Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell

Author and illustrator: Sue Hendra

Publisher: Simon and Schuster, 2011

Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell makes an ideal one-off read-aloud to a preschool or reception class. It's laugh-out-loud funny on the first read, not quite so funny on subsequent reads as the 'big reveal' at the end is then anticipated. It's bright, bold graphics can be seen clearly from afar; a bit garish up close mind, especially as the icing and sprinkles on the doughnut motif is repeated throughout. 

I suppose any book that makes me sympathise with a slug is worth its salt (pun intended!), because as a gardener I can't bare these little critters. The concept of a slug being shunned by a group of snails for not having a shell, is amusing. Bullying, and being able to get back at the bullies is a theme here, as is expressing yourself, and doing things your own way, positive life affirming messages for little ones.  

I also like the juxtaposition that 'slug' in this book is not drab, dull, and seeking a dank dark place to live (as in reality) but is fun, enthusiastic, seeking thrill and colour- again, how endearing, and why earth am I on the side of the slug?!  The distinction between slug and snail isn't always quite so clear for little ones though, so a lot of the humour in this book goes over younger children's heads (though kids do tend to laugh when adults laugh, so the book still works). The adult aligned humour continues when Norman tries out different shells; a tennis ball, alarm clock, maggoty apple and then...a doughnut, all ending in eager and funny calamity.    

'Fitting in' is harder than Norman finds, as while the snails now except he is a snail, a bird then targets Norman's fantastic edible looking shell, and carries Norman and this shell away. Norman then relies on his old snail ways to rid himself of the bird slipping free of his shell by squirting out his slug slime. The message here is more 'be yourself', 'embrace who you', so again, thematically, some lovely ideas to bring to preschoolers.  Moments of peril, with Norman in the birds mouth and then falling through the sky, are quite gripping for the target 3-5 year old age range here. Again, the big reveal, of Norman wishing he now had wings (this is comedy genius!), and this flakiness in mood is of course very reminiscent of toddlers themselves, so there's humour galore in this short picture book.  

The illustrations let the book down a little, feeling a bit under-invested. Edie (3) is bothered by the re-occurrence of the red bird that she sees has previously had Norman in its beak, being back and close to Norman at the end. Little inconsequential illustrations like this make big difference to very inquisitive, processing children, so young child reception of this book was quite mixed in our house. 

All in all though, a fun read perfect for a big audience. 

If you like this, you might also like:   Meg's Castle by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski

The Berenstain Bears Go On Vacation

Written and Illustrated by Stan and Jan Berenstain, with their son Mike Berenstain
Publisher: HarperCollinsChildrens, 2006

Certainly not the best of The Berenstain Bears series, but a good read nonetheless. Go On Vacation doesn't capture the characters of Mama and Papa Bear, like in the early 1970 book, The Bears' Christmas, with Papa Bear being the egotistic bumbling fool and Mama Bear the despairing, head in hands,gritted teeth, housewife, but it's good to see that the Bear family has expanded since first publications, and this title has a nice, if nonchalant, 'quality-family-time-together' message. 

The narrative is a bit frenetic, aiming to cover activities on everyday of the holiday, but we like that they get rained off from the beach on one day, and end up in a museum (very true to life!) There are a few misadventures along the way, namely 'fog' on the beach, so they go for a 'jog'. (Can't help but think that was contrived, the Berenstain's have been a bit of a slave to the rhyme there). Generally though, the rhyme is fun and insistent, continuing through to the end of the book (though rhyming pattern oddly changes part way through). 

The book does capture the essence of beach life and beach holidays, which are clearly universal as The Berestain Bears is an American series (though I have a false memory of this series actually being Canadian). There's some lovely verse describing the water and the light, and the illustrations depict big skies and pinkish sunsets well.  

The aspect of the story my children like, is Papa Bear's insistence on going fishing (maybe because they anticipate the 'boasting/looser' dad from the Christmas book). Fish, particularly the size of certain fish, is a real theme in the book, with the Bears looking at marine artefacts in the museum and then a page talking about bait, to a the Bears returning to find smug Mama bear and baby Honey bear having caught a 'whopper' earlier that day. 

The pinks and oranges in the book set a real summery, holiday mood, and facets of family fun on holiday, such as building a giant sandcastle, running to the sea, sending postcards, burying someone in the sand are all timeless, and cross cultures. Yes the Berenstains paint a very sugary happy, naive  image of family life, as anthropomorphic bears, but in the context of this book, an insight into a holiday, its within an escapist context. I don't like how the bear illustrations have been fattened, I prefer the scrawnier bear characters in the 1970s editions, as again, this family seems more polished than I recall. Indeed, without the Bears' vulnerability the book still offers something cheery and fun, but not necessarily laugh out loud. A fun quick read (though two pages too long) to 3-5 year olds, and great for introducing children to the idea of a holiday. 

