REVIEWS

BUSY! BUSY! BUSY!

''...affectionate story of a mother 'chained to the kitchen sink' and a sensitive little boy who cuts her free.'' LETTERBOX BOOK CLUB

''...an utterly charming picture book.'' THE GUARDIAN.

''...a touching book, beautifully illustrated.'' THE SUNDAY TIMES

''...a simple idea both brilliantly and poignantly pursued.'' YORKSHIRE POST.

''...this tender story could be read aloud or shared one to one with four to seven year olds.'' THE SCHOOL LIBRARIAN.

HORRIBLE CROCODILE

''Flora is the class bully. She bites. Claudio Munoz draws with a warm witty sympathetic line; the action here is beautifully choreographed and inventive typography adds to the impact. The book is funny realistic and reassuring.''

Joanna Carey THE GUARDIAN.

...Shipton presents the issues of bullying and biting in a clearly defined and humorous manner that is easy for youngsters to understand. Munoz's illustrations are a unique blend of bright and muted colours and help to explain the story in further detail. The pictures and bold text can be easily seen on an individual basis or small-group situation.

Kathy Mitchell, Gadsden Co. Public Library, Quincy,

School Library Journal, 01/01/1996

A sensitive yet to the point story
I found this to be an excellent book. Biting is always an issue with young children and I found the story to be sensitive but unafraid of the subject matter and I found the illustrations to be interesting and soothing. My co-teacher and I shared many smiles over the realistic facial expressions of the children and the teacher. This book was a big hit with my class and they requested it over and over. It gave us a wonderful phrase to use with the children, "Don't be a horrible crocodile!" I loved this book.

Helps young children understand biting is not nice
Our day care centre had a problem with the young children biting. The teachers read this book to the kids every day and the problem disappeared. The kids really seemed to love the story line as well as understand the concept.

WHAT IF?

''Any book which invites children to ask such questions as What if? is surely a powerful antidote to the present instrumentalist view of the curriculum. So, it's refreshing to see this invitation to flights of fancy which first takes its participant audience along with the boy actor beyond the clouds to meet a 'BRILLIANT', spirited girl with her empowering message: 'You can do ANYTHING if you try!' The end is also a beginning and it's here the reader takes over...The illustrations have a plasticity about them: lumpy clouds and angular puppet-like characters are heightened in effect by the depth and solidity of the oil pastels producing an arresting, overall naivety.'' CHILD EDUCATION.

A carrot-haired lad is a latter-day Jack-in-the-Beanstalk in this fanciful tale, and what he finds in the sky is much more fun than an angry giant. ``What if it stopped raining'' begins the story, addressing readers directly, ``and down at the end of the garden you found a sunflower as tall as a skyscraper!'' When the lad in the pictures climbs the sunflower, his head pops through the clouds and he finds an amazing girl named Arabella. She teaches him to leapfrog on clouds, to go where the storms begin, to float over the desert, and finally to get back to the sunflower with his best jump. But what if, when he gets down to the ground, he finds a secret door and behind it there were steps? The typeface gets bigger and smaller, and slithers over the illustrations, whose acid-bright colors are equally eye-popping for the golden sunflower, the sky-blue-pink clouds, the darkling storms, and the deep red doorway. Collage is used for Arabella's flower-etched dress and the hero's remarkable patterned pants. (Picture book. 3-8) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

What if you climbed a giant sunflower in the backyard and met a girl in the clouds who took you on cloud adventures? The whimsical story (which ends with the boy returned to earth, but on the threshold of a secret door leading into the ground . . . ) encourages creative play, but even more enjoyable are the acrylic illustrations, radiantly colourful and employing imaginative perspectives. -- Copyright © 1999 The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly

