Wild Things: Giraffe on a sleepover

Author: Lisa Regan

Illustrator: Kelly Byrne

Year: 2011

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing, London

Age: 4 and above

No. of Pages: 24

ISBN:  978 1 40815 679 7

I loved this wildlife series for little children. Friendly illustrations, uncluttered text in an engaging font, neat little chapters each with a quirky “You will need” section are some of the reasons why you might want this book for your little one or for your school library.

Besides, this book is a fund-raising initiative from the Zoological Society of London, a charity that provides help for animals while also running the ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.

Other books in this series include

•     Elephant in the attic
•     Emu on the loose
•     Hippo in the house
•     Lion who came to lunch
•     Monkey in the garden
•     Penguin in the post
•     Tiger at the door

Excerpt

Watch out for kicking feet – they’re huge and they hurt.

A giraffe’s hoof is the size of a cereal bowl and can kill a lion with one mighty kick.

Karate classes might be a bad idea … 

Dewdrop Babies – The Big Storm

Author and Illustrator: Patricia McCarthy

For Ages: 3 and above

No. of Pages: 12

Publisher: Random House Children’s Books, London

Year: 2008

ISBN: 978-0-55255-652-1

This incredibly enchanting book with sparkly glitter on every page and cherubic dewdrop babies with names like Violet, Sweetpea and Poppy is one of those books your children will want to see and read, over and over again.

Despite its cuteness, the story addresses a critical issue that young ones struggle with – the fear of thunder and lightning. The story acknowledges the fear, (calling it a fire-breathing dragon) addresses it and moves on to the splendid after-effects of a thunder shower – shiny sun and a beautiful rainbow.

Excerpt

1       Sweetpea and Rose join in the game, and soon there are petals flying all over the Great Hall, like giant multi-coloured snowflakes.

Even Violet can’t help laughing when a shower of petals lands on her head.

The Rainbow Babies dance and whirl about until they fall into a tangled sticky heap.