Home Reading Initiative
These reviews of children's books were provided by the Scottish Book Trust.
- The Puddleman by Raymond Briggs
- Little Beaver and the Echo
- The Very Lazy Ladybird by Isobel Finn
- Six Dinner Sid by Inga Moore
- Misery Moo by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
- Countdown to Bedtime by Mike Haines and David Melling
- The Tiger who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
- Pirate Pete – A Change-the-Story Book by Nick Sharratt
- Jingle Jangle Jungle
- Elmer by David McKee
- Very Noisy Night by Diana Hendry
- Albert Le Blanc by Nick Butterworth
- Sally and the Limpet by Simon James
- Maisy's Rainbow Dream by Lucy Cousins
- Katie Morag of Course! by Mairi Hedderwick
- The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
- Oscar and Arabella Hot, Hot, Hot by Neal Layton
- Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs By Ian Whybrow
- Rory and his Great Idea by Andrew Wolffe
- Duck in a Truck by Jez Alborough
The Puddleman by Raymond Briggs
The Puddleman is the story of the loving relationship between Tom and his grandfather. Tom's pet name for his grandfather is Collar simply because he likes to drag him around on a lead all the time. One day, Tom decides that he and Collar are to go for a walk and see the puddles that he has named after his family. Collar tries to explain that it hasn't rained in a long time so it is highly unlikely that there will be any puddles.
Of course, the ground is bone dry when they get outside, but this, according to Tom, is simply because the puddles haven't been put in yet. This is a wonderfully unique and imaginative tale with stunning illustrations from a true master.
Publisher: Jonathan Cape
ISBN: 0224070096
Price: £10.99
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Little Beaver and the Echo
This heart-warming tale tells the story of a lonely young beaver searching for a friend. Little Beaver lives by a huge pond and has no friends or family. One day he shouts, 'I'm lonely, I need a friend!' and to his surprise a voice echoes back exactly the same words from across the pond. He sets off to find the lonely creature and along the way he makes lots of new friends – a duck, an otter and a turtle, all of whom are searching for chums.
Although happy with his new friends, Little Beaver is still desperate to meet up with his sad friend, until he meets the wise old beaver, who explains that now that he is happy, his friend will be too. Little Beaver is one of the sweetest characters you will ever come across and his story is one that must be read!
Publisher: Walker Books
ISBN: 0744592690
Price: £4.99
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The Very Lazy Ladybird by Isobel Finn
The very lazy ladybird is incredibly lazy and sleeps all day long. Because of this she never moves and hasn't bothered to learn how to fly. One day she decides to find somewhere new to sleep and comes up with an idea that doesn't involve much effort on her part. However, things don't quite go to plan and the lazy ladybird is eventually forced to fly.
This is a fantastic read aloud book and children will have great fun joining in with the story and imitating all the animals that the ladybird meets along the way. It is also a bright and colourful sturdy board book, ideal for little hands learning to turn pages.
Publisher: Little Tiger Press
ISBN: 1854309935
Price: £4.99
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Six Dinner Sid by Inga Moore
Sid is an opportunistic, hungry cat with six owners living in the same street. His life is perfect, as all the owners are unaware of each other, so he gets six meals a day and has six owners who shower him with attention. But he soon finds out that this idyllic lifestyle can have his drawbacks and he ends up being treated at the vet's not just once, but six times for a cough! This is an absolutely delightful story with stunning, realistic illustration throughout. Whether you are a cat person or not, you won't be able to stop yourself from smiling at Sid's antics.
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
ISBN: 184032564X
Price: £5.99
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Misery Moo by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
Misery Moo and Lamby Poo are the best of friends even though Misery Moo is a miserable old cow and is never happy. Lamby is the complete opposite and is a chirpy young thing who does everything in his power to make his best friend smile. Things come to a head on Moo's birthday, when Lamby becomes more depressed than his miserable mate! Moo realises that it really is up to her to help the normally happy Lamby get back on track and decides it is time to change her outlook on life.
This story has a strong message about feelings and friendship and is complemented by Tony Ross's expressive illustrations.
