Ivy's Library - Page 59 of 79 - Bite-Sized Book Reviews for Kids

Thu
26 ^th

Zog By Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler

The combination of dragons and girl power make this one of our favourite collaborations between Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

Zog is a big orange dragon who loves going to Dragon School. He’s really enthusiastic about his classes but he just can’t quite get things right. He bumps in to trees whilst learning to fly, gives himself a sore throat trying to roar and accidentally sets his wing on fire whilst attempting to breathe fire. Fortunately each time he hurts himself a little girl appears with a bag of bandages and plasters and she fixed him right up.

When he gets to Year 4 the dragons have to learn how to capture a princess. Again Zog struggles until he discovers that his wonderful friend is in fact a princess herself. She allows herself to be captured in order to help him out and Zog gets a golden star from the teacher. She becomes a valuable member of the school, tending to the dragon’s ailments with the help of her trusty medical bag.

Wed
25 ^th

A River
by Marc Martin

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I bought this book based solely on the beautiful cover and when it arrived I loved it – but if i’m honest I wasn’t sure if it would hold Ivy’s attention. I was very wrong!

The story is about a little girl, living in a city who likes to watch the river through her bedroom window. As she sits there she imagines the journey the river takes as it moves towards the ocean.

The illustrations are a joy and my initial assessment that it might be a bit old for Ivy was immediately proved wrong when we read the book together and she was completely memorised by the pictures. The river moves from the city to patchwork fields, then through rolling mountains, over a waterfall and in to a jungle rich with animal life. Finally we move through mangroves of crocodiles before reaching the ocean and gazing at the sea life beneath the little girl’s imaginary boat.

Tue
24 ^th

No More Nappies by Campbell Books & Marion Cocklico

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Operation potty training is due to start shortly so we are currently reading lots of books on the topic to help her understand what’s coming. This one, from the Big Steps series, has quickly become her favourite and we’re currently reading it 3-4 times a day at her request.

The book shows two toddlers, Millie and Mo, as they start their potty training journey. At the beginning of the books they are both wearing nappies. You can lift up Millie’s skirt to see her nappy and you can also use a slider to pull Mo’s nappy down and reveal his bottom which Ivy thinks is hilarious.

They don’t want to wear nappies any more, so we see them visit the shop with their Daddy to buy potties and grown up pants. They learn how to use them and the book reinforces the point that everyone has little accidents and they are nothing to worry about. By the end of the book Millie is using her potty like a pro and Mo has even advanced to the loo.

Mon
23 ^rd

Ivy’s Guest Book: Sally Darby, Founder, Mums Like Us

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Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

I’m Sally Darby, founder of Mums Like Us – a network for disabled mothers. MLU is a facebook group exclusively for disabled mothers. I am also trying to open up the conversation about disability and motherhood @mums_like_us on Instagram and www.mumslikeus.org. I live in the Midlands with my husband and two beautiful and bonkers daughters who are 2 and 5.

What is your daughters’ favourite books?

The eldest currently adores Matilda by Roald Dahl. She loves that Matilda is smart and mischievous… a bit like her! The little one loves the Winnie the Witch books by Valerie Thomas. She has learned to say, ‘witch,’ and she loves repeating it as she points to every picture!

Sun
22 ^nd

The Detective Dog by Julia Donaldson & Sara Ogilvie

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The Detective Dog seems to be one of Julia Donaldson‘s lesser known books but we think it’s fantastic and deserves a lot more attention. If you haven’t read this one yet then definitely keep an eye out for it!

The story is about a dog called Nell who is very good at finding things. She lives with a little boy called Peter who loses his toys all the time so she uses her exceptional nose to sniff them out and return them to him.

Every Monday Peter takes Nell to school with him and it’s her favourite day of the week. She loves all of the different smells and she is particularly fond of the books which the children read to her. However one Monday, when they get to the school, Nell realises she cannot smell the books. She and Peter rush in to the classroom to find all of the children and the teacher in tears. Someone has stolen all of the books. Every last one of them!

