Ill. by Peter Carnavas. UQP, 2017. ISBN 9780702259579
(age: 4+) Highly recommended. Siblings, Family, Rhyming story, Read
aloud. From the creators of My sister is a superhero, comes
an equally funny sequel, where her brother is a beast. In a series
of eight line stanzas, the first three double lines tell of what
other brothers do: Some brothers scrub with sponges
to clean glue from dirty doors',
each set of six lines ending with the refrain, 'But my brother is a beast . . . '
The repetition is infectious and the repeated last two lines will
have kids in gales of laughter, working out what the rhyme will be,
following the antics of the beastie brother.
Each page is filled with colour and laughter, movement and music as
the brothers show their skills at playing drums, or the bassoon, or
harp, or clean the stables, or make a table, or row a canoe. But
towards the end of the story, the children are tiring out as the
brothers sleep in a hammock, or laze in an armchair, while the beast
of a brother makes a cave of sheets for his sister to sleep in.
Carnavas' watercolour and ink illustrations suit the mood of the
story beautifully as he repeats the round eyed children motif, and
children will watch out for the array of animals he includes on each
page. Children will love to read this book aloud, reading along with
the older reader, predicting rhymes for themselves. The book lends
itself to making up lines using the model given in the book, and
drawing the children in different situations, using Carnavas'
drawings as a template. I can imagine lots of brainstorming of
lines, 'Some brothers . . . ' and 'But my brother . . . ',
encouraging younger readers to learn about rhyme, rhythm and metre
at an early age.
Fran Knight
Silver in the blood by Jessica Day George
Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781681190242
(Age; 13+) Recommended. In the peak of youthful society of 1890's
New York, two young cousins, Lou and Darcia, are at their social
prime with constant attention turned on them as they are the mixed
blood of a wealthy New York family and an ancient Romanian line.
With vague warning, both girls are caught up in a whirlwind trip to
finally engage with their Romanian relatives and connect to their
ancient heritage. The trip is long and with it, more questions and
strange situations appear and are discussed in letters and journal
entries from both girls. Once in her home country, Darcia is
frustrated by her Aunt Kate's sudden change in personality; what
could make someone go from being like a mother, to a prison guard.
Darcia demands to find out what is the real reason they were
suddenly brought back to Romania and why everyone she knows and
loves is starting to act incredibly strange. By the end, neither
girl will ever be the same again.
Jessica Day George writes Silver in the Blood in such a way
that captures the reader's attention and really makes the 1890's in
America, Paris and Romania burst with life, painting a very
relatable and realistic scene for her characters to interact. With
reference to another well-known novel from the time, Silver in
the Blood is exciting for readers of fantasy and mystery. This
novel is recommended for an teenage audience (13+) due to themes of
violence and romance. A fantastic read that leaves readers hoping
for more stories about the two cousins, Darcia and Lou.
Sarah Filkin (University student)
This is Banjo Paterson by Tania McCartney
Ill. by Christina Booth. NLA Publishing, 2017. ISBN 9780642278982
(Ages: 4-8) Highly recommended. Tania McCartney and Christina
Booth's beautifully crafted picture book celebrates one of
Australia's most iconic legends, Andrew 'Banjo' Paterson.
The descriptive narrative focuses on his rural upbringing and the
people who influenced his life's journey. Young Barty as he was
known enjoyed his bush childhood, helping on the farm, riding his
horse Banjo to school, watching polo matches and horse shows. He
enjoyed listening to Jerry the Rhymer's tales about his bush life.
His grandma loved poetry as well and she shared her love of language
and rhyme with her grandson, whilst he boarded at her Sydney home.
His teenage years were filled with school, sports, and his creative
writing as well. This picture book tells of these special people in
his life and the influences and events that moulded his life and
developed his journalism career. He also worked in the legal field,
as a farmer, vet, jockey and most famously as a writer. Tania
includes special moments, the inspiration for 'Waltzing Matilda',
his marriage and his children. The story ends with the beginning
stanzas of 'The man from Snowy River'.
What sets this book apart from other biographies written for younger
children, are the beautiful watercolour illustrations by Christina
Booth. Here is a duality of storyline pictured visually, each
vignette shows today's children dressed in summer clothes acting out
the scenes. There is backyard cricket, Barty with a bush hat riding
his hobbyhorse and sharing picnics under the clothesline with family
and friends. Speech bubbles add to the commentary, rhymes,
statements and exclamations, as well as witty thoughts by his dog
who just wants a walk or to play catch.
