Books for Children Aged 4 to 7
Written by Michal Kozlowski
Illustrated by Sholto Walker
Annick Press
Ali and Ollie wake up one morning to loud snoring. They look out the window to see a giant carrot in the backyard. Or was it a pumpkin? No! The kids decide that it's a wet sleeping tiger that is making all the racket. But why is he wet? Because he came from the sea, of course!
Louis soon finds his way into the house to relax by the fire and take a bath. Ali and Ollie then devise a plan to help the tiger return to the sea. The parents and kids dress up as sea creatures to coax Louis back to his home.
Louis the Tiger is obviously the product of Ollie and Ali's vivid imagination. The orange thing in the backyard may well have been a tent and the loud snoring, the rumble from a construction site. But there lies the beauty of a child's imagination, something we adults often forget. My 4-year-old really enjoyed the story, and I watched as he pointed to the different parts he found funny. It even led to a little research into narwhals, a type of whale with a single tusk, Ollie's disguise.
This is a fun bedtime story that can lead to many other "What ifs?" And what better way to further stimulate your child's imagination than with Walther Sholto's beautiful illustrations of Louis the Tiger and the captivating sea.
Written by Sheryl and Simon Shapiro
Illustrated by Dusan Petricic
Annick Press
Authors Sheryl and Simon Shapiro are well aware of children's love of mixing things together to create something original. Remember Metchup, mixing ketchup and mustard so that you only had to add one to your hotdog, and what better way to learn that yellow and red make orange.
In Better Together, children learn about how to make several things, including fudge, cement and glue, by mixing a few key ingredients. In addition, each mixture is described with a cute little rhyme, which makes them all the more fun to read. My personal favourite was the rhyme about making music by blending the sounds of various instruments:
We've got Caitlin on the kettle drum,
Gary strums guitar.
Pia pounds the piano,
and Shelly shakes the jar.
We rock and roll together,
banging four beats to the bar,
and I'm the leader of the band,
so I will be the star!
This is a great book for kids who like to experiment with mixtures or simply those who love rhymes. An added bonus: each mixture is accompanied by humourous illustrations by award-winning illustrator and artist Dusan Petricic.
Other reviews:
50 Poisonous Questions by Tanya Lloyd Kyi
The Trouble with Marlene by Billie Livingston
The Orphan Rescue by Anne Dublin
Dead Time by Christy Ann Conlin
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2 comments:
So cute! I'm almost finished with a Children's Lit course and wish we got to read these.
My son often pulls out these two books even though we've read them many times.
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