As I missed out January’s entry, I’ll allow myself double the reviews. But shorter ones to make sure it’s not dull and cumbersome…
So, that means four books…
Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach by Melanie Watt
There are picture books which are full of lavish, panoramic feasts of colour. There are picture books with plenty of text and less illustration… this is more of a manual, I guess. But in the absolutely brilliantly entertaining way.
Every time Scaredy Squirrel wants to do something or go somewhere, he has to go the long way round or do things the hardest possible way. But not because he’s clever. It’s because Scaredy Squirrel is so terrified of the outside world that he devises health and safety regimes that would make many local councils sigh in wistful jealousy.
This story sees him deciding to build his own beach because he doesn’t want to go to an actual one with actual real people there. But it’s not quite right without a real shell – and he can’t avoid going to the seaside to get one. So he makes a plan…
It’s funny, it’s very clever in the telling and the labelling of the pictures and it is not at all confusing like a real manual to the mental workings of a squirrel would be. It’s just that side of complicated that means children will get that it’s a joke. And we love Scaredy Squirrel!
Green Light for the Little Red Train by Benedict Blathwayt
A library discovery we made, which Luke loves… This is a charming little story that rattles along much like the little red train. In fact, when you reach the end of the little red train’s mammoth journey, you might feel just as exhausted as the driver!
It’s the story of what happens when the little red train is told not to stop until he gets to a red light… only he doesn’t come across a red light, so unintentionally makes a whistle-stop tour of some European countries before finally being stopped when boarding a ferry back to England.
It’s one of those perfect picture books, where the text is well-paced, and not too wordy, and the pictures are simple enough to glance at and take in, but have plenty of little details there to keep someone occupied for a while before turning over.
The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr Benn by David McKee
A while ago, Luke was rooting around in my things. He does that, he’s nosey. There’s nothing embarrassing or scary for him to find, so I don’t mind it too much (just the mess left behind). But buried in a box, he discovered a DVD of Mr Benn. And to my surprise, he absolutely loved it.
I shouldn’t have been surprised, he loves dressing up and pretending to be other people (as Eric Morecambe would have put it, “He’s a fine actor, that boy!”)
This book is a reprint of the original form of Mr Benn – story books that came out in the late 60s that spawned the cartoon, and there are 4 here: Red Knight, Diver, Caveman and Spaceman… all with the distinctive and wonderful illustrations from the author.
They are longer than you’d expect a picture book to be, but really good all round I think – brilliant escapist nostalgia for you and a lovely chance to disappear into a world when costume shop doorways lead to adventure for the smaller person… The stories all follow the familiar Mr Benn pattern, which is lovely and warm and friendly, the plots develop slowly and gently, which is also really pleasing to read, and the language is perfect – simple and descriptive. It’s all very engaging, and my heart does a little leap whenever Luke picks it up to read…
Nicobobinus by Terry Jones
OK, this is one of mine… I saw Tony Robinson read this on Jackanory sometime in the 1980s, and was entranced by it then. But I never bought a copy – it was never in the bookshops I thought to look in, and I hadn’t thought about looking online for it. But then I chanced across a copy in a charity shop.
Thrilled, I got it home and devoured it within a day or two. And I wasn’t disappointed – it’s still every bit as daft, magical and thrilling (in a sort of muted, 80s children’s book kind of way). There are limbs turned to gold, dramatic escapes into the canals of Venice, the works. Think Alex Rider meets Alice in Wonderland. Then take away the kind of weaponry and tech in Alex Rider…
OK, so that was still quite long. But I get carried away, alright?!
