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Advantages: A gentle rhyming text
Disadvantages: none

A squash and a squeeze This is a children's book written by Julia Donaldson, author of 'The Gruffalo' and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It is a 24 page book published by Macmillan at a cost of £5.99. It is her first book published in 1993 which started off as a song for a children's television show. Julia writes in what was to become her usual style of rhyme to produce this wonderful text. A woman is complaining that her house is "a squash and ...
...next piece of advice is a "curious plan" but a very clever one. Just how does he make her house less of "a squash and a squeeze"? This story will have children rolling on the floor with laughter as the animals get into all sorts of trouble in the small house. The story has a clever moral as do many of her stories, which is perhaps why I enjoy reading them. This is also available on Audio CD read by Imelda Staunton and Steven Pacey and is an easy ... Read review

Advantages: Good story and illustrations
Disadvantages: none

All in One Piece' by Jill Murphy is a really fun read for little children and parents alike. Jill Murphy is quite a prolific children's writer and is well known for her 'Worst Witch' series of books. She has also written a number of books about a family of elephants, called the Large family,and this book is part of that series. This particular one was written in 1987 and has certainly stood the test of time! Although they are elephants, the Large ...
...are ready for bed - all Granny needs to do is entertain them! But of course, things don't run as smoothly as Mum would like! Within minutes the young elephants are upstairs trying to help Dad shave, putting on Mum's make up and trying on the clothes she has put out ready to wear! Mrs Large shouts at the children to go down stairs and wonders whether it is possible to have just one night to herself in the year when she is not covered in mucky fingerprints ... Read review

Advantages: funny, great illustrations, simple language
Disadvantages: none!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ A Piece of Cake ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ This is another children’s book by Jill Murphy which I love because it demonstrates a rather true portrayal of family life using the Large family (a family of elephants). The book was first published in 1989 by Walker Books London. The book is a hardback book, which cost £6.99 although it is possible to find varying prices on the Internet. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The story ...
...funny. The story is about a family of elephants; Mrs Large, Mr Large, Lester and Luke (the sons), Laura (the daughter) and the baby. The story begins with Mrs Large deciding that she is too fat, her children disagree apart from the baby who says “Mummy’s got wobbly bits” (I love that sentence although when I was little my mum wasn’t impressed when I repeated it and directed it at her!!) and so she puts the whole family on a healthy living diet, the ... Read review

Advantages: Focuses on friendships
Disadvantages: Concepts may be difficult for very young children to understand

All for one. Another book by Jill Murphy, who over the years has been quite a prolific children's story book writer This one focuses on friendships, and is a great book to read to children who might be going through problems with friends, and who may feel they are being left out of things. THE STORY AND ILLUSTRATIONS. The story begins with Marlon, who is a dragon, and also the main character in the story, running out of things to do. He had done ...
...to his friends, they are all dressed up as pirates, so once again, Marlon isn't allowed to join in. Poor Marlon, he rushes back home and dresses as a piate (I think we are seeing extreme peer group pressure here), but by the time he finds his so called friends, they are doing gymnastics, and a this point, Marlon gives up and goes home. Marlon begs his mum to fill the paddling pool, which of course she does, with warm water. Granny brings him some ... Read review

Advantages: Interesting subjects in the book (e.g. love, war)
Disadvantages: Can drag on a bit!

‘Across the Barricades’ by Joan Lingard is about a Catholic boy and a Protestant girl in love during the Irish civil war in the 1970’s. Many complications occur with their families and relationship yet they are determined to stay together no matter what their friends or families say. In the opening paragraph the author grabs the readers attentions making them want to read on. The author does this by starting the novel with speech, “Sadie. Sadie ...
...are so we want to continue reading to find out. The author also keeps the reader wanting to read more by not giving out much information at the start of the book. This makes the reader want to find out who the different characters are and where about the novel is set. The author manages to bring the characters to life by setting the novel in a real time and place (Northern Ireland, 1970’s) making it easier to understand and visualise the setting. ... Read review