Goose in a Hole

From the author of The Tiger Who Came For Tea, the Goose in a Hole is just as delightful and will no doubt be added to our list of favourite reads.  

Goose in a Hole is a story of how Katerina the goose leads her family in search of a new pond after the water in their pond mysteriously disappears down a hole.  The family of geese surface in a number of unsuitable places, none of which make a good alternative to their pond.  In the meantime little Millie is frantic with worry and desperate to get someone to help her locate her favourite goose. 

  

Hairy Charlie and the Frog

Genevieve pulled Hairy Charlie and the Frog off the bookshelf tonight for our bedtime story.  It’s a Jackie French kids story, about a large bulky hairy guy called Charlie who finds an audacious croaky frog in his letterbox one morning.  This frog successfully (and with very little effort) scares this brute of a man each and every morning.  

It’s a funny and colourful story of how Charlie sorts out the problem of a very defiant frog who has decided to take up residence in his letterbox – and seems to have no intention of relocating to the nearby rosebush, which Charlie obviously believes is a far better home.  I love the wit and the thought process – as well as Charlie’s colourful wardrobe - and have to forgive him for his silly frog phobia.  

The author, Jacki French, is Australian and is prolific across many genres, but mostly children’s and gardening books.  

Maisy Goes to the Library

I love Maisy Mouse for the simplicity and the delight of the little stories.  The pictures are so colourful and arresting that it’s hard to resist Maisy and her friends on their adventures.  The story that we are reading at the moment is about Maisy going to the library in the hope of finding a book about fish.  All she wants to do is to sit in a quiet spot and read the story, but there are so many distractions that it’s impossible.

Her friends Charlie, Eddie, Tallulah and Cyril join in the fun and ensure that the library isn’t a quiet peaceful spot to read.  It’s all fun and laughter,  - and of course very endearing.

Snow is my Favourite and my Best, Charlie!

Genevieve’s life right now seems to be filling up with more and more 'Charlie and Lola'.  Her favourite saying is ‘easy peasy lemon squeezy’,  which is very cute for a 3 year old and rather funny for as a Mum.  Her library book box has 3 Charlie and Lola books and I have ordered a DVD for her Christmas stocking.  Her favourite read at the moment is “Snow is my favourite and my Best’, which means that anything that G likes become’s her ‘favourite and her best’, whether she is referring to food or clothing, a toy or a friend.

To give you an idea of the story, the weatherman has predicted snow, and Lola is thrilled.  She wants to stay up all night and wait for the snow.  When it does finally arrive she gets to have loads of fun with Charlie and her friends. This joy is, however, short lived as the following day the snow has all melted and turned to mush.  Lola of course wants to know "Why can't it snow ALL the time?" 

So starts an adventure to the Arctic, where Charlie shows Lola why never-ending snow and cold might not be so much fun for a little girl. How could Lola go swimming or wear her favourite outifts if it were always cold? This is as always a really good fun and emotionally uplifting read.

Girls Also Love Thomas

Genevieve is a typical little girl. She loves playing dress-up, dolls, baking, painting and of course reading.  So how come I’ve been reading about coupling rods, steam engines, sheds, and the Fat Controller?  Well, simply put, she has become obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine and his myriad of friends.  Her obsession has lead to her renaming all her scooters and bikes 'train names' and a train trip to the beach last weekend. 

Luckily a friend has lent us a box set of Thomas and Friends books – otherwise I would have needed to make an urgent purchase.The stories are short, to the point, satisfies her cravings.  We get to read all 7 in the collection at least once a day. Her favourite is ‘Arthur’s Habour Run’, a story of a shy little steam engine that has just arrived on the Island of Sodor, and has a love for the harbour and really wants the new seaside route.  

Having acknowledged her dedication to her new found interest I've added a Thomas book to her Christmas stocking called ‘Thomas and the Green Controller’.  I started to wonder if this Green Controller is in addition to the Fat Controller, and if the Fat Controller is a derogatory reference to the Controllers rather expansive waistline.  So, in case anyone else is interested, I checked on Wiki, and The Fat Controller is also known as Sir Topham Hatt, which is revealed in the foreword to the book Henry the Green Engine. So now we know!

I’ll Show You, Blue Kangaroo

Genevieve is particularly fond of our new ‘Blue Kanagaroo’ story – perhaps it appeals to her mischievous nature. 

Yet another charming story in the Blue Kangaroo series, telling the tales of Little Lily and her best friend Blue Kangaroo; but this time it’s quite different from the others.  Lily seems to be growing up and has started to show off, much to everyone’s dismay. She seems to take things a bit too far, to the point of getting up to scary things, even though she has been told not to.

Inevitably, soon Lily goes too far, and poor Blue Kangaroo is left clinging on for dear life! Just what will it take for Lily to start listening!  As I often say to Genevieve, “perhaps there is some dust in your ears”.

We Honesty Can Look After Your Dog

I’m so glad that Genevieve get’s the ‘Charlie and Lola’ humour, because it appeals to me and I always get a kick out of reading the little narratives.  

At the moment we are reading ‘We Honestly Can Look After Your Dog’.  It’s all about Lola going through a stage of loving dogs and wanting a dog of her own.  Of course, her much obliging older brother, Charlie, is her substitute dog, as her parents have told Lola that their apartment is too small and Lola is too young to look after a dog. 

Lola get’s lucky when she visits the park with Charlie, her best friend Lotta, and Charlie’s friend Marv – who brings his cute little dachshund, Sizzle.   After much persuasion, and promising – or as Lotta says “honestly and promisedly’, Marv lets the girls look after Sizzles on the promise that they don't let him off the lead – or give him chocolates, any kinds of sweets etc etc. Of course, following much excitement and arguing, Lola and Lotta manage to lose Sizzles. 

To top this, when they eventually find Sizzles – there is another identical dog – so now there are two Sizzles!