Publisher: Andersen Press
ISBN: 1842702947
Price: £9.99
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Countdown to Bedtime by Mike Haines and David Melling
The countdown to bedtime has begun for Fidget and Quilly and they have exactly 10 minutes to get ready. There is a lot to fit in to a short time - put their toys away, brush their teeth and have a bath! Can they do it in time? There are fold-out flaps on every page revealing what the mischievous pair are really doing. This is a wonderful bedtime read, encouraging even the most reluctant child to get into bed. David Melling's illustrations capture the endearing and cheeky nature of the two characters and bring this book to life.
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
ISBN: 0340757639
Price: £7.99
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The Tiger who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
Sophie and her mother get a huge surprise one night, when they open their door to find a big, furry, stripy tiger standing at the door complaining that he is hungry. What do you do in a situation like that? You invite him in for tea of course! The tiger is very friendly, but has an insatiable hunger and things become somewhat chaotic as the tiger eats his way through the entire contents of Sophie's cupboards and fridge!
Judith Kerr's classic picture book is still captivating children over 30 years on from when it was first published and for those wishing to host their own tiger tea party, the book is now available with a china tea set. Just remember to have a very big tin of tiger food on hand!
Publisher: Harpercollins
ISBN: 0001006789
Price: £5.99
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Pirate Pete – A Change-the-Story Book by Nick Sharratt
There are endless hours of fun to be had with Nick Sharratt's new interactive book, Pirate Pete! On every page there are six cut-outs to choose from and which children can slot into the picture to create their very own, unique story time and time again. What does Pirate Pete encounter as he sails on the ocean -a giraffe? A diver? A dolphin? A shark? A mermaid? Or maybe just a duck! With all the different combinations the story can be as silly or as normal as you like, but if you are not happy with the end result, just go back to the beginning and send Pirate Pete on a completely different adventure!
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Publisher: Walker
ISBN: 0744592763
Price: £7.99
Jingle Jangle Jungle
A counting book, a jigsaw book and a lively picture rhyme book all rolled into one large-format board book.
This delightful book has an exotic animal on every page: snuffly aardvarks, busy bees and playful zebras all put in an appearance, on their way to have fun at the jungle party! Children can also learn to count from one to ten by matching the animals to their number in the two-piece jigsaws. Interactive, educational and fun, this book will engage children from cover to cover!
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0140502044X
Price: £9.99
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Elmer by David McKee
This book is absolutely brimming with colour and is the first in the series about Elmer the patchwork elephant. In this tale Elmer gets fed up being multi-coloured and decides to remedy that in a rather unusual way. Along the way, however, Elmer realises that his true purpose in life is to make all the other elephants in the jungle happy! An entertaining read that helps children recognise different colours and appreciate that it is all right to be different.
Since this book was published Elmer has gone on to appear in over 20 books including novelty sound and board books.
Publisher: Anderson Press
ISBN: 0099697203
Price: £4.99
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Very Noisy Night by Diana Hendry
Little mouse is trying very hard to get to sleep but strange noises keep disturbing him. His imagination runs wild and he imagines all sorts of bad things and tries desperately to get into bed with Big Mouse where he knows he'll be safe.
Written by Diana Hendry and illustrated by Jane Chapman, this really is a delightful and reassuring bedtime tale that will help shake off any worries that children (and grown ups) may have.
Publisher: Little Tiger
ISBN: 185430609X
Price: £4.99
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Albert Le Blanc by Nick Butterworth
Albert Le Blanc - a large, white, fluffy French bear - appears one day in Mr Jolly's toyshop looking extremely sad. Back, front, sideways, no matter which way you look at him, he just looks sad!
Albert soon becomes the centre of attention as the other toys do their utmost to cheer him up. They dance, tell jokes and the jack-in-the-box bounces higher than ever before! The thing is Albert isn't really sad, it is just the way he was made, but the other toys just won't listen and they carry on regardless until Sally the hippo accidentally crashes into him and lands the biggest lipstick kiss on him you will ever see!
Albert Le Blanc is a heart-warming story with stunning illustration throughout; it is full of familiar faces making special guest appearances, hiding in amongst all the other toys in the shop.
Publisher: Harpercollins
ISBN: 0007119712
Price: £5.99
Age: 3+
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Sally and the Limpet by Simon James
Simon James is the author and illustrator of this fabulous fishy tale. Sally pulls a limpet of a rock at the beach and it sticks hard fast to her finger. She asks all her friends and family for help, but no matter what she tries, it just won't come off! Will she ever reunite it with it's rock? An important lesson for young children about protecting the environment.
