Be Careful
written by Althea and illustrated by Ian Newsham
(Happy Cat Books, 9.99)
The danger of writing books about taking care is that they can sound negative and monotonous, and so the messages don't stick. The cleverness here is the way in which the content, prepared in association with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, uses children's role-play conversations with their soft toys as vehicles for the safety messages. So, the majority of the 'take care' reminders come from the children, who sometimes bossily mimic their carers' speech.
The safety elements include the usual list: matches, using a fireguard, not leaving toys on the stairs. But the book also bravely includes the subject of touching in 'private places' via a doll-washing scene. Messages are overlaid by a linking narrative that introduces advice from adults. The illustrations, which provide plenty of talking points, are also intersected with useful speech bubbles.
