Synopsis:A cheeky little girl and her toy monkey swing irresistibly through the pages of this gorgeous playful book. Young children will love guessing what animal they are pretending to be, before shouting out the answers as the pages are turned to reveal the real creatures. Soon, everyone will be waddling like a penguin, jumping like a kangaroo and hanging upside down like a bat!

Review: Emily Gravett’s instantly recognizable illustrations are yet again beautifully crafted into this lovely picture book. Emily’s picture book character; a dishevelled, carefree little girl in crinkled tights and stripy tee shirt impersonates the animals she has been to see at the zoo with her toy monkey.

The repetitive text takes the reader from page to page with:

 Monkey and me,

Monkey and me,

 Monkey and me,

We went to see,

We went to see some......

The reader then turns the page to discover big bright animals dancing across a full spread. Of course, the text sets up the young reader to guess at what lies on the next page, also Emily’s adorable character impersonates the animals, such as hopping like a kangaroo, to add to the the reader’s excitement. This book offers a perfect combination of childish fun, large uncluttered images and rhythmic text, to really encourage a young reader to memorise and page turn; making it a real confidence builder.

My only disappointment with this book is that it is too sparse. There are only five animals for the reader to guess at, which is far too little, given the wonderful build up. I understand that a part of the problem lies in the guessing element, which gives Emily’s character a platform page for impersonation. However, it would have been wonderful to have doubled up text with character impersonation to allow for many more of the wonderfully illustrated animals Emily’s character is portraying.

Needless to say one cannot have enough of a good thing and I think the repetitive text would have been put to good use with more on the subject for emerging readers as a reader would just be getting into the book when it comes to an end. But sparse as this book is, every young reader will pull something of value from its pages. Whether it’s through playgroup work with animal impersonations or a solitary child sharing a moment of fun with Emily’s natural and warm little character the book is, as expected with Emily Gravett, a very wise, enjoyable and rewarding investment.

BOOKTRUST EARLY YEARS AWARDS

BEST EMERGING ILLUSTRATOR 2007

2007-08-08