Publisher: Walker Books
ISBN: 0744557631
Price: £4.99
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Maisy's Rainbow Dream by Lucy Cousins
An absolute favourite with 1-3-year-olds. Maisy is bright, bold and extremely entertaining! In her latest adventure Maisy dreams that she is on a journey with all her friends through the different colours of the rainbow - red ladybirds, orange fish and a violet butterfly are some of the things she sees along the way. This book is absolutely bursting with colour and is a perfect introduction to colour for little ones.
Publisher: Walker Books
ISBN: 0744557631
Price: £10.99
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Katie Morag of Course! by Mairi Hedderwick
Katie Morag our favourite picture book character from the Isle of Struay is up to her usual tricks in these three new stories, specially written for older readers to help build reading confidence.
In "Saturday Sweets" Katie Morag decides to buy her Granny a selection of sweets for Grandmother's Day. Unsure which sweets Granny will like she decides to sample them and before she knows it there are none left!
The second story is "The Pony and the Hamster" and Katie Morag is absolutely over the moon when her Granny decides to buy a pony and is keen to help look after it. She quickly discovers that looking after the pony isn't as easy as she first thought and is a huge responsibility.
Katie Morag and her big boy cousins set off on an exciting adventure in "The Camping Holiday" only to find themselves stranded by the tide. Luckily Katie Morag's new friend is on hand to help rescue them.
These three linked tales are ideal for developing readers and especially those who enjoyed Katie Morag's picture book adventures.
Publisher Red Fox
ISBN 0099432056
Price £3.99
Age 6-9 years
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The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
An engaging tale by award winning duo, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler about a courageous mouse that invents an absolutely terrifying creature called a Gruffalo to ensure a safe stroll through the forest. See what happens when he actually comes face to face with his creation, a real life Gruffalo!
This delightful tale with rhyming text complimented by Scheffler's lively illustration makes this book an absolute joy to read not only for children, but for the adults who will be asked to read it again and again and again.
This book has won the Smarties Award, the Blue Peter Award and in 2000 it was the UK's bestselling picture book.
Publisher Macmillan
ISBN 0333710932
Price £5.99
Age 3+ years
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Oscar and Arabella Hot, Hot, Hot by Neal Layton
Oscar and Arabella, everyone's favourite woolly mammoths are back! Hot, Hot, Hot is the second title in the series and sees the two friends faced with the problem of being incredibly woolly in very hot, dusty conditions.
What can they do to cool down? Shelter under trees, fan each other with big leaves, jump in lakes - nothing seems to work! They do eventually find a rather drastic solution to overcome the heat that starts a new trend among their fellow animals.
With charmingly chaotic illustrations throughout, this is a fun read that includes some facts about the Ice Age as well. Neal Layton was awarded bronze in the Smarties Children's Book Award 2003, for this book.
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
ISBN: 0340873264
Price: £9.99
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Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs By Ian Whybrow
This endearing tale is a perfect introduction to dinosaurs for young children. Harry finds a box of dinosaurs in his Nan's attic and decides to keep them. He looks after them and very carefully learns all their different names. One day they get lost. Will Harry ever be reunited with his special friends?
Adrian Reynold's fantastic illustrations really compliment this story, with lots to discuss on each page for small children. If you enjoy this book there are plenty more in the series - pop-ups, board books and even a book that comes packaged with a bucket full of dinosaurs.
Publisher: Gullane
ISBN: 1862332053
Price: £5.99
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Rory and his Great Idea by Andrew Wolffe
Rory and his trusty sidekick, Scruff McDuff have been enjoying a long, hot summer in Sandy Bay. One day they are finishing off a picnic on the beach and decide that an ice cream is in order to help cool them down.
They dream of the perfect ice cream on the way to the Pelican Café, but when they get there they realise disaster has struck - Mr Toni's fridge has broken down! Keen to help, Rory finds help in a rather unusual way and manages to save the day!
Publisher: Keppel Publishing
ISBN: 0953494950
Price: £4.99
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Duck in a Truck by Jez Alborough
A fun tale about a duck who gets into a bit of bother when his truck gets stuck. He enlists the help of some passer-bys only to leave them stranded when he gets what he wants. Children will delight at the simple rhythmic and rhyming text not to mention Jez Alborough's extremely vibrant and interesting illustrations.
Publisher: Picture Lions
ISBN: 0006647170
Price £4.99
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