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Betty goes bananas in her pyjamas

Author and Illustrator: Steve Antony
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2015

Voices, is what we say about this book, really fun to read-out-aloud voices.  
Toddler ape Betty is resistant to bedtime, and, like many an ape before her, she borders on the edge of extreme meltdown distracting herself and procrastinating at the same time with any toy that comes to hand. And my my is she active, wanting to play instruments, paint on her easel, and play with all manner of transportation device, anything but go to bed. 
Meanwhile, poor tired looking Mr Toucan (Toucan? Yes, we were baffled at first, but then this strangely makes sense alongside toddler-gorilla-in-pyjamas), Mr Toucan manages to keep very calm and in a soothing (if slightly wearisome voice), he convinces Betty to go to bed. Until one final amusing calamity, as Betty's toys burst back out the cupboard and she once again looks (very) awake. Doh!

This book succeeds where many don't attempt to go, hitting at the stormy waters of the 2-4 year old age range. At 2 and a half years old Edie (now 3) turned ape every night demanding this book was read before she'd get in her bed...oh the irony! The comic timing, as Mr Toucan finally looses his rag with Betty, then returning his composure by summoning his inner super nanny, is genius. The very keep-calm-and-get-them-to-bed of Mr Toucan resonates brilliantly, and my wry smile increases every time I read Steve Antony's dedication at the end of the book 'To Mum, the best storyteller ever, and all other toucans.'

Main character Betty, is probably one of my favourite of all fictional characters. Her expression-filled face says it all, you almost don't need to 'read' this book, as little ones can certainly follow the gist of how Betty feels from the illustrations alone (excited, elated, engrossed, sleepy, wired). The voice of Betty, for us, is this monosyllabic butch ('Little Britain' style) man voice. Our children roll about in fits of hysterics when we read this book, especially if we have Mr Toucan's voice the same as our own 'get to bed' voice ( and roll our eyes and sigh at the same time). At 5 (Bert) and 7 (Alf) the older boys still like this book, but mainly reading it and imitating 'the voices' for the younger two. There's a good amount of repetition in the story, so again, really perfect for the 2 year olds, and there's plenty of bright colours and inanimate objects in the illustrations such as lorry, teddy, drum, that the little ones enjoy spotting/recognising/naming/pointing at. There's also lots of little quirks I enjoy about the book; Betty's romper suit has a banana print, there's letter blocks scattered about 
on each page which cover the whole alphabet from start to finish, there's no hint of a gender stereotype- Betty plays with her bananas lorry and pink open top car. 
We love this book- big thumbs up for Betty and her weary toucan parent /carer. 

Here's a link to The BookTrust's review and e-card request for this book as we love it so: BookTrust - Betty Goes Bananas  

Hairy Maclary's Bone

Author and Illustrator: Lynley Dodd
publisher: Puffin Books, 1986, This edition 2007

To me Lynley Dodd has to be the queen of the rhyming couplet! Her books are so infectious, so memorable, I find myself thinking about 'Schnitzel von Krumm with a very low tum' whenever I see a sausage dog. Hairy Maclary, the rougish scruffy little dog, is a clever mutt who outwits the dogs following him ( they want his bone). He leads them on a wild goose chase across town, wherein each breeds' characteristic turn out to be their pitfall ( so for example, the long hair of English sheep dog Muffin McLay gets caught in the prickly hedge). Eventually clever Hairy Maclary gets that bone to himself. 

From 18 months- 4 years these books are fun, in-between a quick coffee, reads. Children over 4 tend to enjoy these books still, but always ask for more ( as they're quite short). With lots of page turning and a high picture -to -word ratio this, The Hairy MacClary series, does seem to serve the youngest of children very well. What I really like about Lynley Dodd's work, is her ability to find unusual rhymes and use uncouth words. Not so much in this title, but in Hairy Maclary's Hat Tricks for example, 'The wind was so restless, it's buffets so strong, that it flapped him, and slapped him, and zapped him along.' Talk about helping to expand young children's vocabulary! Her writing is sumptuous, it feels nice on the tongue, enjoyable to read aloud.

Dodd is very observant, acknowledging the little differences in the breeds as each dog, in subsequent books, has its own specific noise, so for example a yelp, a woof, or a yowl. This series is fun and witty, with very catchy verse. She uses a lot of onomatopoeia, which, together with this careful observation, really appeals to and mirrors the young child's mind.

Here's a lovely reading of the book from a group called Buzzing for Books, voiced by 'Mr Haines': Buzzing for Books YouTube Channel

Hairy Maclary's Bone Reading