Meet the Dullards

Meet the Dullards is an exciting new picture book from writer Sara Pennypacker and illustrator Daniel Salmieri. When I first saw the fantastic cover of this book I knew I would love it. With things like “Extra boring edition!!” on the cover and “I yawned the whole way through” – A. Reader, I knew this was an interesting and fun book.

Meet the Dullards tells the story of the Dullard family, Mr and Mrs Dullard and their three children Blanda, Borely and Little Dud. One day Mr and Mrs Dullard come home to find their three boring children reading some rather exciting literature. After making this discovery Mr and Mrs Dullard decide there are too many things where they live that might make Blanda, Borely and Little Dud interesting. The family decide to pack up and move away.

 

Once they had packed up all of their dull possessions and moved the family are soon greeted by a colourful neighbour. The neighbour offers the family an applesauce cake. Mr Dullard refuses to take the cake because it has chunky applesauce and that is far too unpredictable. Mr and Mrs Dullard explore the house and come across a room that has been decorated with bright flowery wallpaper. Shock horror! They rush to the paint shop to buy the dullest paint they can find to paint over it.

Mr and Mrs Dullard soon decide that for the most boring shade of paint you can create comes with mixing the two most drab colours, medium grey and beige. When it is mixed it comes out the colour of porridge left in the pot. Mr and Mrs Dullard paint the room with the boring paint and are soon fascinated in watching the paint dry. Whilst they are having fun watching the wall Blanda, Borely and Little Dud manage to sneak out of the house. Mr and Mrs Dullard soon find the children outside doing fun and exciting things. The parents decide that they have made a huge mistake moving the children and decide to move back home. As soon as Mr and Mrs Dullard are fast asleep in their boring bed the three children sneak out yet again and join the circus.

 

This picture book is wonderful, funny and full of little things to spot on every page. I never thought I would read a book about the most boring family and for it to be so hilarious. Daniel Salmieri’s illustrations are the key to what makes this book so different. The facial expressions of the family are so amusing even though they are totally nonplussed throughout the story.

My favourite thing about this book however is that no matter how much Mr and Mrs Dullard tried to make their children as boring and dull as possible it did not work. I think it sends out a great message to both adults and children about being who you are and not taking life to seriously.

 

 

 

 

 

What's Up Mumu?

What’s Up Mumu? is an incredibly funny and unique picture book from the wonderful David Mackintosh who previously bought us the excellent Standing In For Lincoln Green. I was lucky enough to be sent a proof from HarperCollins and with Mackintosh’s fabulous illustrations this stood out to me immediately.  

 

The story follows two friends, Mumu and Lox. Mumu is in a very bad and grumpy mood and is totally fed up. Best buddy Lox is trying to cheer Mumu up in any way that he can think of. He goes to an enormous amount of effort to try and make Mumu’s day a little better but all of his gestures seem annoy Mumu even further. Lox tries everything, from going to the lake to a trip to the countryside. Mumu has a constant excuse why she can’t enjoy Lox’s efforts. Eventually, Lox thinks he has the best idea and takes Mumu to the fantastic High Skyscraper! It’s eighty stories tall, twenty meters wide and has five thousand windows. It takes two years to paint and by the time you finish you have to start all over again! Lox takes Mumu to the top only to find that Mumu has no interest in the magnificent High Skyscraper. Lox ends up losing his temper with Mumu which then leads Mumu to try and cheer up Lox. Mumu ends up telling Lox to “Cheer up. It can’t be so bad, whatever it is”. The pair make up.

 

Mackintosh’s incredible illustrations make this book all the more a joy to read. In every page there is something to spot which makes the book all the more humorous. My personal favourite has to be all the cinema posters for horse films. Lox’s facial expressions are also hilarious.

 

I think what I like the most about this book is how it relates to adults almost in the exact same way it relates to children. I often feel that I have been in a mood like Mumu and no matter what my friends try and do to cheer me up I am set on being a grump for the whole day. Equally I also find myself trying to improve my friend’s days whenever they are feeling sad only to find myself getting annoyed when they have no interest in cheering up.