Sharing these with a class, with a young audience at kindergarten or
preschool is a wonderful experience, opening up conversations about
life, changes, growing up and people who are important in their
lives. Even the scenes of leaving for war and the time when Paterson
went missing in France during World War 1 are sensitively
illustrated.
Tania McCartney has included a description of Banjo
Paterson's life in a newspaper format - 'The Snowy River Times'.
Photos, copies of original illustrations and the music to 'Waltzing
Matilda' provide additional information. This factual material
and additional poetry are a great beginning for research topics.
Dressing up and acting the scenes, making a wooden and bark hut,
singing along to 'Waltzing Matilda' and unpacking the text are all
wonderful learning opportunities. This is Banjo Paterson is an
exciting collaboration by McCartney and Booth, perfect for sharing
at home and in an education environment.
Rhyllis Bignell
Toffee apple by Peter Combe
Ill. by Danielle McDonald. Contains CD. Scholastic, 2017. ISBN
9781760275082
(Ages: 2+) Recommended. Peter Combe's 'Toffee apple' album won the
1988 ARIA Music Award for Best Children's Album after its release to
great success in 1987. Generations of Aussie parents and
grandparents who enjoyed singing along to Combe's songs as children,
can now share them with their young family members. This fun picture
book includes three songs - 'Toffee apple', 'Newspaper mama' and
'Err yuck!'
Danielle McDonald's bold digital illustrations fill each page with
colourful scenes and an array of comical animals in humourous
scenes. 'Don't forget to clean your teeth' sings the mouse as it
brushes a crocodile's molars. Imagine the surprising situations that
unfold as the newspaper is delivered to a penguin's igloo, a panda's
bamboo hut and a magpie's tree house! The text changes style, size,
colour, some is highlighted, and the position changes from page to
page to encourage the development of reading skills and engagement
with the lyrics.
Peter Combe's songs are fun to share with families and classes. Toffee
apple joins these previously published favourites, Wash
your face in orange juice and Juicy,
juicy green grass.
Rhyllis Bignell
Diamond Jack by Mark Greenwood
History mysteries bk. 1. Puffin Books, 2017. ISBN
9780143309260
March 1942 - the Japanese have reached Indonesia and there is a
constant stream of flights shuttling refugees from Java to the safe
haven of Broome on the northwest coast of Western Australia.
Russian flying ace Captain Smirnoff is piloting one of the last
planes to leave Bandung Airport, an old DC3 stripped back to the
bare minimum to allow for as many passengers as possible including
five Dutch pilots, a trainee flight engineer, a mother and her 18
month old son.
Just as they are about to take off an official jumps on board and
hands Smirnoff a package, telling him to "Take great care of this.
Someone from the bank will collect it when you land."
Unfortunately for Smirnoff, his crew and his passengers, the
Japanese have switched their target to Broome and just an hour from
their destination they are shot down. Despite injuries and
continuing Japanese fire, Smirnoff manages to bring the plane down
on the edge of the beach.
What happened next - the survival and rescue of the passengers; the
finding and the contents of the mysterious package and the enigmatic
man who became known as Diamond Jack are the centre of this
intriguing true tale that still remains unanswered 75 years on.
Should he have done what he did? Is 'finders keepers' really the
rule to live by?
Rudyard Kipling once said, "If history were taught in the form of
stories, it would never be forgotten" and in this new series from
self-confessed history-hunter Mark Greenwood there are stories told
that would otherwise have been forgotten, if they were ever widely
known in the first place. Short, engaging reads written in short
chapters, large font and liberally illustrated they are not only
perfect for the young reader moving on to independent reading but
also those who may not have yet unlocked the key. Greenwood writes
an introduction that personalises the story as though he is talking
directly to the reader, drawing them into this tale that is about to
unfold and then, the tale told, he talks about the sources he has
drawn on and provides a lot of extra information so not only is the
story authenticated but there is scope for further discovery.
Something special to add to the collection and promote an interest
in times past in a way seldom done. Australia - a country full of
stories!
