My two-and-a-half year-old son is completely obsessed with this latest addition to his library. We have not previously discovered Mr Pusskins, so this is our introduction to Sam Lloyd’s ‘books with cattitude’. The latest book in the series has Mr Pusskins entered into a pet show by Emily, the little girl with whom he lives. Mr Pusskins finds the whole thing a yawn until he realises that he is competing for ‘the most fabulous thing he has ever seen’ – a trophy. The story is energetically realised, both in the telling and the illustrating, and I suspect that all toddlers going through potty-training will be thrilled with a pivotal moment in the plot which features a toilet. Each page has plenty of text, but it is written in a way that ensures we make it to the conclusion of the book every time. For my 31-month-old son this story has immediately become a favourite, with him asking for Mr Pusskins:
picture books
Song of Middle C
Ever since I started my piano teaching career at the age of 14, I’ve attempted to provide appropriate ‘waiting room’ materials for my piano students, things that are engaging enough to promote quiet waiting behaviour for the the 2 or 3 minutes (hopefully no more than that) that might pass between the student’s arrival and the start of their lesson proper. Good and well, but finding books or activities that fit the bill is actually quite a bit more difficult than it seems. One solution, Stephen Biesty’s Incredible Cross-sections series, seemed ideal – lots to look at, an educational element, all the kinds of things that one looks for in this circumstance. But one day the students started giggling as they looked through, and giggled loudly enough that it was distracting to the student whose lesson was just concluding. Turns out Mr Biesty has incredibly included somewhere tucked away on every page of his cross-sections one poor soul caught in
Jasper’s Beanstalk
There are books that demand one’s attention on the shelves of the children’s section in the bookshops of the world, and then there are the books that, out of the blue, one notices already sitting on one’s bookshelf, a gift probably, maybe given in anticipation of the child’s changing tastes in reading material, so unread at the time of receipt, but now ripe for exploration. Jasper’s Beanstalk was one of these less noisy books that was given to my son when he was still much too young to appreciate or enjoy its charms. But one day, quite unintentionally, Jasper’s Beanstalk was pulled from the shelves, and we began to read. We read about a cat, Jasper, who found a bean and decided to help it grow. Each day Jasper tries some new gardening technique to encourage the bean to sprout, until he despairs of ever seeing a beanstalk… The trick with any picture book is, of course, to have a
Fabulous Children’s Books
Children’s books have always been seriously fabulous (think Peter Rabbit) but somehow during the last decade the standard has become truly stunning, whether we are talking design, wit, educational value, moral lessons, illustrations or intelligence. My most exciting find (since the birth of my son 29 months ago) has been a writer/illustrator called Petr Horacek. I came across “Beep, Beep” and “Choo, Choo” either in late 2007 (which must have been the moment they were in the book shops) or early 2008. Absolutely perfect for my then not-yet 1-year-old. Since then we’ve collected Petr Horacek’s earlier books “Stawberries are Red” (an introduction to colours) and “What is Black and White?” which won awards back in 2002, and just this week we bought “Silly Suzy Goose” (2006). The first four books I’ve mentioned are board books, and simply perfect for the pre-2-year-old. There are die-cuts, glorious illustrations, and energetic (but not plot-driven) text. “Silly Suzy Goose” was this week’s addition to
Elissa Milne 