Happy Hooves: Ta Dah! By A Bogie and Rebecca Elliot

This gorgeous book landed on my doormat on Saturday. Rebecca Elliot is one of my favourite illustrators, so I was very keen to read it.

A group of farmyard animals decide to go on a trip to the seaside. The journey is going perfectly, until they get to a cattle grid. All the animals get over it in different ways- rolling, jigging, jumping- except the cow. The friends band together and ensure that cow can come too.

I particularly love the retro illustrations, reminding me of picture books from my childhood. There's a repeating refrain, as with most rhyming picture books, and my 5 year old stepson enjoyed joining in "TA DAH!" 

It kept Small Boy's attention, and he stopped me turning over the pages to admire the images.

I particularly enjoyed the gender divide in the book- cow is female, of course, but so is foal; I'll take 2 out of 5 animals! 

My proof copy was nicely solid to feel, with good, tactile paper. I'll put it in Small's book collection and feel confident that it will survive his tough love.

Please note that this book was sent to me by the publisher, but this is my honest opinion.