Tell me a story, Mummy

Author: Carl Norac

Illustrator: Mei Matsuoka

For Ages: 4 and above

No. of Pages: 30

Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books, London

Year: 2007

ISBN: 978-1-40502-189-0

This bedtime tale is just about that – bedtime and child’s little quirks before going to sleep.

Salsa, a happy little goat, can’t quite go to sleep. She tries to wake the birds, ducks and cows but they are all fast asleep. Finally, she enlists the help of Cork, the sheep who fails to help her.

Finally, Salsa wakes up her mummy. Soon, she's off to sleep, exhausted but happy.    

This book had to have been written by a parent. :-)

Excerpt

Now Salsa’s mummy was really cross.

“I've had enough of this, Salsa. What kind of story do you want?”

“I want a sweet, gentle story to send me to sleep,” said Salsa.

“A story as sweet as grass … as sweet as flowers … and as sweet as the evening sun.”

To Every Thing There is a Season

Illustrator: Jude Daly

For Ages: 4 and above

No. of Pages: 32

Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, London

Year: 2006

ISBN: 978-1-84507-363-3

This book was timely with our little children, when we had to explain to them the loss of a dear friend.

The book is packed with highly detailed and clever illustrations that merit a deep look to help one understand the story behind each verse. As a source of wisdom and comfort in times of need, this book deserves a place in your library.

The text is essentially from the Bible, Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verses 1-8 (King James Version).    

Excerpt

A time to weep, and a time to laugh,

A time to mourn and a time to dance,

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together…

Augustus and his smile

By Catherine Rayner

For Ages: 4 and above

No. of Pages: 32

Publisher: Little Tiger Press, London

Year: 2006

ISBN: 978-1-56148-510-9

Augustus the Tiger has lost his smile! He looks everywhere – under the bushes, on the tops of the tallest trees, on snowy mountaintops, even, at the bottom of the deepest oceans. He does find his lost smile but in the unlikeliest place of all.

This book has a message for children and grown-ups. It’s easy for us look for happiness everywhere else but the right place.   

The illustrations are quite clever from a grown-ups’ perspective but I’m not so sure if children might enjoy turning the pages of a book that is rich in  browns, blacks and dark hues of the rest of the spectrum.

Excerpt

Further and further Augustus searched.

He scaled the crests of the highest mountains where the slow clouds swirled, making frost patterns in the freezing air.

He swam to the bottom of the deepest oceans and splished and splashed with shoals of tiny, shiny fish.

He pranced and paraded through the largest desert, making shadow shapes in the sun. 

Little Miss Scatterbrain sets off for the sun

Concept: Roger Hargreaves

Author and Illustrator: Adam Hargreaves

For Ages: 5 and above

No. of Pages: 32

Publisher: Egmont UK Ltd., London

Year: 1998

ISBN: 978-0-74983-314-5

Website: Mr. Men

Meet Miss Scatterbrain, a simple soul who’s very, very scatterbrained and gets everything mixed up. So when she decides to go on a holiday she enlists the help of her friends to ensure a smooth trip. But then, yes, you guessed that right, poor Miss Scatterbrain has another misadventure!

This book is from the 1990s. So I had to explain what a radio was to my children.

Excerpt

This story is about the time that she went on her summer holiday.

Little Miss Scatterbrain, as you can imagine, is not very good at organizing holidays.

The year before last she went skiing, but ended up on the beach.