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. 

Seasonal reads 11: Claude on the Slopes by Alex T Smith

Image: hachettechildrens.co.uk

Alex T Smith's  Claude is a small, plump dog in a jumper and beret (under which he keeps the most extraordinary things, much like Mary Poppins does in her carpet bag) whose best friend is a sock, Sir Bobblysock. They live with Mr and Mrs Shinyshoes, but once they head for work, Claude and Sir Bobblysock have extraordinary adventures!

In this, his latest adventure, Claude wakes up in a loud sort of mood. The day before he had exuberantly visited the library, but discovered that his one man band outfit is unwelcome there, so had been very quiet. So he decides to get some fresh air- and discovers that it has snowed. He and Sir Bobbysock follow whooshing people on sledges and skis to the Snowy Mountains' Winter Snow Centre. Here they play with snowballs, sledge (and Sir Bobblysock investigates Apres Ski) but Claude learns that Outdoor Voices are not always good to use Outdoors...

I love these books. I love the nostalgic warmth and wit of the illustrations- my friend Princess of VP said that they remind her of the illustrations for Anatole the Mouse- and I love the affection with which Alex T Smith writes about his characters. If you haven't met Claude yet, then do seek them out. They would be great to read aloud to 5+, and a good reader of 6+ should enjoy reading them independently.

Seasonal reads 10- Yeti and the Bird by Nadia Shireen

Image: randomhouse.co.uk

Lonely Yeti lives in the forest. One winter's day, he finds a little bird lost on her migration south. He takes her home and looks after her, and the two friends have fun together, until it is time for her to leave. A sad Yeti lets her go, but discovers that his kindness to Bird has made the other forest animals less scared of him, so he has lots of new friends- and Bird comes back to visit now and then.

This lovely book has vibrant, colourful winterscapes, and would be a fantastic read on a cold winter's bed time. The language is adventurous- it's one to read to children rather than them reading for themselves, I think. I particularly liked "Every evening, the friends sang sad, sweet songs together, which soothed the forest to sleep." I have bought this for some small people in my life, and hope to make a Yeti finger puppet from felt, and a pom pom bird, with the four year old, like these.these.