Little Tiger Book Review by Emma Davis

19th October 2017

Published this Autumn are two delightful new books from Little Tiger.  Although completely different, they are both enchanting in their own way and are sure to be a welcome addition to any child’s bookcase or Early Years setting.

Moon – Britta Teckentrup

The scene for this book is set right from the cover, drawing us in and wanting more.  The cover features a cut out through which we can glimpse a silvery, crescent moon in the night sky.  It begins with the question ‘have you ever wondered why the moon shines in the night sky?’  Magical nighttime illustrations adorn each page, presenting many different landscapes across the World.  Amongst others, we see inside the jungle, desert, grassland, cold climes, countryside and the ocean and meet many diverse animals.  These scenes will create a wonderful talking point for conversation as children can recognise and name animals and learn about ones they don’t know.  On each page, the moon shines through a cut out but transforms into a different stage as the story proceeds.

A feature of ‘Moon’ is the beautiful rhyming text, fantastic for conjuring up images.  Children will hear words such as scuttles, eerie, swoop, chirrup and wispy which help us picture the animals in the night-time environments with the moon shining down on them.  The ending of this book is magical, talking of the moon reflecting the sun’s soft light, as we dream our dreams.  This can really get children thinking about what goes on in the world whilst the moon shines over us.

This book is not just perfect for snuggling up with and reading as a bedtime story but would also be a fantastic addition to any Early Years setting.  With its calm and gentle text, it is sure to become a firm favourite with adults and children alike.  I’ve fallen in love with it already.

Hibernation Hotel – Written by John Kelly, Illustrated by Laura Brenlla

This humorous tale is all about a charming bear who is all ready to hibernate.  Unfortunately, his friends have other ideas and poor bear’s cave is cramped and a difficult place to sleep in with smelly skunk, snoring racoon and fidgety beaver.  There’s only one thing for it – bear books himself into a hotel!  The luxury of the hotel impresses bear, from the size of the room to the snacks and toiletries, everything is perfect.  However, just as bear settles down for his long winters nap, music blares out, worse than racoon’s snoring.  Although quiet soon resumes, bear struggles to sleep – the bed is uncomfortable, he gets too hot, he’s hungry.  Things take a turn for the better when the bell boy delivers bear’s room service.  Instead of finding a fabulous feast, bear finds……his friends!  Just as bear couldn’t sleep without them, they also couldn’t sleep without bear.  Before long, the friends are all snuggled down and snoozing in the hotel bed, looking very much as if they’ll remain there all winter.

Children really will find this book a giggle.  The illustrations are funny and feature plenty to look at on each page.  My favourite picture is of a very fuzzy bear, all fluffed up from using the hairdryer.  A brilliant story of friendship and tolerance.

If you have books that you would like Emma to review, then please get in touch today!