 

What’s Up Mumu? is a fantastic picture book for both parents and children as well as people like me that feel they just often have grumpy days and need to brighten up. This is a funny and open look at most friendships that are around us while showing us not to take our own relationships for granted.

 

 

 

Sam's Sandwich

 

I thought I that I might go back to a book that was one of my favourites when I was a child. Sam’s Sandwich is a fun and exciting novelty book that contains lots of grizzly surprises hidden under food shaped flaps. This fantastic book only recently came back into print and I have been so pleased to see it out on bookshelves for children to enjoy once more.

 

 

Meet Sam and his sister Samantha. They are both starving hungry and looking to make a delicious sandwich. They get together a whole larder worth of ingredients and begin to compile their spectacular feast. Sam however, has other plans. Within each layer of the sandwich he hides a disgusting creepy crawly. Once they have completed their masterpiece Sam very nobly tells his sister that actually he is not at all hungry and she can have the whole sandwich to herself.

 

 

David Pelham has created a memorable and unique book with Sam’s Sandwich. I often remember speaking about this book with my sister and friends growing up, often saying “Remember how great that book was?!” When Walker bought it back into print I was so excited, and it seems so were many of the general public. I had quite a few adults coming in to our shop and asking for copies of this book for them to read to their children . Sam’s Sandwich is a wonderful, nostalgic book that should never be forgotten.  It is such a joy to read and squirm at all over again!

GRRRRR!

Rob Biddulph I was lucky enough to be sent a proof copy of GRRRRR! By Rob Biddulph. After the success of Blown Away I was very excited to get my paws on this!

GRRRRR! is about a grizzly bear called Fred. Every year Fred wins the Best Bear In The Wood Contest. To win this contest you must be a brilliant fish-catcher, a fine Hula-hooper, very scary to all humans and most importantly of all, you must have the loudest GRRRRR! All Fred does day in and day out is practice of the contest. He doesn’t need friends in his life as long as he has his trophies.

Then the day before the contest, a new bear shows up. He has a rather fantastic moustache and jumper combo. His name is Boris and he is acting rather fishy. At night he sneaks into Fred’s house. When Fred wakes in the morning, to his horror his GRRRRR has gone. Fred goes in search of his prized GRRRRR along with many other helpful animals in the woods. It seems that no one can find what happened to it!

 

 

 

Fred must now face the Best Bear in the Woods Contest without his famous GRRRRR. Fred and Boris go head to head in every competition coming out tied in all of them. When it finally comes to who has the loudest GRRRRR Boris’ roar goes off the Growl-o-meter! Fred steps up to take his turn, when he opens his mouth all of his woodland companions GRRRRR for him. The noise they make is so loud it makes Boris jump. And what should fall out from under Boris’ snazzy jumper? Why it’s Fred’s GRRRRR! Boris is told off for cheating and he admits that all he really wants are some friends of his own. Fred sees a lot of himself reflected in Boris and decides that he is not a bad bear. Boris and Fred share a hug and become friends.

 

 

GRRRRR! is laugh out loud funny with lots of fun characters and interesting things to spot on every page. Biddulph’s illustrations are vibrant, cheerful and exciting making reading this picture book all the more fun. I really liked that this story highlighted the importance of friendship and how having friends by your side can be more important than being the best at something.

Being a longlist reader for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2015 which Rob deservedly won was so much fun and I really loved Blown Away. However, it seems that for me GRRRRR! is a favourite.

 

Nuts in Space

 

The minute I saw Nuts in Space I became very excited. I was a huge fan of Dolan’s first picture book, “Weasels”. On reading Nuts in Space I was not disappointed. It is a very similar layout to Weasels with every page packed full of fun and interesting things to spot.

 

 

Nuts in Space is a parody of Star Wars, I have not seen the films and I still found this book hilarious. The tale begins with a Star Wars style introduction with an overview of the story telling us about the fantastical “Lost Nuts of Legend” which will render the eater immortal, invincible and it will never be past their bedtime. However, the nuts must never be eaten. The hapless crew have the nuts and are returning to Earth, only they are very hungry and there is no food on board their space ship.

