Nibbling trees

Oh books books books.  such a good distraction from our appalling colds and coughs...  whether you are reading them aloud, trying to read them yourself from memory or simply trying to chew them.

Christopher Nibble by Charlotte Middleton.  Christopher Nibble is a quirky little guinea pig who, along with all the residents of Dandeville adores eating dandelions...  unfortunately the dandelions run out.  Christopher finds the last one, cares for it, waits, and then blows the dandelion clock to re-sow the favourite food all over again.  This is a unique little story that J picked herself at the library.  She liked the endpaper pictures of Christoher Nibble in all his different pairs of shorts.  I like the theme of growing things and the illustration of the dandelion seeds blowing everywhere is gorgeous.  It is also hilarious to me as an adult that the dandelions would run out.  That would never happen... maybe we need a few guinea pigs in our garden?!

Up the Tree by Margaret Atwood.  This is so nicely and simply illustrated and its also a pleasant poem-story written by Atwood in her early days.  A foreword explains the illustrations were in only 2 clours, red and blue (with a purple-brown mix of the 2 for interest) due to printing cost limitations.  Its all the more beautiful for the lack of colour.  I wish we owned this one... its whimsical, its fun, its about that freedom to play in a tree all day.  I love anything about trees or treehouses anyhow.  I will never tire of reading it over and over.

(My message in 'Book borrowers round up' posts is to say: use your local library whenever you can.  borrow books... go... borrow them.  Keep our local libraries open! )

jumpers and rumpus

As a 'knitter mummy' this recent library find really appealed.  Such a simple story but just perfect for kids who have that special security something-or-other that they take everywhere with them...

The story is as follows...  A little mouse has a favourite jumper knitted by his granny, and he wears it everywhere.  He gets too big for it but still wants to wear it.  Eventually she knits him a new one but softens the transition by unravelling the old jumper and knitting it into a teddy for him.  Of course he takes the teddy everywhere.  I just loved this satisfying ending and so did J.

This week we also borrowed,

This one revives those tired old ubiquitous nursery rhymes and reworks them into a funny story that J loved.  Miss Muffet is bored and wanders off through the pages of the book and asks to join in with some other rhymes like, for example, hickory dickory dock (Miss Muffet climbed up the clock).  J really loves the illustrations in this one and the drawing sparked lots of conversations.  Her favourite moment is when Miss Muffet joins in with Hey Diddle Diddle.  The dish is not best pleased when it is Miss Muffet who 'runs away with the spoon' instead.  J loves the expressions on the dish and spoons faces (!) when, as the book says, a rumpus breaks out all over the page.  This is a really good, funny and fresh picture book.  Borrow it if you can!

Bookseller: Fight for Libraries campaign