Barbara Braxton
Captain McGrew wants you for his crew! by Mark Sperring
Ill. by Ed Eaves. Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781408871034
(Ages: 3-7) Captain McGrew's in need of a crew to assist him with
hoisting the sails, digging for treasure, 'splooshing' down the poop
deck and even squeezing lemons for his lemonade. With his bushy red
beard, eye patch, parrot on his shoulder and his four teeth, he is
an awesome character. Even his ginger tabby cat has a matching
patch. What adventures await his four child crew?
Author Mark Sperring's amusing rollicking rhymes are great to read
aloud, filled with pirate vernacular and direct questioning speech.
Each page demands a response; children will enjoy engaging with the
story and predicting the rhyming words.
'Are you good with a spade? Do you complain if you're hot? Can you
dig for long hours while others CANNOT?'
Ed Eaves brings Captain McGrew and his young crew to life, with a
broad range of emotive facial expressions, as they complete their
duties. Colourful settings of the sea, sand and aboard ship are
amusing; look for the cat licking the dishes and cleaning the hull
in a snorkel and mask. Captain McGrew wants you for his crew is an entertaining
picture book, filled with all the delights of a pirate's life.
Rhyllis Bignell
The everywhere bear by Julia Donaldson
Ill. by Rebecca Cobb. Macmillan, 2017. ISBN 9781447280736
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Bears, Loss, Adventure. When the
everywhere Bear falls from a child's backpack on the way back to
school after being taken home for the night, his adventures begin.
Readers will love the Bear, and his class, Class One and their
teacher, Mrs McAllister, who allows each child to take home Bear
after school.
But readers will be dismayed when he falls into the street to be run
over by a line marking machine, and then fall into a street drain.
His yellow stripe standing out, he is then flushed out to sea.
Readers will follow his adventure keenly, wanting to know whether he
makes it home again, concerned that he might not make it. But of
course he does. He takes a most circuitous route, floating in the
sea, being picked up in a fishing net by a trawler, sold on the
jetty to a woman fish and chip shop owner. Once she deems him
inedible, he is tossed out of her window onto a garbage truck.
Transported to the tip, all seems lost until a somewhat short
sighted seagull picks him up thinking he is a fish. The gull drops
him to the ground where he is rescued by a woman called Bethany on
her way to work. And where does she work? At the library of course,
where Class One is about to begin their day. All is resolved, a
cycle has taken place which will intrigue younger readers, and Bear
is back to where he started.
This absolutely charming tale is told in rhyming stanzas and I can
imagine many children being able to recite sections of it soon after
it is read.
Julia Donaldson also wrote the hugely popular Gruffalo and
Rebecca Cobb has illustrated several of her recent books and in this
one has created a soft edged pictorial style most suited to the
story of the lost Bear. And the range of transport used in the
endpapers adds another level of understanding to the story of the
lost bear, asking readers to recognise which forms of transport Bear
used.
Fran Knight
City of friends by Joanna Trollope
Pan Macmillan, 2017. ISBN 9781509846757
(Age: Senior secondary - Adult) Well, I have put down this book, so
reluctantly, having just finished reading it, dragging myself out of
Trollope's London. This is the story of four women friends, their
attachments, relationships, marriages, children, and work. Trollope
situates the characters at a crisis point, for each but of varying
severity, where each faces a redefining of what it means to be a
mother, to be married, to work, to strive to be the best, to be
successful. All of this erupts before us in a vitality, this
credible story of 'real women' taking place in an authentic reality,
one that we can envisage, where each women needs to find a way to
manage their work and personal lives. All are eager to keep the
friendship, that has sustained them, and which allows them to be
frank and supportive over so many years.
While acknowledging that Trollope created this story, it seems that
she has constructed the world of the narrative, the characters, and
their situations, as a reflection on the shared experience of modern
women striving to be the best at every single thing they do and
indeed, in the many roles they are expected to play. This is about
work, as much as it is about modern families, our different ways of
being family, our choices, our many kinds of love. It is also about
learning how to handle success and failure in work and life.
Reading this book is like chatting with women friends, hearing about
their lives and joining in their joys and successes, their losses
and pain. Each chapter is narrated by one woman, telling us, it
seems, in this very personal narrative style, about their
interactions, their fears, and the importance of support and love.
