for preschoolers
for early graders
Tractor Factory By Elinor Bagenal and Steve Augarde
Chameleons are Cool By Martin Jenkins and Sue Shields
(Mathew Price Ltd., R106) Children aged four to eight can have fun with this pop-up book that follows the assembly line of a tractor factory. With tabs to pull and lots of moving parts, the book allows young readers to help build the perfect tractor. The engine needs to be lowered onto the chassis, the front-end loader needs to be fitted, and everything must be checked to see if it’s in working order. This book will fascinate all young mechanics. Note: some of the small parts can be a choking hazard for little children.
(Walker Books, R90) Chameleons are Cool is part of the Read and Discover series, which aims to encourage children to learn about the world as they learn to read. Children as young as five will enjoy finding out about these lizards, thanks to the colourful and fun illustrations by Shields. What child wouldn’t be interested in these grumpy, pocket-sized, swivel-eyed, colour-changing and long-tongued sharpshooters? Martin Jenkins has managed to give informative titbits about these creatures in a way that even pre-schoolers can understand. Other books in the series include Think of Beaver, I like Monkeys because… and River Story.
Room on the Broom – Colouring Book By Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (Macmillan Children’s Books, R85) The award-winning duo, Donaldson and Scheffler, have released this fun activity book based on the original Room on the Broom story, which was translated into 21 languages. But this is more than just a colouring-in book – children can paint, draw, join the dots, complete words and copy pictures too. Scheffler’s illustrations are again a winner and your child will love the good-natured witch – warts and all – and all the quirky animals.
magazine cape town
Judy Moody’s Way Wacky Uber Awesome Book of More Fun Stuff to Do By Megan McDonald and Peter H. Reynolds (Walker Books, R130) Girls aged six to nine just love Judy Moody and in this book they can join Judy in wacky activities. They can take the Judy Moody personality quiz to find out if they’re more like Judy or her little brother, Stink, or find out what Judy Moody’s name is in other languages. There are tips on how to walk through paper and invent your own board game. Other fun activities include how to make pop art, testing your Judy Moody knowledge, turning your name into a poem plus word searches and riddles.
April 2011
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