A narrator with a pleasing child-like logic imagines what would happen if it stopped raining. Full-bleed images show a child bounding outdoors across a playfully tilted landscape and discovering a sunflower that rivals Jack's beanstalk. The child climbs high above the earth ("Up you went, quick as a monkey, hand over hand, leaf by leaf"), and encounters a curious new friend. "What if there's a girl there? (And you're not sure you like girls...) But this girl is AMAZING! She's called Arabella...." Arabella has the enviable role of teaching the boy hero to float on cottony cumulus clumps. When the dry air shrinks the buttercream-yellow clouds to tiny puffs, "Arabella shows you how to wave your arms to go faster" and sail safely home to the sunflower. In Italian artist Nascimbeni's paintings, which emphasize cool blue and molten orange, Arabella and the boy appear to be kindred spirits. Both have windswept caps of autumn-red hair, broad faces and weightless grace. At the end of this high-flying tale of potential and daring, Welsh author Shipton wisely rejects closure. Instead, when the boy leaves Arabella and descends to the ground, he finds himself standing at the door to an underground tunnel ("And there were steps!"). What happens next is up to the reader, who will probably have a few suggestions, and may well wish for another visit from this charming duo. Ages 3-7. (June)

How to be a Happy Hippo

''Horace isn't a happy hippo. He has plenty of things to do but all he wants is to spend some wallowing time with his big, round dad. Only Mr Hippo is always busy, rushing off to work and having important meetings. So Horace devises a plot to make his dad stop and play and life changes for both of them. how to be a Happy Hippo is a cautionary tale for too busy fathers everywhere.'' NORTHERN ECHO.

''...adorable children's book for ages 3-7.'' BORGER NEWS HERALD.

''...perfect beach reading for workaholic fathers getting to know their under fives.''

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

''...this warmly illustrated tale of Horace the hippo has a compelling comic storyline and a hugely attractive central character.''

SOUTH WALES EVENING POST.

An excellent lesson for all of us busy parents
I recently purchased this book for my daughter. She enjoys the illustrations and I particularly enjoyed the story line. The story is about a young hippo who longs for the attention of his very busy father. It reminds us that a child needs more than toys, food and an abundance of activities -- or in the hippos case, "mountains of food, lots of things to play with and plenty of mud". They need the attention of their parents, and in this story, especially the attention of dad. This adorably illustrated story goes through the creative ways a growing hippo tries to "capture" his busy fathers attention and the wonderful time they had when he finally succeeded. This is a nice addition to our large library of story books, one both myself and my daughter enjoy.
Customer review: Papier mache.co.uk

JUNIOR MAGAZINE
Book of the month June 2003

Poor Emily, it’s her birthday and she wants a pet – any pet. The only problem is that every animal she suggests is quickly struck off her ‘My pets’ list by her parents. Ponies need a stable and a field, and they kick; dogs dig enormous holes in the grass and come into the house with muddy paws, and cute kittens just turn into mangy old cats with fleas.
But Emily will not be deterred; she tries rats, goldfish… just about everything, but for each one her parents find a reason to say no.
“I always want to produce a book that is not boring for parents to read, so they have little jokes as well as the child having a nice story to listen to,” says author Jonathan Shipton.
This is where Shipton’s words and Parsons’ illustrations really gel: cute, pretty, amiable pets through Emily’s eyes and nasty, unfriendly, lazy animals through her parents’, all depicted brilliantly by Parsons. And Shipton has managed to fulfil his criteria – the opposites are dramatic enough for children to squeal with delight as they turn the page to see just how nasty cute kittens can become, and the subtle arguments used by Emily’s parents should make most adults chuckle.
In fact, it’s a story that will almost certainly ring true with adult readers, either reminiscing about their own childhood, or more likely as a parent attempting to dissuade their own pet-mad child. So which inspired Jonathan?
“Oh, this is definitely my daughter,” he explains. “She wanted a pet as soon as she could say the words!” So, did she have such difficulty finding the perfect pet? “Well, guinea pigs are my favourite animals, so yes, like Emily, she did end up with a guinea pig. For me, they’re the ultimate perfect pet.”
So it’s not so much Emily’s perfect pet as dad’s then? “My daughter does love him, but she’s a teenager now so I suppose she is slightly beyond guinea pigs and more into boys!” says Jonathan.

© 2002 Beach Magazines & Publishing Ltd