Amazing Book!!!!

This has to be one of THE best kids books I have read in a long time. Bought it for my nephew who won't really understand it at a year old but the rhyming is so clever. Buy it, you won't be disappointed!! :)

my 3 month old likes this book a lot

My baby boy seems to really like this book and has been fascinated by it from 3 months old. It will actually stop him crying. He looks at it for much longer than the cot book of a similar design. Money well spent.

Top marks!

My daughter who is not yet two just loves this book, she finds it hard to put down and wants to read it over and over (luckily for us, Mummy and Daddy enjoy it too)
The only mistake I made though was buying the paperback version first (I didn't see the board one was available at the time) so if you are buying for smaller hands and fingers then I would suggest buying the board book first. I am going to and then put aside the paperback for when she is a bit older....as it is, this favorite isn't going to last very long in our home as my daughter would take it with her in the bath if she could!

Excellent storyline and illustrations. Top marks all round!!

Awsome

I have just the seen the film and it was very moving, I intend now to read the book. I won't say what happens at the end but It certainly did amaze me.

another crowd pleaser

Another crowd pleaser from the author and illustrator of The Gruffalo and Room on a Broom. My kids love these books. They don't ever get tired of hearing them, which is why this gets four stars. It doesn't get five because I don't like it at all. If you're looking for funny rhyming books with great illustrations I highly recommend the work of Lynley Dodd whose prolific output includes Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy and Slinky Malinky.

What I find most annoying about reading this book out loud is the fact that the words are squeezed to fit the fact that this is a rhyming story. The sentences just don't work, and yet the rhyme is so appealing for children that it is both memorable and immensely popular. The illustrations are good and there is lots of detail to talk about which keeps them amused and very engaged with the story.

So, great for kids, not for me.

If you like Doctor Who, you'll like this annual

Once again, the BBC have put together an excellent Doctor Who annual for all television fans of the programme, young and old. Gracing the front cover is the Doctor and the Red Dalek Supreme and Davros on the back cover, all on a silver foil backing which makes the annual 'stand out' amongst the rest!
Readers of BBC's Doctor Who Adventures comic will instantly recognise the format inside the annual. Every page is covered with facts and features on Series Four and readers are re-introduced to Donna, Martha, Sarah Jane, Rose and Jenny, as well as the Ood, Adipose, Master, Hath, Sontarans and, of course, Davros and his Daleks. With a mix of text story, comic strips and puzzles, this annual is a worthy accompaniment to the Doctor Who StorybookDoctor Who Storybook 2009 (Dr Who).

Not so jolly songs

I was very disappointed in this cd. The songs are far too short which makes for very stilted listening/singing along. It would be much improved if each letter was repeated several times or if the groups of letters were grouped as one song. As it stands you find yourself singing along for a few seconds, stopping and then along comes another one.

absolutely captivating

This is one of my and my 4 year old son's favourite books. It tells the fantastic story of Tom and a team of girl pirates who steal the front of Tom's house and use it to disguise their ship so they can steal treasure from Captain Patch and his grown up pirates.

What sets this book apart is the wonderful illustrations and the text which not only has a gentle rhyme and repetition but flows across the page using different fonts and layouts to help tell the story. for instance when the pirates run away, so do the letters.....

This book will be treasured by any boy or girl and it is particularly refreshing to find a story about girls who are not pink princessese. Buy this book - you will not be disappointed!

Listen and enjoy ( and remember Animal Magic!)

I'd always enjoyed being read and later reading myself the Just So Stories. With children of my own I started them on these stories and having a cd of them means we can enjoy them on the move. The joy of hearing Jonnie Morris' super animal voice characterisations just adds to the enjoyment - takes me back to watching Animal Magic - deep joy!
Four year old daughter enjoys listening to the stories but my nine year old son has become a great fan - this now regularly is on his cd player in his room.
Buy this and you'll all be able to listen together and enjoy.

Garth Nix is on top form here, some of the series' best moments to date here

Barcode: 9780007175116

And so we come to Superior Saturday, the 6th book in Garth Nix's fantastic Keys To The Kingdom series. What i've always liked about the series is the way so many elements of it seem so light hearted while on the other hand, there is always a far more mature, serious, darker side lurking just in the background, breaking through the the foreground every so often.

