Children's Books > C Children's Books > Rod Campbell

Advantages: Introduces lots of different animals. Clear illustrations!
Disadvantages: Insufficient lift-the-flaps opportunities!!

...' Boo! We know our abc - do you?' Given that there are 18 pages, there are only 5 'flaps' to lift…. Slightly disappointing. ►►► Illustrations ◄◄◄ The illustrations are simply done but very appealing to pre-school children. Rod Campbell has varied the format from page to page, i.e. 1,2 3 or 4 animals on a double page spread. ►►► Educational Values ◄◄◄ • Introduces / ...
...cover states: 'A lift-the-flap book ABC Zoo' I hasten to add that I still bought it, given it's other educational values but I feel that there could have been more! ►►► Price ◄◄◄ My paperback, ISBN: 0-14-055560-9 was £4.99 However the following are available from amazon which are considerably cheaper even when taking P&P in to consideration! ~ Paperbacks from just 1p! ~ Boardbooks from 98p This book is also ... Read review

Advantages: Lovely flap book for toddlers
Disadvantages: none

***Background*** Buster's Day was written by Rod Campbell and was first published in 1988 so has been around for quite some time. This series of books all feature a little boy, who is very inquisitive and loves looking into things, and with your child's help he can see them by the way of flaps. As well as writing these books he also illustrates them too but is probably better known for the best selling book Dear Zoo which has sold over 2 million ...
...this book are delightful with Buster's chubby rosy cheeks and cheeky smile greeting us on every page. The colours are bright and there is a simplistic style to the objects that makes it easy for your child to pick out different things without it being too fussy and busy. ***My Thoughts*** My son loves flap books so it goes without saying that he is a big fan of this one too. It's not so much a storybook though as a tale of discovery with lots of ... Read review

Advantages: Interaction encouraged, simple story, great illustrations
Disadvantages: Pages quite thin so may tear

My son is very much into touch and feel books at the moment, and every day goes to his book basket, grabs one and thumps it down onto my lap for us to read together. I saw this one on the website Red House at a much reduced price, and decided to buy it. It arrived 2 days ago and we have read it 4 times in 2 days! A favourite in my house already. The author Rod Campbell has been writing and illustrating children's books for over 20 years. His most ...
...has written several other books with the character Buster and this is the latest book in the Buster book series. The cover has a wonderful coloured illustration of Buster, the young boy at the centre of this book, and a few zoo animals. It also has a touch and feel patch in the middle of the cover, so your child can get interested in the book straight away. The pages are made of thin cardboard, but are quite sturdy. I do think if pulled at hard ... Read review

Advantages: Kids love flaps
Disadvantages: It's a bit seasonal

...is well known for his Dear Zoo best seller from many years ago. He loves to write and design books that give a child more to do than just look at the pictures. In this book he uses flaps again and this is something that children never seem to tire of using. ***The Story*** This story begins with, "I wrote to Santa to send me something special for Christmas." What follows are lots of differently shaped presents that Santa wraps for the writer ...
...of flaps, which can be opened to reveal the present inside. The only problem is that Santa keeps finding something wrong with each of the toys that he wraps. From cars that are too small to paints that are too messy he gets through a fair amount before he finally makes the perfect choice. "So he thought very hard, and on Christmas Eve Santa brought me a…" Turning over the last flap we see a pussycat that has a furry coat to stroke. "She's just ... Read review

Advantages: short, encourages language development, fun
Disadvantages: hmm....

Given that much of my working life is spent with the under 5's I have read this book more times than most people have had hot dinners, so you may be surprised to hear that I never get tired of it- yep, I'm a 31 year old woman and I am not ashamed to say that this simple book has a firm spot in my top 10 books of all time! What's it about? Our narrator has decided he (I'm saying he because the book is written in teh first person and is written by ...
...zoo. The zoo then helpfully begins sending him animals but they don't quite get it right so the animals are sent back, until finally they send the perfect pet. Rod Campbell has written other books in a similar style but for me, nothing compares to the original, as you will see below. So, why do I love it so much? First, it is a very simple repetitive story with just a couple of lines of text on each page, which means you can actually read the ... Read review