Like wolves, dragons get a pretty back rap in stories. They guard castles, hoard gold and are generally just a menace. Did you ever think that maybe the dragon might like to have their own story where they do something good? In Lou Carter and Deborah Allwright’s wonderful new picture book, There Is No Dragon In This Story, Dragon sets off to find his own story in which he can be the hero.
This story was supposed to be a story about a dragon who captured a princess and was defeated by a brave knight. However, Dragon refuses to capture ‘any icky, frilly princess’ and sets off to be the hero of his own story. Dragon walks in to the stories of several fairy tale characters, including the Gingerbread Man, the Three Little Pigs and Jack, but they all tell him ‘No. There is NO DRAGON in this story!’ When the giant sneezes and blows out the sun, there is only one character who can save the day and become the hero.
There Is No Dragon In This Story is a wonderful fairy tale mix-up about a classic villain who just wants to be a hero. The reader follows Dragon through stories they are familiar with, all the while hoping that Dragon will find his place in a story. Dragon starts off feeling quite hopeful that he could just slot in to someone else’s story but ends up despondent because nobody wants a dragon in their story. I love the boost of confidence that he gets when he realises that he is the only one that can help and he knows that he can do it. It shows kids that when they put their mind to it they can achieve what they set out to do.
Lou Carter’s story is wonderful to read aloud. There are plenty of different characters so there are lots of opportunities to try different voices. The story would work well with children acting out the different parts. Deborah Allwright’s illustrations are full of colour and humour. She really brings out the joy and confidence of Dragon and portrays the fairy tale characters we love in a new light. Even when the characters are left in the dark she still manages to make the characters shine.
There are so many ways you could extend the fun of this story. You could get children to recreate Red Riding Hood or The Three Little Pigs with Dragon in the story. Get them thinking about how you could make Dragon the hero in each of these fairy tales. Children could write their own stories where Dragon is the hero and even think about other villains that they could turn in to heroes, like the Wicked Witch or The Big Bad Wolf.
Grab a copy of There Is No Dragon In This Story now and help Dragon become the hero.
Everyone can relate to needing to pee in the middle of an important quest, whether you were out doing some shopping that took longer than expected or you were on a long journey. Greg Gormley and Chris Mould tell the story of a brave prince, who really should have gone before he set off on his quest, in their new book, The Prince and the Pee.
Prince Freddie is relaxing on his holiday when his horse, Sir Rushington, turns up to take him to save the people in a burning castle from the dragon. Being on holiday, Freddie has been drinking lots of lemonade, but he knows that his quest is urgent and so he jumps on Sir Rushington and gallops off. It’s not long before he realises he needs to pee. The waterfall they gallop past and the rain that falls on his armour just makes Freddie need to go even more. He jumps off his horse and goes to pee behind a rock, only to be startled by an ogre. Freddie continues to try and find somewhere to pee but keeps getting interrupted, until he finally gets his chance and saves the day at the same time.
Make sure you pee before reading The Prince and the Pee otherwise you might find yourself peeing your pants with laughter. Everyone can relate to Freddie and his dire situation so you really feel for him. You understand the look of anguish on his face because you know the need to pee just gets worse and worse the longer you have to hold on. You can feel his pain when he sees and hears running water and you know it would be horrible to be bouncing up and down, up and down on a horse. Just when you think poor Freddie might finally get some release he is interrupted by ogres, wolves and even Puss in Boots.
Greg Gormley’s text will have you laughing out loud. As you read you can hear Freddie getting increasingly desperate and Sir Rushington trying to find suitable places to pee while still keeping Freddie on track to get to the castle. I’ve always loved Chris Mould’s illustrations and his illustrations for this story are wonderful. He really shows the desperation on Freddie’s face. I also love his illustrations of the other fairy tale creatures throughout the story.
The Prince and the Pee is a great story to read aloud (especially for Year 3 and 4 children) and children could even act it out. It’s another great picture book from one of my favourite publishers, Nosy Crow.
