Second Best
Written by Jane Eagland and illustrated by Terry Milne
(Anderson, 9.99)
There are some refreshing twists and turns in this story about two stuffed toys and their limited lives in the bedroom of a girl called Ellie. The boredom Dog and Bear express is convincing, as is their rivalry for Ellie's affections. When a rare opportunity to leave the confines of the bedroom and visit Ellie's school comes round, Bear is surprised and sad not to be the toy chosen for the visit. Bear's feelings are touchingly described, 'The sadness was still there, a heavy stone inside him'. But the narrative time-line allows the reader to see what happens the following year when Ellie takes Bear to school this time. The illustrations are homely and likeable.
Where Are You, Little Mouse?
Illustrated by Stuart Trotter
(Treehouse, 3.99)
One in a series of three flap books where the simple illustrations the reader sees initially are transformed by opening the flaps. My favourite surprise is the one under the clock, where a mouse is shown lounging on a settee, against a photo-realistic 3D background of cog-wheels. Mouse is using the mechanical parts for a clothesline. My second favourite is the bird's nest pop-up, where four green parrot-like chicks with drinking beakers are sitting in high chairs.
The other titles, about Little Pig and Little Bird, feature the same 3D pop-ups and a similar phrase: 'What does Lion want with Little Bird?' This sounds a note of alarm, since a main animal character is looking for another that is likely to be its victim in each book. But all is happily and convincingly resolved. In Little Bird the lion needs the bird's helpful beak to pull out a thorn from his paw. If you check the cover you'll find some clues there.
Kangaroo's Cancan Cafe
Written by Julia Jarman and illustrated by Lynne Chapman
(Boxer Books, 10.99)
This is an exuberant story that will work well as a read-aloud. Kangaroo has a dream. Not a restaurant, but a cafe, featuring the cancan dance as entertainment. The problem of finding suitable animals to perform the cancan takes up most of the story, and this quest has several amusing turns.
A possum falls asleep during his audition, to which a tetchy Kanga holding a stopwatch responds, 'The cancan is quick.' A dictionary definition says that to 'play possum' is to pretend to be ignorant or asleep in order to deceive an opponent. This might have been in the mind of the book's creators when they planned the spread.
A frog on the next page does better, but stage fright gets in the way of his performance. The illustration shows a crocodile waiting at a nearby table furnished with salt and pepper, his knife and fork raised in expectation, and the words, 'Here, dance on my table!' A frivolous flock of emus, who are the chosen cancan performers, are illustrated in colourful fripperiness at the end.
The Other Ark
By Lynley Dodd
(Puffin, 9.99)
There is always a glut of Noah stories, but this talented author-illustrator delivers a fresh twist to the traditional tale. When there's no room in Noah's ark for the animals (the usual suspects including pigs and giraffes), Noah's friend Sam Jam Balu is asked to fill up a second ark. But the animals he has to contend with include 'burrowing flumps' who don't want to go along, 'polka-dot piffles in quarrelsome pairs', 'dithering dingbats', and a slavering pair of 'dirty old dinosaurs'.
The illustrations and the text will tickle you pink. I really wanted to go for a ride on one of those candy-striped camels with a flower on each of its four humps. When Sam Jam Balu has finally managed to pack the diverse and difficult animals into his boat, the rain has stopped, the water has subsided, and Ark 2 is stuck in the mud. Which makes you wonder what happened to that threatened flood.
