Author: Peter Bently
Illustrator: Sara Ogilvie
Ages: 3+
Meet The Parents is a wonderfully thought-out and even more wonderfully illustrated comical celebration of all the funny, heroic moments of parenthood. I am not sure who would love this book more - the parents for being through almost all of it at least once in their toddler-raising times, or the kids for having been the perpetrators of all the mayhem and receptors of all the love!
You look inside any house with kids, toddlers in particular, and you'd think those parents are forever bossing around, teaching manners and trying to run an orderly, punctual, cleanliness-driven regime (they wish!) round the clock. At least that is what kids think about all the nagging. But that is not all that parents do.
Because then, who hunts for lost toys and retrieves them? ( from gardens, toilets, DVD players, and the gaps in the radiator and the most remote corners beneath the sofa!)
Who mends and fixes knee-caps and teddies and train-tracks?
Who heats up tiny toes and fingers? (DS2 would always ask me to sit on his palms to warm them :o))
Who carries bags while the tiny tot scoots around, then carries his coat and teddy, then eventually carries the tot and scooter as well!?
Who makes tents out of blankets and mop sticks and then holds wonky ends to keep the tent up?!
Who acts as dustbins for all the food not eaten and wipes for the grimy fingers and grubby mouths?!?
Who sorts messes and muddles and heals broken hearts with cuddles, and tucks kids in bed all cosy and warm with lovely stories?
And who says sorry to people they've just met! ( Gosh, I cannot count the many sorries I would have muttered out to strangers, mostly in trains - for noisy giggles, spread-out legs, blocked ways, banging legs on the sides, the list is endless)
And of course when all is fixed and happy and well, the kids better beware...
because parents love...
TICKLES!!!
I even have a special nickname for this - Kichukichu Boodham ( Tickle Monster, in Tamil)! When I close my eyes and extend my arms and wiggle my fingers, it is absolute pandemonium as boys scramble away to escape and thwart the attacks. :o) This is a game we play ever so often and we all LOVE tickly fun times!
When we read the book, every single word and picture resonated with us, and we were amazed at how common and special the tickling game is in many other families as well! I am sure it will ring a bell with just every mum and dad and kid.
Peter Bently is the winner of Roald Dahl funny prize and this book reflects his funniness well enough. Sara Ogilvie's illustrations complement the funniness perfectly. Just look at the picture above, it is so amazing how an eye drawn with just a circle and a dot can emote so aptly in different scenarios!
Meet the parents in this book, you'll love them even more!
Illustrator: Sara Ogilvie
Ages: 3+
You look inside any house with kids, toddlers in particular, and you'd think those parents are forever bossing around, teaching manners and trying to run an orderly, punctual, cleanliness-driven regime (they wish!) round the clock. At least that is what kids think about all the nagging. But that is not all that parents do.
Because then, who hunts for lost toys and retrieves them? ( from gardens, toilets, DVD players, and the gaps in the radiator and the most remote corners beneath the sofa!)
Who mends and fixes knee-caps and teddies and train-tracks?
Who heats up tiny toes and fingers? (DS2 would always ask me to sit on his palms to warm them :o))
Who carries bags while the tiny tot scoots around, then carries his coat and teddy, then eventually carries the tot and scooter as well!?
Who makes tents out of blankets and mop sticks and then holds wonky ends to keep the tent up?!
Who acts as dustbins for all the food not eaten and wipes for the grimy fingers and grubby mouths?!?
Who sorts messes and muddles and heals broken hearts with cuddles, and tucks kids in bed all cosy and warm with lovely stories?
And who says sorry to people they've just met! ( Gosh, I cannot count the many sorries I would have muttered out to strangers, mostly in trains - for noisy giggles, spread-out legs, blocked ways, banging legs on the sides, the list is endless)
And of course when all is fixed and happy and well, the kids better beware...
because parents love...
TICKLES!!!
I even have a special nickname for this - Kichukichu Boodham ( Tickle Monster, in Tamil)! When I close my eyes and extend my arms and wiggle my fingers, it is absolute pandemonium as boys scramble away to escape and thwart the attacks. :o) This is a game we play ever so often and we all LOVE tickly fun times!
When we read the book, every single word and picture resonated with us, and we were amazed at how common and special the tickling game is in many other families as well! I am sure it will ring a bell with just every mum and dad and kid.
Peter Bently is the winner of Roald Dahl funny prize and this book reflects his funniness well enough. Sara Ogilvie's illustrations complement the funniness perfectly. Just look at the picture above, it is so amazing how an eye drawn with just a circle and a dot can emote so aptly in different scenarios!
Meet the parents in this book, you'll love them even more!
Ha ha! Nice book. We also play the tickling game and it makes all of us laugh so hard... And what more can you ask than to see the little one laughing...
ReplyDeleteTickles are forever :o)
DeleteThank you for your lovely, and beautifully written, review!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mr Bently! (it actually took me this long to fix my dropped jaw, popped eyes and stopped heartbeat and recover myself from the unbelievable surprise and reply back!). We have now been treated to a double bonanza from you - the book first, and now this very kind and generous comment! Thank you so very much for stopping by and reading! The boys have gone back to school today with huge gloating plans!!! :o)
Delete