The Three Cattle Dogs
Gruff by Chris Gurney, illus. Myles Lawford, Scholastic NZ
This is the latest title in Scholastic’s long-running and
popular picture book series called
Kiwi
Corkers: Great New Zealand Yarns. We don’t need any hints about which story
inspired this New Zealand version – you just need to look at the title, and the
cover which shows something nasty lurking under a bridge… Chris’s bouncy
rhyming text takes us through the traditional format, providing a local version
of the chorus:
“Cross my bridge, you
silly mutt, I’ll suck you with a slurp, up my tongue into my gut and finish
with a burp!” I won’t give away what exactly is hiding under the bridge –
children will enjoy the moment when they finally see the owner of the very long
tongue. Myles Lawford’s crisp and colourful Adobe Photoshop illustrations catch the New Zealand rural landscape and the frisky natures of the three dogs. This would make a good read-aloud for a preschool or junior primary school class.
ISBN 978 1 77543 340 8 RRP $12 Pb
I Am Doodle Cat
by Kat Patrick and Lauren Marriott, Beatnik Publishing
It’s hard to resist the bright red face of Doodle Cat
smiling out from the front cover. Further investigation reveals that Doodle Cat
likes lots of unusual things, not just cat-type things as you might expect.
Doodle Cat loves dancing, noise, the ocean, maths, lentils, baths, fractals and
small animals, to mention a few. In fact, the chosen objects and activities
could easily be the favourites of a young child… The end papers offer a kind of
explanatory text on why these particular objects were chosen: eg. “A fractal is
a never-ending pattern that looks exactly the same at any size. These guys are
everywhere! Don’t believe me? Go and investigate a cauliflower.” The stylised
illustrations are strong and bright, with an emphasis on red. Teachers and
parents need to be aware that this is more of a concept book than a story book,
and would probably be best used to stimulate discussion with children of about
4 to 7 (who may even want to draw their own Doodle Cat)… This book won the 2015
Best Children’s Book in the PANZ Book Design Awards.
ISBN 978 0992 264826
RRP $24.99 Hb
Tyranno-sort-of-Rex
by Christopher Llewelyn, illus. Scott Tulloch, Scholastic NZ
The first pairing of this author and illustrator produced
Scholastic’s engaging picture book How
Does the Giraffe Get to Work? Reviewers, me among them, agreed it was an
inspired combination. They’ve now come out with this rhyming story that’s bound
to appeal to the thousands of young dinosaur fans out there. Some recently
dug-up dinosaur bones get mixed up on board the ship during a wild storm. The
courier company dumps the bones outside the museum, and it’s up to the poor old
curator to sort them out. This strangely fishlike gentleman doesn’t do too
well. “Whizz went the drill, and his
hammer went Whack! Checking his work, the curator stepped back… The bottom
resembled a Tyrannosaur… but the top of the neck had one major flaw. He knew
for a fact that he’d definitely read that all dinosaurs had only one head.”
The muddled-up sets of bones presented to the public on the last page are
amusing, but personally I’d have like a bit more of a funny twist at the end of
the tale (pun intended!). However dinosaur fans (mainly small boys) will follow
the curator’s efforts with fascination, and will appreciate the puns in the
names. Scott Tulloch’s illustrations, mostly double-spreads, are expansive, complex,
and reward closer examination. This will work well as a read-aloud for 4 to 7
year-olds.
ISBN 978 1 77543 311 8 RRP $19 Pb
Ta Daniel Hakari
Matariki by Rebecca Beyer and Linley Wellington, illus. Christine Ross,
Duck Creek Press
This appealing story was first published in English in May
2014, and many teachers and parents will welcome this release in te reo. Amidst
worries about Maori being a dying language, resources such as this book need to
be supported so I hope it goes into every public and primary school library. Follow
this link for KidsBooksNZ’s review of the English version:
ISBN 978 1 927305 02 7 RRP $19.99 Pb (distributed by David
Bateman)
Reviewed by Lorraine Orman
Posts
I browsed through this sticker/activity book with more
interest than usual, because I have two grandsons playing rugby, Rory aged 6
and Lachlan aged 7. I’m always on the lookout for books and presents to give
them. It’s pretty much the usual format – a double page of stickers in the
middle, and the rest of the pages are a combination of sticker pictures and
puzzle activities (jumbled words, code cracking, missing words, word find,
crossword, maze, quiz). The last page provides the Answers. There are also a
few sections conveying information, eg. rugby jargon, ball handling skills. So
who would enjoy it? Youngsters will definitely need reading and language skills
to do the activities, so it’s best for mid to upper primary ages. That means
the 7-year-old will get the book (plus some adult help), rather than the
6-year-old. Now to find a present for the 6-year-old…