Sat
21 ^st

We Are Family By Patricia Hegarty & Ryan Wheatcroft

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We adore this gorgeous book about families and have spent many hours poring over the amazingly detailed illustrations.

The lovely rhyme explores the concept of family, showing how they are there for each other in good times and bad. You see daytime routines, hospital visits, holidays, little household disasters and most importantly, love.

The beauty of the book is that the illustrations show ten different families going through all of the above. Each family is different but the book helps children see that although their family may not look like the same as somebody else’s, the experiences they go through and the love that they feel are all essentially the same.

Thu
19 ^th

Dinosaurs Love Underpants By Claire Freedman & Ben Cort

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Like most toddlers, Ivy loves dinosaurs so as you can imagine we have quite a few dinosaur-themed books. This is one of her favourites and it never fails to make her laugh.

The story is about how the dinosaurs became extinct, and if you think they were wiped out by an asteroid or another mass extinction event then you are sadly mistaken. It’s all because of UNDERPANTS!

The clever little cavemen invented underpants to cover up their rude bits because they felt a little bit embarrassed when they were nude. As soon as the dinosaurs see them they are besotted with pants and they all want some, but they just don’t fit right which makes the dinos all grouchy. Soon a massive pants war is raging as they each try to get their claws on the best pairs.

Wed
18 ^th

Ten Little Superheroes By Mike Brownlow & Simon Rickerty

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We are big fans of the ‘Ten Little …” series by Mike Brownlow and Simon Rickerty and this one is our second favourite (Nothing beats Ten Little Dinosaurs!).

The story sees our ten tiny heroes take on the League of Bad Guys who have an evil plan to take over the city. They do their best to battle the hilarious baddies (which include Hippo Man, Glue Girl, Crab Man and Hypno Girl) but on each page we see one superhero disappear. The book counts backwards from ten until eventually there’s only one hero left. The bad guys think they’ve won and start to celebrate but the Super Kids have one last trick up their sleeve. Can all ten of them reassemble and save the day?

Ivy gets really excited when we read this as the rhyme is really bouncy, the illustrations are a riot of colour and there are lots of big superhero words to shout as you read – POW! ZAP! SPLAT!

Buy it now: https://amzn.to/2Jybh5x

Mon
16 ^th

Ivy’s Guest Book: Emily Lawler, Owner, Mama Needs A Mimosa

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Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

I’m Emily. I live in London with my husband Gavin and our 16 month old son, Max. I’m mostly a nurse but whilst I was on maternity leave I started the restaurant review site for parents ‘Mama needs a Mimosa‘, so my son and I eat out quite a lot. I love being a mum but my aim isn’t to entirely sacrifice the person I was before I became one.

What is your son’s favourite book?

Right now I think Max’s favourite book is probably Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. A time tested favourite in most households about getting someone to try new food that they don’t think they will like. It has not, as yet, had an impact on Max’s fussy eating. He frequently thrusts it into my hands and shouts HAM, even if we have only read it 5 minutes before. He loves anything that rhymes and sort of does a little dance if I recite it all fast enough. We take a lot of books out with us when we eat at restaurants and his favourite changes pretty regularly.

Thu
12 ^th

Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae & Guy Parker-Rees

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I have been reading this wonderful book to Ivy since she was just a few months old and this is our second copy as the first was so well-thumbed that it had started to fall apart! It’s written by Giles Andreae and illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees.

Gerald is a giraffe whose skills include standing still and eating leaves from tall trees. They don’t include running and they most definitely don’t include dancing, which is a shame as every year all of the animals get together for the Jungle Dance and everyone has to take part.

On the night of the big Dance, Gerald watches the warthogs, rhinos, lions, chimps and baboons take to the floor to roaring applause, but when his turn comes the reaction is very different. As soon as everyone sees him they start to laugh and call him names because they know he is so clumsy. Devastated, Gerald takes off in to the jungle where he meets a wise old Cricket who teaches him that everyone can dance – they just have to find their own song.

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