It’s Buster’s birthday! Open the book to join in with Buster and his friends as they celebrate at his party.

Rod Campbell is a well known and talented creator of books for babies and children. . Buster's Birthday is perfectly suited to toddlers who are beginning to show an interest in books and have started to develop the motor skills that they require to lift the flaps. It could be read  independently by reception age as the language is very simple and the text large and easy to read. Parents or teachers can share the story with younger children who will enjoy joining in with the guessing what is behind each of the flaps. Participation is the key to this story and it is all about developing children’s skills at interaction and description as well as recognition.

As the story progresses the reader is shown each of the presents that are given to Buster by his friends. In order to find out exactly what they are follow the clues in the text then lift the flap to see the pictures. All the presents Buster receives are lovely but he gets an extra special one from Mummy and Daddy - a little story book which has been neatly slotted into the back cover of the book.

 As well as this mini story for children to read there is also a CD accompanying the book. Martin Jarvis reads the story through in the first track on the CD. The second track has the story read by a child with Martin Jarvis describing exactly what can be seen in each of the pictures and embellishing the text with detail. This track is perfect for emergent readers who can follow along with the story and are encouraged to look in more detail at all the detail in the book. Track 3 is ‘Buster’s Birthday Song’, the words for which are on inside the CD sleeve to facilitate a singalong! I’m sure many children will quickly learn the words and happily sing along without too much encouragement! An instrumental version of the song for the listener to use if they wish to sing along alone is included and the CD concludes with Martin Jarvis reading the story once again.

2008-04-12