A familiar tale retold brings a fresh sense of humour and perspective. Goldilocks has moved on from her experience with the Bears, and this time she has her friend Tiddles the dog along with her. In search of “just right” in seats, food and bed, Goldilocks explores the terrain of the beach, caves and the ocean.
From penne to spaghetti, Rigatoni loves every kind of pasta. His owners, Ruth and Tina, make sure to serve him pasta at least once every day, and if by chance they ever forget, Rigatoni has a special pasta miaow to remind them. He likes to be stroked and tickled; he has his favourite spot on the couch to relax and a special dish to eat his pasta out of. All in all, Rigatoni has a pretty great life.
There are no shortage of books detailing the harrowing events of WWII, but their importance and relevance for each new generation of readers – especially much younger readers – cannot be overstated. Told mostly through a series of letters between Solly and his Polish cousin Bernie, Please Write Soon is a simple but touching story of resilience, friendship and childhood innocence during wartime.
Rosen, a previous UK children’s laureate, relays his experience of rehabilitation after a Covid coma left him learning how to walk again. There is a profound sense of irony invoked by the fact that the book details an adult – not a child – learning how to walk, something that the toddlers and young children being read to will have a deep appreciation of.
Michael Rosen grew up with many questions about his Jewish ancestors. They were there before the Second World War, but then they weren’t. His grandfather was Polish, and this story focuses on his grandfather’s brothers, Oscar and Martin.
This is an invaluable handbook for readers, writers and teachers of poetry. Its unintimidating cover, large print, and sparse, jokey illustrations belie the well-devised content, which supports UK National Curriculum English at Key Stages 2 and 3 (children aged 7-14).
Jelly Boots Smelly Boots is a new poetry collection from the vivid imagination of bestselling author and former children’s laureate Michael Rosen. The collection is packed full of poems of varying length, some only a few lines, others several pages long, and covers wildly differing themes, from school trips to dreams to food and family. There is even an ongoing poem that pops up at random intervals throughout the book introducing us to the many different dogs that seem to lurk ‘Down behind the Dustbin’.
