an idea for a Nibbles book balloon here.

I Turtley Love You/Don’t Ever Smile at a Shark

Today, I’m reviewing two delightful books from Little Tiger which take little readers under the sea, both written by Harriet Evans, but illustrated by Bryony Clarkson (Turtle) and Michael Slack (Shark).

‘I Turtley Love You’ is a beautifully produced board book. Sturdy board pages and colourful illustrations are enhanced by both cut outs and raised sections, offering plenty of tactile interest for little fingers to enjoy. The gentle rhyming text focuses on the love between adult and child as different sea creatures are introduced.

As well as emphasising a feeling of love and being special, the illustrations and text could lead to conversations about these sea creatures and finding out more about them. Little ones who have seen ‘Finding Nemo’, for example, may make the connection between Marlin and Nemo and the clownfish in the story. The interactive element of the cut outs allows them to play peek-a-boo with the young clown fish by flipping the page back and forth. There are also plenty of details to spot, like the heart shapes made by the crabs claws. It is a delightful little book with much to recommend it!

I Turtley Love You: A sea-riously cute Book of love!

Harriet Evans, illustrated by Bryony Clarkson

Little Tiger ISBN: 9781838915681

Also under the sea, ‘Don’t Ever Smile at a Shark’ is a wonderfully interactive read! Clever paper engineering means the pop-ups move in different ways as an array of sea creatures leap off the page.

The rhyming text is fun to read aloud with plenty of opportunities for little ones to join in with the story, making noises and perhaps actions to suit. As with the previous story, this one might lead to further investigation about the creatures pictured here. Children are sure to enjoy manipulating the book to make the pages move - and older children (and some adults!) are sure to want to investigate how the movement is created. Sure to become a firm favourite!

Don’t Ever Smile at a Shark

Harriet Evans, illustrated by Michael Slack

Little Tiger ISBN: 978-1838915292

The Upside Down Detective Agency

When Lady V arrives at Super Sleuth HQ in need of help, detectives Stella and Stan agree to help her find the diamond warp drive which has been stolen from her super speedy racing car. Can these sleuthing sloths crack the case in time for her to win the race? Maybe- with a little help from the reader!

Quite simply- superb! ‘The Upside Down Detective Agency’ is a light-hearted romp of a read which engages children (and adults!) from the very first page. Illustrations and text combine to make a wonderfully immersive read which will be fun to share again and again. The reader has to use their ‘detective’ skills to help super-sleuth sloths, Stella and Stan, solve the mystery of who has stolen Lady Veronica Velocity Speed’s warp drive. Each spread poses a challenge to be solved, encouraging the reader to read/listen carefully to what they need to do and then really focus on the illustrations to locate the clues or solve questions. The first clues help solve which sloth is Stella and which Stan before the mystery ‘proper’ begins.

The eagle-eyed will notice clues that are not mentioned in the text - and perhaps identify a suspect before the denouement takes place- and each re-reading will reveal yet more details to share and enjoy. The illustrations are incredible and offer so many opportunities for story telling- and for playing I-Spy type games. Any teacher who has watched children share a ‘Where’s Wally?’ book will recognise this type of game which children frequently generate themselves once they have ‘found’ Wally. The story also lends itself as a starting point for writing further stories about Stella and Stan and the crimes they solve. A new crime is committed on the last page of the book which could be used as the basis for creating a new story (I hope the author/ illustrator are already working on this!)- perhaps written and illustrated by older children for younger ones.

The sloths love of cake also means that making sloth cup cakes or biscuits to enjoy whilst sharing the story would be a must in my house or classroom! The book would make an excellent text to use for a Book Group or Story Party session as it is perfect for inspiring art work and games as well as being a brilliant read! I really hope there are more crimes to solve for The Upside Down Detective Agency coming soon!

The Upside Down Detective Agency

Ellie Hattie, illustrated by Brendan Kearney

Little Tiger ISBN: 978-1801041621