Julia Donaldson has written many books including the award winning The Gruffalo, which have delighted children and adults alike. Here she teams up with the illustrator, Nick Sharratt who is well known for his combination with Jacqueline Wilson on many of her stories.
***The Story***
"Everyone's waiting. The lights have gone low. So open the curtains…. …and on with the show."
Conjuror Cow is trying to make a rabbit appear but can't seem to get it quite right. She is performing on stage for all her farmyard friends who encourage her along the way. As we go through this delightful rhyming book we see her make a worm appear from a cake and a pig from under a cloth but it's not until the end that we see that really all the white rabbits are hiding under her cloak.
On every double page there is a half page flap to turn to find out what she has conjured up and children will love to turn this to see what's underneath as well as finishing the rhyme on that page.
***The Illustrations***
The expressions on the faces of the animals in this book are drawn in a wonderful way with lots of smiling faces on everyone as Cow gets things wrong. The colours are bright and at the back of the stage is a rainbow effect. After each trick goes wrong we can see reference to the outcome on the following page with Horse wearing a pair of knickers on his head further to a pile of washing appearing.
***My Thoughts***
I love Julia Donaldson's books, as they are funny and exciting as you read them with your child. The story in this one is simple but effective and makes my son laugh as all the tricks go wrong. Needless to say he finds the fact that the horse puts the knickers on his head hilarious.
The flaps add that bit of mystery to this book and this is another feature that keeps my son busy whilst I am reading the story to him. He knew most of the final rhymes after a few days of getting this book from the library and it may have to be one we think of buying for him as he has been looking at it on a daily basis.
Personally, I love the expressions on Cow's face when the tricks go wrong and the look of sheer joy at the end when all the rabbits appear from under her cloak and the animals are all cheering.
***Other Julia Donaldson Books***
The Gruffalo The Gruffalo's Child The Snail & The Whale A Squash & A Squeeze Room On The Broom Chocolate Mousse For Greedy Goose
There are many more but I don't want to bore you with a list. You can find an extensive range of her works at www.juliadonaldson.co.uk.
***Price and Availability***
The price on the back of this paperback is £4.99 although you can get it for the slightly cheaper price of £4.72 from www.dvd.co.uk. They do not charge extra for postage.
ISBN No. 0140568484
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How does it compare to similar audio books?
Very good
How does it compare to audio works by the same author?
Very good
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