Picture Book Nook

Picture Book Nook: Tarantula Boo! by Lucy Davey

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Lenny the Tarantula lives at Zurlington Zoo.  He’s “furry and fuzzy and hairy” and he likes to play tricks on people, especially his favourite trick, Tarantula Boo, where he jumps at people.  The only thing that’s missing is a friend to share his scares with, and when a flying coconut breaks the glass on his cage, he escapes to go and find a friend.  Lenny looks all over the zoo, but will he find someone who isn’t scared of him or tries to eat him?

Tarantula Boo! is a book that begs to be read aloud again and again.  I love Lucy Davey’s books because of the beautiful, descriptive language she uses (I think she’s the next Lynley Dodd) and this is what makes Tarantula Boo! such a great book.  It’s so easy to read because the words just roll off your tongue.  The first couple of pages will have children hooked as they are introduced to Lenny:

“Safe behind glass at Zurlington Zoo,
lived loveable larrikin Lenny Lassoo.
Lenny was furry and fuzzy and hairy,
and liked to play tricks that were frightfully scary.

He’d wiggle his toes, and ogle his eyes,
and stretch out his limbs to dinner-plate size.”

Children will love Lenny and they’ll laugh as he jumps out at people and animals.  Philip Webb’s illustrations perfectly match Lucy’s descriptions and make Lenny funny, rather than scary.  Tarantula Boo! is a book that parents and teachers will enjoy as much as the children and won’t mind reading again and again.

Picture Book Nook: Stomp! by Ruth Paul

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Join the dinosaurs and follow the leader as they stomp, jump and hop their way through the jungle, the swamp and the river.  Children will have fun doing the actions and making the sounds as they pretend to be dinosaurs.  Those dinosaur-mad children will be able to name the different dinosaurs and can pretend they’re a T-Rex or a Triceratops.

Stomp! reminded me of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt because of the wonderful noises and actions that children can copy as you read.  I love the way that Ruth Paul has organised the dinosaurs from tallest to shortest across a double page spread.  This layout makes it easy for children to see all of the dinosaurs and look out for their favourites.  Everything is very ordered when the T-Rex is leading, but things start to fall apart when the baby dinosaurs leads on the way back home.  Ruth Paul shows us through the  illustrations that it’s good to be small, as the baby dinosaur is small enough to creep under the creepers and squeeze through the trunks.  The illustrations are bright and clear and full of plenty of humour, especially towards the end.

Stomp! is a book that can be shared with one child or many.  Everyone can make lots of noise and stomp around like dinosaurs.

Picture Book Nook: Phoebe and the Night Creatures by Jenny Hessell and Donovan Bixley

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Phoebe’s in bed but needs to go to the toilet.  There’s only one problem – there’s a wolf under her bed.  Her mum tells her to take the wolf with her and off they go to the toilet.  Along the way she meets a cast of interesting characters, including a stinky troll, a scary shark, and a giant,  who all follow her to the bathroom.  Are all these monsters following her or is it just her imagination?

Phoebe and the Night Creatures is one of those picture books where the words and the pictures are a perfect match.  Jenny Hessell’s story is full of the monsters that children create in their imagination and they are brought to life with Donovan Bixley’s stunning illustrations.  Jenny has created Phoebe, a girl who isn’t afraid of trolls or ghosts and Donovan has portrayed this courage in his illustrations, particularly on the cover of the book.  Donovan Bixley is my favourite New Zealand illustrator, because of the way he uses light and colour, making his illustrations glow on the page.  This book has really allowed him to have some fun and use his imagination to create these night creatures.  Another aspect of the book I really enjoyed was the design, which is also done by Donovan.  The layout of the words adds extra enjoyment to the story, with some words looking spooky or stinky.  Phoebe and the Night Creatures is probably not a book to read before bed, but one to share with those children who aren’t scared easily and are fascinated with monsters.

Picture Book Nook: Out of Bed Fred by Lucy Davey and Harriet Bailey

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Every day Mum has to give the boys a hurry-up.  She goes through the house calling,

“Out of bed, Fred!
In your clothes, Mose!
Brush your hair, Blair!
Wash your face, Mace!
Eat your food, Jude!
Clean your teeth, Keith!
Time to go, Joe!”

However, their little sister, Shirley is always up before them, “all dressed, brushed, washed, fed, cleaned and ready to go.”  She’s the sort of sister who always  does everything right and never gets in trouble.  But one day her brothers come up with a plan to change all that.  Will it work or will Shirley outsmart them?

Out of Bed Fred is a fun story that perfectly captures the day-to-day life of a big family.  Shirley really stands out, not just because she’s the only girl, but also because of her sense of humour and the way she stands up to her brothers.  The illustrator, Harriet Bailey has given the pictures a real Kiwi feel, with the brothers wearing shorts and rugby jerseys and photos of beach holidays on the wall.   If you look hard enough you’ll also be able to spot Weetbix and Marmite on toast.  Out of Bed Fred is perfect for brothers and sisters of all ages and is a great read-aloud.

Picture Book Nook: My First Car Was Red by Peter Schossow

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My First Car Was Red is a really unique picture book by German author and illustrator Peter Schossow.  It’s the story of a boy who is given an old, rusty pedal car by his grandfather.  Together, they repair the car and give it a new coat of shiny red paint.  The boy wants to take it out for a spin straight away but his grandfather takes him off to the Driving School to have lessons first.  When he finally gets to go off on his own his little brother wants to join him, and this is the start of a wild ride uphill and downhill, through fields, spooky forests and tunnels, nearly hitting pigs, and being chased by wasps.

The thing that really makes this book unique are the road signs throughout the book.  Each of the signs match up with the story perfectly (a speed bump sign for the bumpy field, a rockfall sign when they reach a cliff) and the story could almost be told without words, just the road signs.

The relationship between the brothers is realistically portrayed.  I especially liked when the little brother offered to kiss his arm better.  The story is perfect for boys (especially 4 and 5 year olds) because of the topic and the way in which the author talks about cars.  Boys will be hooked right from the start where Peter describes all the work they have to do on the car

“First we took the whole thing apart…Then we hammered, sanded, patched and painted.  I chose the colour – shiny red.  We drilled holes and tightened nuts; we greased and oiled and upholstered.”

My First Car Was Red is a story to be read again and again, finding new things in the illustrations each time.

8 out of 10