The crew soon find that their usually reliable star-nav has broken down. Immediately the crew go into meltdown at the thought of not being home for tea and having the forbidden food on board. They then travel from location to location trying to find directions on how to get back home. Along the way they come across a rowdy diner that has also run out of food, a small moon full of aliens that are all allergic to nuts, the Forest Planet that is home to some rather sinister and cute bears and lastly (and my favourite) the ominous Death Banana. The Death Banana is where the evil (storm trooper) monkeys live with their leader the Monkey Overlord. When the crew are attacked the Wise Owl spots a sign for home and the gang manage to make a speedy getaway.

 

Once back on board the ship the crew make a terrible discovery. Beaver could not contain his hunger anymore and has eaten The Lost Nuts of Legend! Captain Moose is left with no choice but to turn his ship around and head once more back into space in search for more nuts, much to the crew’s dismay.

 

 

 

This picture book was an absolute delight to read. I absolutely loved going through each page and finding the funny little jokes and hidden puns. I really liked that this book appeals to adults as much as children. As with Weasels this will go with my vast collection of picture books and will come out when I’m in need of a good giggle.  

The Honest Truth

I recently got sent the proof copy of The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart from Chicken House. I started reading it without having any idea what the plot was about. I soon discovered that it was a beautiful and heartbreakingly sad account of a young boy who has cancer and is determined to climb to the top of Mt Rainer.

 

The story’s heroes are Mark and his dog Beau (the smartest dog in the world may I add). Mark and Beau set run away from the family home to climb Mt Rainer. From the start of the book the reader can tell that Mark is sick. It is only a few chapters in that you realise that he has cancer. Mark has decided that climbing Mt Rainer is something that he needs to do before he becomes too sick and can’t do it all. With Mark and Beau we travel on a long, tough journey through back alleys and midnight diners as well as chance encounters with hateful gangs and friendly strangers.  

 

 

The Honest Truth is a moving account of what a young sick boy who, against all odds does something that most healthy people could not do just because he believed in himself. When I finished reading this book I was left feeling quite humble. It doesn’t end with an ending; it ends with a beginning which I think is very positive given that we never find out if Mark pulls through or not.

 

After finishing The Honest Truth I was having a look at some reviews on goodreads to see what other people had thought of this beautiful book. I must say I found myself getting annoyed as I felt that I was reading every two out of three reviews calling it “The Fault In Our Stars for younger readers”. It annoyed me that people have thought that two very different books can be lumped into the same category just because the main character has cancer. The Honest Truth is an extremely smart book for children who are growing up and want to read about complex things in the world such as cancer.

 

Dan Gemeinhart has created a wonderful hope filled book for young readers. It teaches children to not feel that things are hopeless when times are bad and to have faith in people around you, whether they are strangers or people in your family; don’t isolate yourself and accept the help of others because you will never get very far without your friends.

 

 



Oi Frog!

 

Oi Frog! is undeniably super cool and very funny! Oi Frog! starts with a rather bossy cat telling a frog that he must sit on a log. The frog protests and complains “But I don’t want to sit on a log, logs are nobbly and uncomfortable. And they can give you splinters in your bottom” to which the cat replies “I don’t care, you’re a frog so you must sit on a log”. This starts the whole chain of the rest of the hilarious book.  Before we know it we are being told that lions sit on irons and fleas sit on peas. It ends with the poor frog asking the cat what do dogs sit on, to which we see a rather uncomfortable looking frog being sat on by a dog on the last page.

  

Jim Field’s illustrations in Oi Frog are fantastic. I found myself laughing four or five times whilst reading. I particularly liked his illustrations of “apes sit on grapes”. My favourite thing about the artwork in this book is how spot on the facial expressions are on each of the animal. The frog, throughout looks rather worried and perplexed whilst all the other animals have their own individual expression depending on what they are doing.

 

Lastly the wording is so much fun that you could play around with it all day. It works very well as a memory game for kids to remember what certain animals sit on. “What do puffins sit on?” “Why of course muffins!” You could also chop and change the order you read the middle of this book to keep it exciting and have children remembering where animals are supposed to sit in different orders. All in all this is a bright, catchy, laugh out loud picture book. I loved it.