Some picture books you know are going to be brilliant even before you open the covers. As soon as I saw the front cover of Heidi McKinnon’s new picture book, I Just Ate My Friend, with the startled monster staring out at the reader, I knew it was going to be a winner. It makes me laugh out loud every time I read it and I can’t wait to share it with kids!
I Just Ate My Friend is one of those fantastic picture books that invites the reader to be a part of story. The main character, a yellow monster with bulbous eyes, addresses the reader saying ‘I just ate my friend. He was a good friend, but now he’s gone.’ The monster then sets off to find a new friend, only to find that he’s too small, too big or too scary to be anyone’s friend. Just when he thinks he has found a new friend disaster strikes.
I love, love, love this book! Kids will beg I Just Ate My Friend to be read again and again. Heidi’s text and illustrations are simple but they combine to tell a very funny story. Rather than a lot of white space behind the monsters in the story Heidi has made it night time so the background is a night sky covered with stars. This makes the reader focus on the big, colourful monsters that take up most of the page. The yellow monster has large, expressive eyes, so you can tell how he feels. Understandably the yellow monster is rather distraught that he has eaten his friend and he gets increasingly worried that he won’t find a new friend. You see how happy the monster is when he does find a friend, only for this to be horribly ripped from his grasp.
If you love the dark humour of Jon Klassen’s This is Not My Hat you’ll love I Just Ate My Friend.
I’m Simon the rabbit’s biggest fan. I fell in love with this naughty little rabbit with the story that introduced him to readers in New Zealand, Poo Bum. I haven’t met a kid yet who doesn’t love Poo Bum and kids ask me about it at least once a week. Gecko Press have made me incredibly happy by continuing to publish the English language editions of Stephanie Blake’s other Simon the rabbit stories. The latest in the series, I Can’t Sleep, is another hilarious Simon the rabbit story that shows us the more caring side of Simon.
Simon loves playing with his little brother Casper (even though he once thought of him as a ‘stupid baby’). One day they decide to build a mega giga-normous hut. While they play Casper forgets about his blanky. That night when they go to bed Casper suddenly remembers that his blanky is still outside in the dark garden. Simon dons his cape, becoming Super Mega Rabbit, and rescues Casper’s blanky for him. As they snuggle back in bed, Simon tells his brother of his adventures.
I Can’t Sleep will be a favourite with children and parents alike. Children will love the bright, bold illustrations and the adventures that Simon and Casper get up to. Parents will be able to relate to Casper’s dilemma and they will enjoy the humour. As a long-time Simon the rabbit fan I love seeing how Simon has changed throughout the different books. Simon has grown from the naughty little rabbit in Poo Bum and Stupid Baby to a brave and responsible older brother in this story.
One of my favourite aspects of the Simon the rabbit books is the design. Gecko Press have thought very carefully about the placement of text, giving it plenty of room to spread out on the page. The size of the text also varies which helps the reader to emphasize certain words or phrases. I also really love the inside covers of I Can’t Sleep which feature Simon with various expressions and in different poses. I’d love to have a whole wall in my library covered with these images.
Grab a copy of I Can’t Sleep from your library or bookshop now.
Many brave warriors have had to journey to strange lands to prove themselves and we have read their stories. Drew Daywalt and Adam Rex bring us an epic origin story of three foes. These foes searched far and wide to find the warrior fierce enough to beat them in combat. This talented author and illustrator team have come together to tell The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors.
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors follows Rock, Paper and Scissors in their search for awesomeness. What they really desire though is to find a warrior who is able to beat them, a warrior that can make them feel worthy. From the Kingdom of Backgarden, the Empire of Mum’s Study and the Kitchen Realm, Rock, Paper and Scissors battle many warriors but it is only when they meet each other that they truly find a worthy opponent.
This is one of the funniest picture books I’ve read in ages. It’s an epic story worthy of Hollywood and you can’t help but read it in a movie trailer voice. It’s the sort of book that kids will beg you to read again and again, and you will be only to happy to do so.