Never more so than Superior Saturday which really ups the stakes. In an interesting cut back to the events unfolding on Earth, the unnamed city now faces destruction by nukes as the army tries a last resort option to control the plague fears. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book and the cutting between Arthur and Leaf no longer feels as jarring as it did previously, Leaf's role in this book being particularly commendable as Nix works in a bit of contemporary action-thriller stuff which works as a nice counterpoint to the fantasy of Arthur's adventures in the house.

And so we come to our lead character himself, Arthur, and finally, he decides to just go for it and accept he's going to have to become a Denizen in order to save the House. I can't tell you how relieved i was when i read that part, finally he could use the key's abilities to their full extent and the way he stops time and holds back a giant wave of Nothing is pretty awe-inspiring cinematic stuff.

Obviously, with this new-found power, comes ever-greater dangers. Saturday is a sutiably aloof villain, Nix's imagery of her 10,000+ feet tower is fascinating as is the workings of its various machinery by the Piper's children. The ever-fabulous Suzy gets a fair share of action too, her cockney charms always serving up great moments humour here and there. The 6th part of the Will is also a likeable character, eager to work alongside Arthur, and along with his increasing powers means that this book just flows that bit better as Arthur is given more freedom.

In this also comes further devlopment of his character and the negative aspects the keys also bring, coming to the fore in momentary flashes of arrogance and anger. Arthur's battle to surpress this side of himself only adds to the dynamics of this book.

Following on from Nix's masterful handling of military elements in Sir Thursday we get another taste of this side of things as Arthur and Saturday's assorted Denizen's raid Sunday's Incomparable Gardens in the book's dramatic finale. It's a fantastic, high-tension end to the book that leads to perhaps the most sudden cliffhanger ever. This will without a doubt leave you wanting more and i'll confess it's 'stopped mid-frame' feel is a little frustrating, especially in the ambiguity that Arthur doesn't really get a proper showdown with Saturday. That said though, i found this book immensely enjoyable and it presents some of the best bits of the series so far. Well recommended!

Lovely

The story itself is based on a Jewish folktale.
An old lady is complaining her house is too small, so asks the wiseman for help. Instead of tellling her to build an extension, he gives some interesting and unique advice!
By the end of the story, the old lady is delighted with her house and the space she has.
Wonderfully illustrated and with witty engaging rhyme.
Highly recommended as a bedtime/anytime reader. Just the right length to keep a youngster's attention with enough change and variation to keep interest.

Striking narrative and illustrations.

Zany story and zany, funny ills combine to make a really good package for young children at storytime. The ills combine a striking ability to make a simple statement while being quite detailed. The verses and letter that make part of the narative add variety.

Excellent!

BRILL BOOK

One day, there was a knock at the door of Sophie's house, just as she and her mummy were going to have tea, but the milkman had already come and it was not the day for the boy from the grocer; it could not be daddy because he was coming home a little bit later and he had his keys. Who was the mysterious being at the door? Find out in this book...

This book is wonderful: the illustrations are vivid and bright; the vocabulary range is good for children aged from 4 - 7 and the story line is delightful. It is a truly superb book.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book with my brother (who enjoyed it as well) and would rate it, for myself and on behalf of my brother, 10/ 10.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Like children, parents and grandparents, all over the world, I am a cult member. Harry Potter's final saga" Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" had been set upon the world. I dare say that few would be disappointed. Harry's final adventure is a remarkable journey into the world of fantasy. The wedding of Fleur and Bill as it ends in chaos. The escape of our trio from the death eaters and that is only the beginning. The many subsequent adventures, ending with the final battle at Hogwarts and the defeat of Voldamort by Harry. An adventure froth with danger, fears, laughter, doubts and narrow excapes will have its readers on the edge of their seat. I was!

Great fun

It's great when a children's rhyme we all know is given a new lease of life. This book does this. Yes there is the bus, yes there are the wheels and all the rest, but there is so much going on in each picture and each picture is so full of colour and life, that my youngster never gets tired of the book.
That's the best recommendation I can give.