Winning books for the very young

Press, 8 October 1988, Page 24

Winning books for the very young

(Reviewed by Elizabeth Monteath) Recently available from Macdonald Publishers in their "Going Places in 88” campaign are several series of Walker Books produced by awardwinning author illustrators. Jan Ormerod’s wonderful ability to capture the familiar, endearing expressions and poses of very young children and their relationships with their parents is at its best in her series "Dad and Me” (Dad’s Back, Reading, Sleeping, and Messy Baby, $5.99 each). With warmth and humour she portrays the loving interactions of a father and his baby. Highly recommended. Helen Oxenbury similarly chooses familiar incidents and events for her series of “First Picture Books” (The Birthday Party, The Dancing Class, Eating Out, The Check-up, The Drive, Playschool, Gran and Grandpa, Our Dog, The Visitor, $5.99 each). With simple, uncluttered illustrations and minimal text she humorously portrays scenarios which both parents and children can readily identify. Fun to read aloud, these little stories are also recommended for beginning readers. Shirley Hughes “Nursery Collection” of six titles explores concepts for the under fives in everyday situations most children will be familiar with — dressing up, bathing, playing, (Colours, All Shapes and Sizes, Noisy, Bathwater’s Hot, Two Shoes, New Shoes, When We Went to the Park, $5.99 each). Her typical “every family” characters combine with a brief rhyming text to present what are actually complex concepts in a simple and enjoyable form. These are

definitely read-it-again books. Likewise, John Burningham’s slightly larger format “Concept” series (Numbers, Alphabet, Colours, Opposites, $7.99 each) is predictably highly appealing to preschoolers. With his usual delightful sense of the absurd Burningham makes learning lots of fun. While there is no text other than a single word or number the illustrations tell the most wonderful stories. Helen Craig’s appealing repeatpattern endpapers set the mood for the rhyming tale “This is the Bear” by Sarah Hayes ($7.99). Text and illustrations complement each other, and the rhythm of the text, set to “The House That Jack Built,” ensures that even the youngest listener will be joining in after very few readings. The framed pages and bold text add to the appeal of the book. Counting is so subtly introduced in “When Sheep Cannot Sleep — The Counting Book” by Satoshi Kitamura (Beaver Books, Macdonald at $8.99) that on first reading it is quite a puzzle to work out what to count! The rich colours of the illustrations and the sense of adventure implicit in the text add to the book’s appeal and ensure it is much more enduring than most counting books. Nursery rhymes are excellent for developing language skills, as well as for the sheer enjoyment of their rhythm. Iris Schweitzer’s book “Nursery Rhymes to Play and Sing” (Collins $16.95) includes both simple action rhymes for babies and singing and dancing rhymes for slightly older

children. While most of the rhymes are familiar a few uncommon ones add interest. The book is well laid out with illustrations of children acting out the rhymes. Pamela Allen, of “Bertie and the Bear” and "The Lion in the Night” fame, has successfully combined the cumulative effect with lots of noise yet again in her latest book “Fancy That!” (Hodder and Stoughton, $17.95). Sounds of the chicken yard will echo round the room as children join in the celebration of the birth of six fluffy yellow chicks. The graphics illustrate the increasing volume as words spill over the carefully framed pictures until there is no frame at all.

Many writers of children’s books successfully write on two levels and their books are as much enjoyed by their adult readers as the children being read to. Jill Murphy’s ability to appeal to children while writing tongue-in-cheek books for adults is brilliant. While “Five Minutes Peace” (Walker Books, Macdonald $7.99) won the 1987 Parent’s Magazine Best Books for Babies Award I’m sure it is really an adult book in disguise! It is highly successful at either level. This is a real classic, a wonderfully warm, funny story, beautifully illustrated that will have universal appeal for both adults and children.

Equally delightful is her book “All in One Piece” (Walker Books, Macdonald $17.99) which features the same family of elephants. Chaos reigns as Mr and Mrs Large prepare for an evening out. The baby cries, Granny comes to the rescue, and they set off bearing only a trace of what has preceded. These really should be required reading for all parents. Jill Murphy has a wonderful ability to make us laugh at the incidents that drive us to distraction in our daily lives. These are musts for a wellbalanced collection of children’s books.