I was captivated from the opening chapter, and I felt that strange
sense of being vitally interested in these women, their children,
their joys, sorrows and challenges, as well, of course, as knowing
and understanding their emotions, even while acknowledging that this
is actually a work of fiction! It did not feel like fiction - it
felt like real life, and of course, her construction of plot, her
choice of characters, and her depiction of their choices and
actions, seemed so true-to-life.
Trollope has created, as she does so well, a story of the demands of
modern life, for men and women, of work, friendship, children,
education, raising families, and of the modern ways that we are
expected to support the ill and elderly. She elicits a powerful
emotional response in the reader to these challenges, creating a
strong sense of the poignancy of the demands of modern life, where
we all face the challenge of striving to be the best at what we do,
of wanting to achieve success in so many areas, particularly the
specific demands that modern parents face. Trollope has embedded the
narrative in the bedrock of respect for the set of values that
ground us: that of loving and accepting friends, children and
partners, for whom they are, and this is grounded soundly in the
absolute values of love, honesty and friendship.
This novel explodes with the joy of life, it bubbles with humour,
dry wit at times, and evokes a strong sense of understanding the
sheer impossibility of having it all under control, despite our best
efforts.
Liz Bondar
Cast iron by Peter May
Hachette, 2017. ISBN 9781784299774
(Age: Senior secondary-adult) Highly recommended. Crime, Thriller,
Cold case. Forensic expert, Enzo Macleod opens a can of worms as he
investigates the second to last murder in a book of unsolved crimes,
published by the journalist, Raffin. A girl's body was found on the
edge of a lake some years ago when a widespread drought caused the
lake to shrink. The girl had been murdered fourteen years before,
and it is her murder, that Enzo is to reinvestigate, one of the
unsolved crimes listed in Raffin's book, and the subject of a bet
between the two men. But he is ambushed at her parent's house by
another group of parents, called the Bordeaux Six, who are also keen
to find out what happened to their daughters. Enzo is unwilling to
take on their cases, as he sees them as insoluble, but when his
daughter and her partner are kidnapped, things change.
The Bordeaux Six remain a constant thread within the story, leading
Enzo and Dominique to the hiding place of one of the missing girls,
hidden within plain sight.
I have not read the previous Enzo stories so felt a little
disadvantaged, but the story was enough to tempt me to continue
reading and eventually find out just whose cast iron alibi would
crack.
Set in southern France the feel of the area is decidedly real, with
chateaux, villages, forests and motorways in the background. Enzo
picks away at his investigations, uncovering details left unsaid,
stories left unreported and things hidden from the original
investigations. He visits a murderer in prison, the man jailed for
killing some of the other girls, but this only adds to another
thread in his detailed investigation.
There are leads all over the place, connections and secrets
unwilling to be revealed. May cleverly insinuates people around
Enzo, even his daughter's lover, causing them to come under
suspicion, so the reader will like me be mesmerised until the truth
is revealed at the end.
Fran Knight
A quiet kind of thunder by Sara Barnard
Macmillan, 2017. ISBN 9781509810987
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Opposites attract, but sometimes
kindred spirits with shared challenges, are more likely bedfellows.
In this YA romance, the narrator is an elective mute. Stephi has
recently been making progress for her ongoing anxiety, particularly
at school, with the help of medication. Enter Rhys, who cannot hear
at all. When Mr Stafford, the head of year level, asks Steffi to
take the deaf boy under her wing because she does know a little BSL
(British Sign Language), Rhys' outgoing nature inspires Steffi to be
louder and more present in the world. At first they complement each
other. Interestingly, her other relationships evolve too - with her
best friend Tem, her parents, her classmates. The one constant is
her part-time job working with dogs, where she has always been
communicative and content.
Steffi grapples with university aspirations not shared by her
parents. After a misadventure with Rhys, she too starts to question
whether her world isn't in fact shrinking because of a romance that
is too intense, too quickly. A quiet kind of thunder is a
thoroughly readable cross between YA Romance and the Bildungsroman
genre, but sprinkled with insights about our ubiquitous challenges:
grief, broken families, mental health, adolescent sexuality, our
affinity with dogs; not to mention the revelational insularity of
the deaf community.
The text plays with alternate texts - mostly in the form of chat
exchanges and SMS messages. Sara Barnard is one of those writers who
knows you and explores her character's feelings and thoughts in ways
you never imagined anyone else could understand. Her debut novel, Beautiful
broken things, is likewise cathartic for most teenagers, who
are by default engaged in self-discovery. Many youtube vloggers have
reviewed A quiet kind of thunder. Xina Hailey, for example,
melds review and personal recount with artistic flair in her book trailer.
