Picture Book Review – Catch That Rat – Caryl Hart (Author) & Tom McLaughlin (Illustrator)

Picture Book Review – Catch That Rat – Caryl Hart (Author) & Tom McLaughlin (Illustrator)

Recommended for - Toddlers/Younger Readers

 

I love, love, LOVE when a new picture book comes through, and from a quick flick through you can tell that it’s going to be a colourful and quirky adventure, just from the way the artist chooses to weave the words within the illustrations.

Catch That Rat is a story about a succession of people attempting to a catch a rat that causes mayhem throughout the town and beyond – but is shouting and chasing it really the best way to catch it?

It's great to read a picture book that builds and builds momentum, taking children on an exciting trip before giving them a different ending than that which they were expecting. There’s the wonderful refrain of the title throughout, which is perfect to read to children as they love to join in – I'm always on the lookout for stories that the children can join in with for Storytime at the library, and this is going to be perfect for it. I won’t spoil where the chase leads, but children will love it – it’s out of the blue but fits perfectly for a quirky children’s story.

I mentioned how well the illustrations caught my eye when I opened the book, and I really can’t praise them enough – it’s almost as if they've been cut out and stuck on the page, and have several different styles amongst them. They’re bright, colourful and different from the norm, and I’d love to see some more of the illustrator’s work.

Catch That Rat? Get out there and catch this book as soon as you can!

9/10

Picture Book - Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Picture Book - Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! - Mo Willems (Author & Illustrator)

Recommended for - Toddlers/Young Readers

More Mo Willems now, this time his Pigeon series. If you've read any of my other reviews about Mo Willems' books, you probably know where this is heading.

When we open this book, we're warned by a bus driver who has to leave for a short while not to let the pigeon in question drive the bus. Boy, does that pigeon try to convince us otherwise. Unfortunately, despite all his best attempts, the bus driver returns before we give in, and the pigeon sulks off. And we laugh all the way through it.

It really is a very grumpy pigeon, and I really do like grumpy animals. I barely touched on Mo Willem's illustrations in previous reviews, but here they add layers to the humour - he's a master at somehow getting the varying emotions of a pigeon across to us, particularly when said pigeon is peeking around the page with mischief in mind, or trying to emotionally blackmail us. I can well imagine younger children laughing and shouting at the page, telling the pigeon that he isn't allowed to drive the bus, and the grown ups laughing about how the pigeon informs us that his cousin drives one everyday, and that he bets that your child's mother (yep, YOU, all the mothers reading this!) would allow it. I'm sure for some of you, you'll see your own child in this pigeon...It's also interesting to read a book that breaks the fourth wall i.e. the characters talk directly to you.

What I love about Mo Willems is the faint ridiculousness of the plot to most of his stories - I don't know how he thinks them up, but they're brilliant concepts, and he follows through with wonderful humour for children and adults alike. Thank heavens there are plenty of them, so it'll be a long time before I run out of his material.

This is a true classic of childrens picture books, and no wonder it's been voted into several Halls of Fame.

10/10

Picture Book - Lost and Found - Oliver Jeffers (Author & Illustrator)

Picture Book - Lost and Found - Oliver Jeffers (Author & Illustrator)

Recomended for - Babies/Toddlers/Younger Readers

I'm trying to gather up everything I can find by Oliver Jeffers, as he's easily been one of my favourite picture book writers that I've discovered over the last year or so (and he's a fine illustrator too). I've discovered several books with a friendship between a boy and a penguin, and this is the first.

When a boy finds a penguin on his doorstep, he thinks he must be lost and tries to help him find his way home, eventually landing at the South Pole. As he leaves though, he notices that the penguin is still sad, and realises that he was just lonely. Will he make it back in time though to find the penguin and his new best friend?

I'm happy to say that, yet again, Oliver Jeffers has come up trumps. While it's not on the highest level with The Hueys in The New Jumper, Stuck or This Moose Belongs To Me, it's close, and well worth checking out. The slightly eccentric humour that Jeffers does so well is present, especially as the boy tries to ask various parties (including some random birds, which is hilarious how it happens) about where the penguin might belong. I also very nearly burst into tears in the last couple of pages (that's not unusual, but I've never done it reading a picture book before!) - there's a scene that's so touching, I wanted to force everyone else to read it straight away afterwards. There was no-one around though, so I had to read it myself again, which was absolutely fine by me.

It's almost become too easy to predict, but you have to check this out, and everything else Oliver Jeffers has done.

