Rusty's Bone - Phil Roxbee Cox > Reviews (1)

***Background***

Rusty's Bone is just one of the Usborne Touchy-Feely Farmyard Tales and is specifically designed to give children a chance to experiences different textures that they might come across on a daily basis. There are 3 different books in this series and they are written by Phil Roxbee Cox and illustrated by Stephen Cartwright.

Usborne books specialise in books for children and as with their other books that have been illustrated by Stephen Cartwright there is the added fun for children to find a little yellow duck on each page. The books in this series are board books and they are ideal for the youngest of children because they can be wiped clean and don't have easily damaged pages.

***The Story***

The story in this short book is simple - Rusty is a cute dog with fluffy ears and he has lost his red bone.

On the front of the book your child can feel Rusty's soft fur and his spongy red bone. Inside we are introduced to Rusty and you can feel his fluffy ears. We are told he is looking for his bone and asked if his friend Curly is hiding it. On the page is a picture of a pig with something red hidden beneath him. Turning the page however we find that it is actually Rusty's red felt blanket and we are given the opportunity to feel it.

As we go through the book we are asked if the hens, Woolly the sheep or Whiskers the kitten are hiding it, but each time it turns out to be something else that we can feel.

The story ends with Rusty finding his owner, Sam's boot that is attached to Sam at the time. We then see Sam playing with a tractor and trailer and there is Rusty's bone.

***The Touchy-Feely Bits***

There are some very different textures for your child to feel throughout this book. From the shiny smooth surface of a bowl to the corrugated feel of Sam's boot the only thing they all have in common is that they are all red like Rusty's bone.

***The Ducks***

The ducks as set out in different hiding places on each of the pages. Behind a haystack, a bag or just one of the farmyard animals, your child will love to spot this small, yellow friend. They are slightly easier to spy in this book than in some of the more advanced Usborne books as there are less background details in this simple book.

***The Illustrations***

The illustrations in this book were drawn by Stephen Cartwright, who unfortunately died in 2004 at the age of 56 and in that time he illustrated over 150 books in his career with Usborne books. Children seem to love to find his trademark, a small hidden duck in each of the pages on his books.

The pictures in this book are simply done with very plain backgrounds but because the main drawings are so colourful and clearly drawn there seems no need for elaborate padding going on. The point of this book is to attract a child to the touchy bits.

***My Thoughts***

I have been a fan of Usborne books for many years and bought the complete Farmyard Tales for my daughter at a book party when she was very small. She loved it and since then I have always looked out for other books published by Usborne.

My son loves touch and feel books so this was always going to be a big hit with him. He also loves to look for the ducks so we are definitely on to a winner here.

I love the way the story is kept to a minimum so there isn't a lot to distract from the different textures your child can experience. It's also a great book for a younger child to point out the different animals such as the little mouse on the haystack or the birds pecking round the sheep. This is also a great opportunity for the parent to discuss animal noises as you go through the book.

These books are also a great start before introducing to further Farmyard Tales books as your child gets older and the characters continue with more advanced stories as your child grows.

***Other Touchy-Feely Farmyard Tales***

Woolly's Walk
Curly's Friends

***Other Info***

The price on the back of the book is £4.99 but you can get it for £3.74 from Tesco.

ISBN No. 0746070861