Deborah Robins
Me and you by Deborah Kelly and Karen Blair
Penguin Viking, 2017. ISBN 9780670079247
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Family. Self awareness. With soft pastel
illustrations full of warmth and humour, the family goes about its
everyday events, each offering interaction between family members
all done with lots of wit and love. The arty-crafty days sees Dad
sit with the kids on the floor, having fun with paint and glue,
while the next page shows the result of their glueing, a pirate
costume. Yummy-scrummy days sees them in the kitchen with Mum, and
pedal-pushing days sees them riding their bikes to the park, where
more adventure happens. On sandy-sandwich days they are all at the
beach, slippery-slidy days at the playground, grubby-garden days
outdoors with the grandparents, leading through the days to
stretchy-yawny days where all the family wants is to relax and read
a book.
In funny rhyming stanzas the activities are shown with a lot of
movement and adventure.
All types of activities involving the family are offered, things
kids will easily recognise, others needing more explanation. Each
page underlines the family doing things together, the warmth that a
family offers, the closeness that comes with being together. Reading
aloud will add fun to the activity of the book.
Fran Knight
Fancy pants by Kelly Hibbert
Ill. by Amanda Graham. Raising
Literacy Australia, 2016. ISBN 9780994385352
'Once a year the Outback Dance is held near Bunyip's Bluff
Where animals in fancy pants arrive to strut their stuff...'
Dingo loves to dance under the desert's night sky but he doesn't
have any fancy pants - just his regular coat and while he pretends
not to care, deep down he really does.
Meanwhile all the other outback creatures are preparing for the big
night, although not without some difficulty. Poor Emu is more suited
to scarves - pants are not her thing while Bilby's britches are
still on the line and Kangaroo falls over in his and tears a big
hole in them! Wombat seems to have gained some weight since the last
dance, Koala has too many choices and makes a big mess and poor
Cockatoo is just bamboozled about how a bird can fit into pants!
Only Frill-Neck Lizard seems comfortable, looking like something
straight from 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'!
But eventually everyone gets themselves sorted, meeting together
near Wombat's place - and then Dingo turns up in just his coat. At
first the animals are concerned for their safety but then when he
says that his coat is all he has, Kangaroo breaks the hush that has
fallen...
This rollicking, rhyming yarn will not only entertain young readers
with its humour and bright pictures, but will also allow them to
hear the sounds and rhythms of our language and join in the delight
that stories give.
Who hasn't had the dilemma of what to wear to a party and then found
that their choice doesn't work - it's too small, it's in the wash,
it has a scratchy tag, it's ripped, it's just not right somehow? And
who has felt awkward and awful about not having a costume when
everyone else is in fancy dress? Not only will young readers
resonate with the situations in this story but it will also help
think about Dingo and how he might be feeling and how they might
respond if this was one of their friends. Would they poke fun,
making him feel more miserable than he already is, or is there a
better way? And what if they were Dingo with no fancy pants to wear?
Would they decide to stay home or wrap themselves in a cloak of
resilience and go anyway?
Team it with the 1988 classic Animals should definitely not wear
clothing by Judi and Ron Barrett and have them design their
own fancy dress for the story by giving them "paper doll" cutouts
that they have to dress, encouraging them to think about size and
structure and fit. Talk about why humans wear clothing, why our
clothes are so different, national costumes, fashion, and a host of
other related topics.
While illustrator Amanda Graham has many books under her belt, this
is the first work of an experienced primary school teacher and to
another teacher's eye it reflects so much of what we know attracts
youngsters to the printed word including a strong underlying theme
that opens up lots of discussions that will help children think
beyond the words and pictures on the page. A book that will be read
again and again and which enables a new pathway to be explored each
time.
Barbara Braxton
Love, ghosts and nose hair by Steven Herrick
UQP, 2017. ISBN 9780702228780
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Love, Sex, Death, Family, Humour. The
author of 22 books the first of which was published in the early
1990's, Herrick is well known for his performance poetry and verse
novels which touch on the ordinary in a most extraordinary way. Love,
ghosts and nose hair was first published in 1996 with loud
acclaim, and its reissue along with sequel A place like this,
exposes a new generation of readers to his words of wisdom,
encapsulated in fragments of sentences, while giving another life to
books which demand another outing.