9/10

Picture Book - I'm Not Cute! - Jonathan Allen (Author & Illustrator)

Picture Book - I'm Not Cute! - Jonathan Allen (Author & Illustrator)

Recommended for - Babies/Toddlers/Younger Readers

Oh, how I do love a story about a grumpy animal!

Poor Baby Owl - no matter where he goes, everyone tells him how cute he is. He tries to tell them about how fierce he really is, but secretly, does he want to be cute after all?

Everytime I think of this book I can't help but smile - the thought of a baby owl throwing a mini-strop and stamping his feet when he's told he's cute is hilarious! Having a young son who gets grumpy when he's tired (as I'm sure most of you reading this will have experienced!) I can feel a certain empathy with Baby Owl's mother. It'll make you all giggle and smile, that's for sure.

The illustrations add to the laughter, with Baby Owl grumpily jumping up and down everytime he's called cute, like some deranged little ball of fur. 

Guaranteed to make you and your children laugh.

9/10

Picture Book - Bear Wants More - Karma Wilson (Author) & Jane Chapman (Illustrator)

Picture Book - Bear Wants More - Karma Wilson (Author) & Jane Chapman (Illustrator)

Recommended for - Babies/Toddlers/Younger Children

And so, for now, I bid farewell to Bear, as I come to the end of the eight books in the series published so far...

Bear wakes up following a long period of hibernation, and he's rather hungry. But what will he do if he eats so much that he can't fit through the entrance to his cave anymore?

For once, FINALLY, Bear doesn't seem to suffer too much! Sure, he can't fit into his home for a while, but that just means he takes the party to the forest outside. That's more fun, surely? I'm not sure if this is actually the latest book in the series, but it's a nice way to finish it, compared to the last two stories I've reviewed where he gets stuck in a storm, and then feels ill!

Throughout the series, the stories have had a heart-warming centre, about a Bear and his friends who help each other out when the need arises. The words flow together brilliantly, the illustrations are wonderful to look at, and there's always a delightful feel-good ending (not that you'd expect anything different in a book for children!). The quality is consistently great throughout, never dipping, making all the books in the series a must-read.

Well done Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman - in my opinion, I think the Bear series is the best long children's picture book series availble. Please write some more!

9/10

Picture Book - Bear Feels Scared - Karma Wilson (Author) & Jane Chapman (Illustrator)

Picture Book - Bear Feels Scared - Karma Wilson (Author) & Jane Chapman (Illustrator)

Recommended for Babies/Toddlers/Younger Readers

And so we return to Karma Wilson's Bear series. Always a pleasure to do so!

In Bear Feels Scared, our furry friend gets lost outside when a huge storm hits the Strawberry Vale. Luckily, his friends are around to help him find his way home, and look after him until he feels safe again. 

Poor Bear - Karma Wilson really does put him through some peril at times! If children haven't been feeling sorry for Bear in the past, they certainly will do now. Anyone familiar with the series knows that it'll all turn out OK in the end, but your heart really does go out to him until then.

As ever, the illustrations are lovely, and the words flow together delightfully. At the time of writing, there's only two books left in the series. What shall I do without my regular fix of Bear?!

9/10

Picture Book - This Is Not My Hat - Jon Klassen (Author & Illustrator)

Picture Book - This Is Not My Hat - Jon Klassen (Author & Illustrator)

Recommended for - Babies/Toddlers/Younger Readers

Oh Mr Klassen, you do know how to write bleak humour.

And I love you all the more for it.

Jon Klassen's first book, I Want My Hat Back, is my all-time favourite children's picture book, mainly because of the surprisingly dark humour that he manages to use that had me in stitches, despite it being a book written for people at least 20 years younger than myself. This sequel contains the same type of humour, and whilst it's not quite in the same league, it's still very, very funny, and well worth checking out.

A small fish decides to steal a hat from a much bigger fish, and then escape to where the underwater plants and big and tall, so that he can't be found. However, as you'd expect having read the first book, things don't exactly go to plan...

While children will love the fun of watching the big fish slowly catching up to the small fish, grown ups will again love the wordless manner of how we learn the small fish's fate, and how Klassen manages to put such a dark twist into a story for children. His unique drawing style is as lovely as ever, and the expressions that the characters wear adds to the humour. Who doesn't love a grumpy looking fish, after all?

If you haven't already read I Want My Hat Back, go and get that first. Once that's been read, make sure you pick up a copy of This Is Not My Hat. It's an absolute delight.

I can't help but feel positive that Jon Klassen is going to be a becomes very well known over the next few years. I certainly can't think of a more worthy winner of the Kate Greenaway Award, to be announced soon.

9/10