Missus B's Picture Book Reviews: September 2015

Thursday, 10 September 2015

The Family Book

This post includes affiliate links

Written & illustrated by Todd Parr

Little, Brown and Company/Hachette Book Group 2010 (originally published in 2003)

Reviewed copy: my own

Back of book:
THE FAMILY BOOK celebrates all kinds of families and shows how each is special in its own way. Welcome to the world of Todd Parr. His books are designed to:

Develop Early Literacy
Enhance Emotional Development
Celebrate Differences
Promote Character Growth
Encourage Creativity and Self-Expression
Make You Laugh!

More from Missus B
The Family Bookis an old favourite I have shared with many children down through the years.

The pages are filled with chunky, child-like drawings in rich, vivid colour.
Through an array of rainbow characters ,we see that the world is filled with many different family types.

Some families look alike
Some families look like their pets

ain't that the truth!
image from Cesar

The book uses opposites to describe families:

Some families are big...Some families are small....

Some families live near each other...Some families live far from each other

It shows that, while we can live differently, there may be aspects of family life that we all have in common....

.........All families like to celebrate special days together!

..........All families can help each other be strong!

A range of family types are depicted in the story including :single parent families, large families, small families, blended families, adoptive families and families with same-sex parents.

Diverse family groups are represented
with colourful animal and cartoon characters

The text is large and uses simple lettering for beginner readers. The use of opposites and simple sentences makes it easy for children to memorize and join in with the story. As a read-aloud book, I like that the large font is visible for little listeners. The text is mainly black, but on some pages rainbow colours are used on a bright background -sometimes I find this hurts my eyes as the letters seem to jiggle on the page. None of my little listeners have complained about this jumpy effect though- so maybe I need an eye test!

Learning & Discussion (PSHE/SPHE)

The Family Book helps children to learn about family units and understand that not all families are the same. The book encourages children to reflect on their own idea of what constitutes a family as well as being introduced to new family types. At Circle Time we have considered some questions like:

What people are in your family?
Where does your extended family live?
Have you ever lost a family member you have loved?
Are there pets in your home?
What things does your family celebrate?
How is love expressed in your home? (maybe not all families are the huggy type!)
What is your favourite family meal?
Are there messy or quiet people in your family? Describe some other family characteristics
Do you look like anyone in your family?

Extension exercises could include:

Family drawings
Making family hand prints
Family photo collages
Making family trees

Happy Reading,
Missus B

Book available at these affiliate links:

The author has a great collection of books available here on Todd Parr's AMAZON.COM Page or Todd Parr's AMAZON.CO.UK Page

Thursday, 3 September 2015

Books Always Everywhere

My Little Moomin helped me out with this review

Text by Jane Blatt

Illustrations by Sarah Massini
Nosy Crow 2013

Reviewed copy: my own.
Photographs in this post are of the hardback edition,book is also available as board-book/paper back.
Back of Book:
For the very young, books can be anything-a chair, a tower, to a hat-but the best thing they can can be...is a book...and it's never too soon to share a good book with your little ones.
Missus B says:
Books Always Everywhere,celebrates books - the real ones that you can hold, carry, flick through (or cuddle and sniff if you're like myself).

Books can be wide, books can be tall, they can be big, they can be small. They can be read in the park or at the book store, they can be read when its rainy or when it's sunny. Stack them to make a chair, pop one on your head as a hat, give a book as a gift, or share a story together.

Each double page spread has simple, descriptive, rhyming text e.g. Book big Book small Book wide Book tall

The book features toddlers, babies and some cute animal characters. While it appeals to the young child, the quirky illustrations and text within the images will interest older children and adults too.

The illustrations include LOTS of books,with their titles and text visible for reading e.g. a little girl relaxes on the beach with her 'Happy Days' book, it's back cover reading:

In sunshine or in rain, every day is a story day.

A monkey swings from a tree with a board book that reads:

What kind of key opens a banana? A monkey!
(if you didn't get that...just go back and read it again...slowly)

A little girl reads a book about animals which says:

Chimpanzee: A gregarious and intelligent anthropod ape, inhabiting forests in central West Africa.

(For added kicks, sometimes you have to turn the book upside down to read the text)

There's a whole range of books within the images: Board Books, Peek-A-Boo books, Buggy Books, Joke Books, Nature Books, Fairy Tales and some classics like Wuthering Heights...there's even a Visitor's Book.

The story opens discussion about size, shape and opposites as well as various book types. The illustrations are deliciously cute and offer much to smile about .....A diverse group of toddler characters are clad in lovely, patterned clothing....A playful mouse can be found in each of the pages.... A flock of sheep gather for a bedtime story (with number sweaters-to make counting them easy of course.) .....And, a group of playful monkeys appear on the 'Book funny' page.

While librarians may cringe at the thoughts of using a book as a hat or a seat, from what I can see, no books were damaged in the illustrating of this book. I'm sure that Nosy Crow , Sarah Massini and Jane Blatt can verify the same! ;p