Jack, plain Jack, narrates the story of his family: dad a
journalist, often away from home for long hours, sister, Desiree,
who has left school and works in a bookshop, Jack sixteen and hungry
for things to happen in his life: love (sex), dealing with his
mother's ghost still wondering through the house and his problem of
nose hair.
Through a series of sometimes terse, often funny poems, Jack tells
the reader about his family. In doing so, he tells more about
himself and his dreams, especially those concerning Annabel
Browning. Along the way we hear of their mother's death from cancer,
including one of the most poignant lines written about a family in
despair:
'They said the pills eased the pain - they only gave them to Mum'
followed by the image of Desiree in her bedroom examining her
breasts, and the ghost in a red evening dress who now visits their
house. Dad drinks each night and seven years on has a date which
ends with him telling the woman all about his wife who is still
there. Finally Jack takes Annabel out and they become lovers,
evincing a talk with his teacher, ending when Jack tells her he
prefers orange condoms. It is pithy comments like this that send a
message without being obvious. And another example that needs
airing: Desiree has no boyfriend 'because she has perfect eyesight
and all her brain cells'.
Some of the poems are written by Dad and a few by Desiree and
Annabel giving a different perspective through the tale, but all are
about Jack and how he sees himself. We know he will be alright when
he begins to see that he no longer needs the ghost in his life and
looks forward to what ever will happen next despite the work of the
vocational guidance officer.
A superbly written series of poems makes up this tale of Jack and
the ending of his childhood, and the sequel, A place like this,
takes us along on his journey after leaving school. I loved it first
time round and thoroughly enjoyed reading it again.
Fran Knight
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Puffin, 2016 (1988). ISBN 9780141369365
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. School, Family, Humour. With dad a
used car dealer, not averse to putting sawdust in the engine to stop
it being noisy, or winding back the odometer, Matilda finds it hard
to understand just where she fits in. Her brother is the apple of
everyone's eye, destined to follow in dad's footsteps. When Matilda
offers opinions or heaven forbid, answers arithmetical problems, she
is derided. Mum cannot abide a clever girl and tells her she will
not be able to get a husband. But Matilda is determined to think for
herself. Making use of mum's afternoon absences at bingo, she finds
the library where a helpful librarian feeds her with books, allowing
her, after she has read all the children's book, to read her way
through the adult library as well despite being only five years old.
Going to school means that Matilda is way ahead of all other
students, and kindly teacher, Miss Honey, suggests to the
headmistress, that she should be advanced from grade one. The woman
in charge, the redoubtable Miss Trunchbull already enamoured of Mr
Wormwood who has sold her an excellent car, takes an instant dislike
to Matilda, and is determined to make her life at school as
unpleasant as possible.
So follows a very funny account of how their lives interact, and how
Matilda with the help of meek Miss Honey and several other students
who have felt Trunchbull's wrath, eke out their revenge.
This wonderful tale has been in print since its first appearance in
1988, and with the stage show open around the world, will be sought
after again.
Fran Knight
Monsieur Chat by Jedda Robaard
Five Mile Press, 2017. ISBN 9781760405007
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Loneliness, Cats, Friendship. When Monsieur
Chat comes into their lives, the long days for Pierre and Josephine
become less lonely. The cat joins Josephine for breakfast, then goes
upstairs to Pierre's flat for dinner. Each of the neighbours is
happy with the cat in their lives, little realising that Monsieur
Chat visits each of them in turn. But one day he does not appear.
Josephine and Pierre search the apartment house where they live.
They go around the building, up and down the stairs, out into the
cold and wet night, but the cat is nowhere to be found. Without
warning they find him together and so the two are lonely no longer
and have all their meals together with Monsieur Chat with them for
company.
A simple story nicely told will have readers enrapt as they follow
the cat's exploits in bringing the two together. As they search the
cat can be seen on the pages by the audience, who will shriek with
laughter at knowing something the other two do not. The cute water
colour illustrations give a good impression of an apartment building
in Paris, and children will learn a little of city life in the
story.
The lift the flaps publication will intrigue readers longing to lift
the flap on each page to see what is hidden beneath.
Fran Knight
