This is my book by Mick Inkpen

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Hodder Children's Books, 2009. ISBN: 9780340989630.
Highly recommended. The Bookmouse has a big job ahead of him. His task is to stop the Snapdragon from being a menace who takes parts of the words and letters used in the story. In order to solve the problem, the mouse follows the advice of the Blink Owl and goes into Moonwood to visit the ghosts of the Woolywolves. Finally he outsmarts the Snapdragon and restores order to the book.
The illustrations in this book contain Inkpen's unmistakable style, and remind one vividly of the Kipper series. White backgrounds on most pages allow the reader to easily concentrate on the characters and their actions. Where the setting moves to being at night, in the Moonwood, lilac coloured backgrounds alter the mood of the tale and add to the suspense. From the moment Snapdragon takes a bite out of the letter B in the word 'Book', young children would be engaged. Inkpen's humour is evident, as the dragon later takes a bite out of the letter P in 'STOP' and announces, 'I always eat my 'P's'.
This charming picture book could become part of spelling and language lessons in any junior primary classroom. Children could be encouraged to look at base words and build on them or to focus on the changes which could be made by the removal of parts of letters as demonstrated by Snapdragon. This is a unique picture book due the way in which the text is integral with the illustrations as part of the story. I would highly recommend this title.
Jo Schenkel

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