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This is a retelling of the famous Uncle Remus’ tale, Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby, itself a retelling of traditional African folk tales. The story centres on the Hare and his ‘tricksy’ ways and how he annoys and upsets his fellow animals. This is a great text to use in key stage 1 as it ties in perfectly with the Stories from other Cultures unit of work. It provides a great framework that could easily be used and adapted by the children to create their own stories in a similar vein. This book could also be used to great effect in RE and PSHCE lessons with the potential to stimulate conversations about right and wrong, revenge or getting on and falling out.

 

Colourful images inspired by African folk art help to engage the reader and make it easy to visualise the setting, again providing a great talking point. ‘The pictures are really sunny and colourful, I liked looking at them,’ said Sam aged 6. This is an enjoyable and funny book that children will find charming.

 

Lauren Rogers

English 4-11 No. 42, Summer 2011

 

Trixie the Witch’s Cat is a delightful picture book.  It is an ideal story for older key stage 1 children - they can immediately identify with this mischievous animal who feels she is different from all the other cats because of her white paw.  A witch’s cat should be black all over.  There are ample opportunities throughout the story for the children to suggest how Trixie could solve her problem and then that wonderful moment when they can guess what is going to happen.

 

The children relate well to the dialogue and thought provoking language in the text.  Do animals as well as children have temper tantrums?  Would they hide a part of their own body they don’t like, especially when there is nothing wrong with it?

 

The language in the story acts as a wonderful stimulus for the children’s own writing.  The humour is conveyed through well drawn illustrations and repetitive phrases and as in all good stories, everything turns out all right in the end.  The very clear message that it is alright to be different makes it an ideal book for discussion and PSHE work.  The emotions and feelings that the cat displays throughout the story are very child-like and children relate well to them.  They don’t even notice that the witch herself doesn’t appear at all.
 
This inviting book keeps children spellbound.  Can they create their own wonderful spells and if they can, how will they use them?

 

Nicky Bull

English 4-11 Number 41, Spring 2011

 

Johnny's Bad Day is a picture book with no accompanying text. Its simple line drawings, with little colour and prominent cross-hatching, relate a day in the life of Johnny as he falls foul of his family and becomes increasingly muddy. Eventually he makes amends for his misadventures by presenting his mother with a bunch of flowers that earn him a redemptive hug.

 

The book could be used with a variety of children, including those with little English. The story is quite predictable and the pictures offer opportunities for hypothesis and prediction and the identification of cause and effect. However, perhaps because of their unfamiliar style and limited colour, some children do not immediately engage with the pictures.

 

Shirley Gornall

English 4-11 Number 40, Autumn 2010

 

Published simultaneously, these two books are a product of the husband-and-wife team, Nick and Annette Butterworth. Inspired by their own dogs, Jake and Sheppy, they are reprints of books which were originally published over ten years ago, this time with detailed, full colour illustrations on every other page. They tell the story of Jake, a big-hearted dog with an even bigger personality, who constantly gets himself into scrapes.

 

In Jake, the Good Bad Dog, Jake has a variety of adventures whilst pursuing his dream to go to Crufts. He loves chasing ducks and squirrels and his football skills become legendary, but it isn’t until he saves his friend Sam from attackers that he finally makes it to Crufts, to receive an award for exceptional bravery. True to character, he disgraces himself even at Crufts, when he relieves himself on one of the flower displays.

 

His taste for adventure continues in Jake in Action, when his local park is threatened by property developers. Whilst following his natural instinct to dig things up if he likes the smell, Jake helps the townspeople find an ancient charter which prevents the corrupt Mayor from selling the park.

These books would delight any child who loves stories about dogs, especially those who get into mischief. The illustrations are vintage Butterworth which sensitively support the text. The books would suit independent readers aged 7 – 9, both boys and girls alike.

 

Gill Robins 2011

 

Measuring Angels tells the story, in pictures and text, of a little girl whose broken friendship with Sophie makes school an unhappy place to be. When the teacher pairs them together to grow a sunflower from seed, the little girl is horrified and Sophie continues to be unkind. Eventually, with help from mutual friend, Gabriel, and their teacher, they learn to work together with a common purpose, first making an angel to watch over their ailing plant and then watching their plant blossom along with their new-found friendship.

 

Ideal for reading to Key Stage 1 children, this book is a gift to any teacher wondering how to subtly help children heal broken friendships. Every child could identify with the theme, enjoy the celebration of friendship on which the book ends and understand the symbolism of the flourishing sunflower.

 

Gill Robins

English 4-11 Number 39, Summer 2010

 

From its predictable fairy-tale opening, of Isabella's hunt for a Perfect Prince in order to fulfil parental marriage expectations, this story takes an unprecedented twist. Frustrated by a crowd of undesirable suitors, a sulky Isabella goes for a walk, meeting and kissing a frog in the hope that the fairy story turns out to be true. Slowly but surely, the reader witnesses her turning into a frog, being evicted from the Palace by parent who fail to recognise their daughter and falling in love with the frog that she kissed. She lives happily ever after with their three thousand children.

 

This bold, colourful book is designed with cartoon characters drawn onto collage-type backgrounds, which provides a rich variety of patterns and textures. There is plenty of detail to discuss, including sentient sheep and incongruous toy Triang bike lying abandoned in the castle moat. It would be suitable from aged 3 and throughout KS1, when children would appreciate the humour of the inter-textual reference and a post-modern Princess who defies the fairy-tale convention and determines her own future with such glee.

 

Gill Robins

English 4-11 Number 38, Summer 2010