The Sea Tiger

The Sea Tiger is one of those picture books I could read again and again! The Sea Tiger takes us through the touching story of the Oscar, the young merman and The Sea Tiger. Together they go on exciting and dazzling adventures through the ocean. From exploring the deepest depths of the sea to going to an extraordinary circus, The Sea Tiger looks after Oscar and protects him from any danger that might be near. The Sea Tiger soon comes to realise, however that Oscar only has one friend – him. The Tiger decides that for Oscar to make some friends of his own he must make some new friends too.

The end of this book made me feel a little bit sad as I was really touched by Oscar’s relationship with The Sea Tiger and I wanted them to stay friends forever. However, on reflection I thought that this was a really good ending as it compares to friendships in real life. It was nice to see The Sea Tiger look after Oscar and in the end help him find some new friends so he can stand on his own two feet (or flippers for that matter).

For me, the best thing about this book has to be the illustrations. The Sea Tiger is full of some of the finest and most stunning artwork I have seen in a picture book for quite a long time. The colour scheme is wonderful and flows so well with the sea theme of the book. Every page of this remarkable book is filled with haunting and ethereal images that are so delicate and soft. This is a completely magical journey from start to finish.

 

 

The High Street

The High Street by Alice Melvin is a beautifully illustrated, fun and catchy tale about a little girl's visit to the shops and everything she has to remember to buy. The young girl has a rather long list of things to remember to buy and is only able to get these things from separate shops. On every page her rhyming shopping list becomes shorter and shorter until she only has a yellow rose left to buy. When she enters the last shop to buy her yellow rose, they have sold out! The young girl sadly leaves the shop to take the long walk home when she stumbles upon a garden packed full of yellow roses.

The layout of this book is brilliant. I love that every page has a flap that you can lift so you can see into all of the various shops on the high street. The rhyming shopping list is also a fantastic aspect of the book as you find yourself joining in with all the things the little girl needs to buy. Melvin’s illustrations are also completely stunning, simple and very pretty. This quirky little picture book is fabulous and fun from the very start.   

Please Mr Panda

Please Mister Panda – Steve Antony stole my heart from the minute I looked at this book. Having already been a fan of Steve’s previous work (The Queen’s Hat & Betty Goes Bananas) it was no surprise that I loved it. I am not ashamed to admit, I am quite fond of a panda. Mr Panda, in this adventure is one of my favourite fictional pandas I have met. He is delightfully grumpy whilst being very cute.

 

Mr Panda walks around all day offering various animal friends his doughnuts. They all reply to him rather abruptly that they would or wouldn’t like a doughnut and become upset when Mr Panda replies “No, you can not have a doughnut. I have changed my mind.” Until one of his friends, a rather cheeky looking lemur says the magic word…please! The lovely lemur is then rewarded with all of Mr Panda’s doughnuts for being so polite.

This is a fun and hilarious picture books that teaches children about the importance of manners. The illustrations, for me is what make the book so funny and unique. I had the pleasure of meeting Steve Antony recently at his launch party for Please Mr Panda and from what I could gather; everyone in the room (and in America by the sounds of it) has fallen in love with Mr Panda.

King Bidgood's In The Bathtub

 

For my first blog post I feel it would only be right to start it with a truly wonderful book. King Bidgood's in the Bathtub has for me all the great makings of a fantastic picture book. Enjoying his bath time a little too much King Bidgood decides that he will not get out and will conduct all of his duties from the bath. A stream of his court visits him one by one to try and coax him out of the bath, only to be dragged in. When the court feel they have exhausted all efforts to get the King out of the bathtub the young page comes along and pulls the plug out for them.
 

The thing I love most about this book however, is the marvellous illustrations by Don Wood. His artwork is completely unique and beautiful. Every page is brimming with colour and imagination. King Bidgood’s banquet in the tub with his wife is truly stunning.

I discovered this book whilst working at Waterstones and fell in love with it. It was always one of my favourites to recommend to customers who had a lot of the main stream titles at home and wanted something different. Before I could buy a copy of this brilliant book for myself it went out of print! To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Recently on a visit to New York’s finest bookshop; Books of Wonder, I found a hardback pristine edition of King Bidgood. It now sits pride of place upon my bookshelf.  If you have not discovered this one of a kind, royally fun picture book I urge you to go online and buy yourself a copy while they are still out there!