Rock, Paper and Scissors each have a distinctive personality that comes alive, both in the text and the illustrations. Each character in the book has a different font for their voice – Rock’s is blocky, Paper’s is swirly and Scissors’ is pointy. Adam Rex’s illustrations are fantastic! The colours he uses make the illustrations jump off the page, especially during the battle scenes. You can see the power and emotion of each showdown. The rockets firing and volcanoes erupting in the background just add to the awesomeness of the battle.
You will never look at the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors the same again. Each time you play you will remember the fierce battles that were raged in order for your showdown to happen. Grab a copy of The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors from your library or bookshop now and witness the rise of legends.
A book that makes you laugh every time you read it is a sure sign of a great book. The first time I read My Pictures After the Storm, the latest ‘curiously good’ book from Gecko Press, I was laughing the whole way through because I didn’t know what to expect. Now, every time I read it I know what is coming and it is just as funny.
My Pictures After the Storm is a stand-out book and my favourite book at the moment. I want to show it to everyone I see and I am desperate to show it to all the kids at school after the holidays. It features a series of before and after illustrations that are incredibly clever and absolutely hilarious. Eric Veille shows us the changes to his pictures after the storm, after a cannonball, after the hairdresser and much more.
The text is sparse but the language that Eric uses is rich. On the My Pictures after the hairdresser page for example the lion-tamer goes from being ‘a lion-tamer unconcerned’ to ‘a lion-tamer nicely permed.’ A cake after the elephant turns into a splitch and an octopus becomes a splatch. One of my favourite pages is ‘My pictures after a cold,’ because you have to say the names of the fruit and vegetables like you have a cold.
Eric’s illustrations are what makes this book so brilliant. They are full of humour and expression. It is so much fun to compare the before and after pictures to see what has happened to everything on the page. Each of the scenes is something that kids and adult will be able to relate to, from having lunch and going swimming to having a battle and eating too many potato chips.
My Pictures After the Storm is a book that kids will beg to read again and again and adults will be happy to do so. It’s a book that will have you laughing together and noticing new things on the page each time you read. It is sure to engage even older children who will appreciate the clever illustrations and humour.
Beck and Matt Stanton are creators of books that drive kids crazy. Their previous picture books, This is a Ball and Did You Take the B from my _ook? have been hits with kids, even if they do make them go a little crazy. Their latest picture book is The Red Book and it is absolutely hilarious! It is my favourite book to read aloud at the moment.
Even before you open the book you know that it is going to be funny just by reading the instructions for grown-ups on the back:
For the Grown-Ups:
Okay, Big Wig.
We have a challenge for you.
It’s your job to convince the nearest kid that everything in this book is actually red.
And we mean everything.
It will not be easy! They will try to persuade you that things are not as red as you say, but you will stay strong!
And the kids will love it!
The Red Book is fantastic, interactive picture book that will both infuriate kids and have them rolling on the floor laughing. I’ve been reading this book to the Year 1 and 2 kids at my school over the last couple of days and they absolutely love it! As soon as you show them the cover and read the title they start arguing with you and yelling ‘No!’ because the cover of the book is purple (or so they keep telling you).
The first page gets the kids on board with you, making sure that they agree about the colours on the page. When you turn the page though you tell them that they are all wrong and that everything is red. It’s your job to try and convince the kids that everything in the book is red, but they won’t have a bar of it, because they can see that Fergus the Frog and Rose the Penguin aren’t red. The kids get more and more frustrated and you (as the reader) eventually snap and tell them that you’re the grown-up and what you say goes. By the end of the book though you will convince them that this book is red.
The text is perfect for this interactive book and really gets everyone involved in the story. The kids can’t help but join in and argue with you because what you are saying is so silly. If you’ve got kids who loved The Book with No Pictures (who doesn’t love that book!) or Do Not Open This Book then they’ll love this one. The illustrations are simple but bold and really stand out on the plain white background.
Get The Red Book for your home or school library now and drive your kids crazy!