Author : Adrian Collman
Illustrator: Duncan Preston
Ages: 3+
You know with all the publicity and PR and stuff books get these days, it is rather very soothing to come across a very talented, yet unassuming author. Adrian Collman is certainly both, as I found out when he visited my little boy's school. Had he not been sitting in front of his books and signing them, I'd have assumed he was just another hassled parent doing the school run :o).
And the books appear even more unassuming. My elder boy asked me if they were really books or something printed out by school.
But the stories do the trick very well. The text is simple and repetitive, catchy for a toddler to latch on to and enjoy. The story is about kids requesting Dad for a puppy with all the usual promise of taking care of it. But then Oh! Puppies will be puppies - cute, loving, adorable, but naughty! The puppies actually happen to be the author's own, and there are photos of the author's household with the sweet pair, sometimes up to their neck in mischief.
It is fun to read the book with little ones. Forget about a moral, a learning, whatever. Kids need to simply enjoy sometimes - no punctuation, grammar, stress and pause attached, and this book achieves just that ( although there are so many things that they would pick up and remember for a long time - Like asking for puppies!). There is a little hide-and-seek thing as well which would interest the tiny readers a lot.
I liked the intro page and the last page a lot in this book. It provided for good guided reading tips for adults and a very important message for kids - "Dogs are very hard to look after and the naughty things they get up to won't always make everyone laugh". Perfect, just the handy thing parents would need after the kids are done with the book and started with the " Pleeeeeease Could we get a puppy" mantra.
The author's website was quite interesting as well.
We also enjoyed our signed copy of another book by Adrian, "Worst Animal Jobs Ever". Quite suitable for the toddler kids, it was hilarious seeing what jobs ought NOT to be given to some animals!!
My elder kid wasn't quite interested with the repetition, he has been reading the following:
"A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawkings
"Bleach" series by Tite Kubo
"Just William" by Richmal Crompton
"Big Nate" series by Lincoln Peirce
Also revising "Jurassic Park" and "The Lost World" and the "Horrible Histories" for the last who-knows-since-when days.
Not sure if I'd be getting round to reviewing any of these soon! I guess I need some growing up as well!! :o)
Illustrator: Duncan Preston
Ages: 3+
You know with all the publicity and PR and stuff books get these days, it is rather very soothing to come across a very talented, yet unassuming author. Adrian Collman is certainly both, as I found out when he visited my little boy's school. Had he not been sitting in front of his books and signing them, I'd have assumed he was just another hassled parent doing the school run :o).
And the books appear even more unassuming. My elder boy asked me if they were really books or something printed out by school.
But the stories do the trick very well. The text is simple and repetitive, catchy for a toddler to latch on to and enjoy. The story is about kids requesting Dad for a puppy with all the usual promise of taking care of it. But then Oh! Puppies will be puppies - cute, loving, adorable, but naughty! The puppies actually happen to be the author's own, and there are photos of the author's household with the sweet pair, sometimes up to their neck in mischief.
It is fun to read the book with little ones. Forget about a moral, a learning, whatever. Kids need to simply enjoy sometimes - no punctuation, grammar, stress and pause attached, and this book achieves just that ( although there are so many things that they would pick up and remember for a long time - Like asking for puppies!). There is a little hide-and-seek thing as well which would interest the tiny readers a lot.
I liked the intro page and the last page a lot in this book. It provided for good guided reading tips for adults and a very important message for kids - "Dogs are very hard to look after and the naughty things they get up to won't always make everyone laugh". Perfect, just the handy thing parents would need after the kids are done with the book and started with the " Pleeeeeease Could we get a puppy" mantra.
The author's website was quite interesting as well.
We also enjoyed our signed copy of another book by Adrian, "Worst Animal Jobs Ever". Quite suitable for the toddler kids, it was hilarious seeing what jobs ought NOT to be given to some animals!!
My elder kid wasn't quite interested with the repetition, he has been reading the following:
"A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawkings
"Bleach" series by Tite Kubo
"Just William" by Richmal Crompton
"Big Nate" series by Lincoln Peirce
Also revising "Jurassic Park" and "The Lost World" and the "Horrible Histories" for the last who-knows-since-when days.
Not sure if I'd be getting round to reviewing any of these soon! I guess I need some growing up as well!! :o)
