Two Little Bugs by Mark and Rowan Sommerset

 Two Little Bugs tells the story of friends Little Bug Red and Little Bug Blue.

Little Bug Red lives on top of the leaf while Little Bug Blue lives underneath. Little Bug Blue would like to move to the top of the leaf but lacks the courage and confidence to do so, despite Little Bug Red's offers of help.

Each page follows the dialogue between the two bugs as Little Bug Red munches away at their shared leaf. The pages feature really interesting die cut holes and cutaways to illustrate Little Bug Red's appetite and this makes Two Little Bugs a beautiful and unique book.

The artwork is very unusual and quite lovely. I like the bug illustrations very much and they are very expressive. The use of colour is understated and works well, although probably isn't interesting enough to engage young children.

Two Little Bugs is the first book published by New Zealand husband and wife team Mark and Rowan Sommerset and is dedicated to their son. I was not surprised to read that Two Little Bugs won the Best Children's Book in the 2012 New Zealand Book Design Awards. The judges said "this wonderful book looks as if it was fun to design. In other words... it is a work of wonderful charm and considerable skill" and I really have to agree - it is one of the most unusual and most well-produced children's books I've come across. 

The problem I have with this book is the depressing and defeatist attitude of Little Bug Blue. All he does for the whole book is sit around complaining about poor little him and how hard his life is. It's downright infuriating!! And the ending, where he flies away with Little Bug Red only adds to my frustration because if he could fly the whole time what was he complaining about?!? Aargh!!

Most children's books with morals and values have a good message and I'm just not sure what this one says. I guess as Maximilian gets older we can discuss life choices and how to be positive and make something of yourself.

Putting that aside, this is a lovely little book and Maximilian often chooses it for us to read so it definitely has appeal for him. It will certainly be a book he'll grow into even more as he is older and can enjoy the lovely page cut outs (without fear of ruining it).

If you want to find out more about this great book, you'll find an excellent review of Two Little Bugs by someone who doesn't want to squash Little Bug Blue here on mylittlebookcase.

I like the way this book shows the lifecycle of a caterpillar while telling another story altogether - it is almost a story within a story. Two Little Bugs could be used well in conjunction with other books about caterpillars or bugs for a themed story time or science curriculum.

This really is a beautifully produced book with really interesting and unusual die cut pages - too interesting unfortunately for an 18 month old. We've had many near misses with this lovely little book so I'd recommend it for older picture book readers, ages 3 and up.

Some Dads... by Nick Bland

This is one of the best books about Dads that I've come across.

Sadly, many Dad books feature crude humour like farting and burping or narrow gender stereotypes like sports and cars, which I find pretty offensive really.

Some Dads... is different, and I love it. Each page features an animal dad and child engaging in an activity of some kind, such as skiing, swimming, playing Wii, or throwing water bombs.

The back of the book says this book "brilliantly captures the simple joys all dads bring to everyday life" and I couldn't agree more.

There is a real sense of fun throughout this book, with dads and their children enjoying each other's company. My personal favourite is the rocking Rhino dad Elvis impersonator with baby rhino banging on pots and pans!!

The text in Some Dads... is really very short - each page has only one sentence of text, so the whole book is only a few paragraphs. This makes it a really quick book to read aloud, but rhyme is used to good effect.

The painted illustrations are just marvellous and the double spread artwork rewards close inspection as there is so much detail in the pictures. There is also humour and surprises to be found in the illustrations that both parents and children will enjoy, so the illustrations are a great discussion point whilst reading with your child.

At the heart of this book is the love between a dad and their child and the fun and pride they share - it is a really nice message told in a way that is sincere and fun without being schmaltzy.

This means Some Dads... would be a terrific book to give to a Dad for Father's Day - Maximilian's dad has had many hours enjoyment reading this one with him, and I think there is a special thrill when your child chooses a book for you to read which is about you!

Mr McGee by Pamela Allen

This was the first installment in the classic and popular Pamela Allen stories about Mr McGee. These stories about the funny little man in a bowler hat who lives under a tree are great fun for kids of all ages.

I love these books! They are fantastic to read aloud, perfect for any age to enjoy and Pamela Allen's illustrations are excellent - simple and detailed at the same time, colourful and often hilarious.

The language in Mr McGee is simple and clear and would be great for children learning to read. The rhyming text is fun to read aloud - the Mr McGee books are a favourite choice for my library story time sessions and toddlers aged 2 to 4 love these stories.

Maximilian has really enjoyed this story. He laughs when the bird pecks Mr McGee and likes to chime in with the words he knows. The story is also the perfect length for the attention span of a wriggly 18 month old - this is a great book for when I'm looking for a quick story to fill in some time.

There is always an element of humour in the Mr McGee stories, which engages both the children and adult reader. He often gets himself into trouble of one kind or another, mostly through poor decision making, which children find funny (and probably relate to!!) Humour can also often be found in the illustrations - details such as Mr McGee's bright yellow underpants will have kids of all ages chuckling!

Pamela Allen is an absolute classic in Australian children's publishing and Mr McGee, like all her books, shows why.

If you are ever looking for a picture book to enjoy or to buy as a gift for someone, you simply can't go wrong with a book by Pamela Allen!

Noni the Pony by Alison Lester

Noni the Pony is a sweet and simple story about a pony and her farmyard friends: Dave the dog and Coco the cat.

The story is told in simple rhyming text - "She lives on a farm at Waratah Bay, and likes eating apples and carrots and hay." This makes it a satisfying story to read aloud and the language is very accessible for very young children.

Noni the Pony has very sweet illustrations that are very engaging for even the youngest reader. The colours are really lovely - the cornflower blue sky and green grass capture the colours of outdoor Australia beautifully I think.

There is also lots in the story for young children to relate to, such as the way that Noni gets scared in the dark. There are lots of nice messages about kindness and friendship in the story - with the help of her friends Noni overcomes her fear of the dark and feels much braver.

We borrowed Noni the Pony from the library and it is a book we have both enjoyed very much. With two kids under two, our trips to the library are a bit of a mixed bag at the moment - Maximilian randomly throws things into the book bag and I just grab handfuls of whatever board books are available before leaving in a rush, so what we end up with is a bit of pot luck :) but this story was a real hit from the first time we read it.

Alison Lester has published over 25 picture books for children since 1985, so her books are always a very safe choice!

This board book is a lovely size and shape and perfect for little hands to enjoy. I'd recommend this book for all ages - even the youngest babies will find something to enjoy in this sweet tale.

The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett

All the birds have laid an egg. All except for Duck. But when Duck finds a large, spotted odd egg and decides to sit on it to hatch it, everyone is in for a surprise!

This is a really lovely little board book. The format is very clever, with small flaps that lift as each bird's egg hatches - "Creak, Crack".

The sweet illustrations are very engaging and I really like the washed out colours that Gravett has used - the bird artwork is beautifully realistic. The detail is also amazing - I love the way that each of the baby birds is born saying something cute; the flamingo says "honk, honk" while the owlet says "twit-two x 2 = 4..."!!

The Odd Egg is a very simple story with few words. Despite this, there is a lovely depth to the story and it has a nice message about following your dreams and not worrying about what other people (or birds!) think.

There is also good opportunity throughout the story for discussion with older toddlers, such as which animals have eggs, can boy animals lay eggs (duck is a he), 

This is a humorous and cute book - there is much in The Odd Egg for young children to enjoy but also more complexity for older kids and parents reading the story. This book is probably most suitable for ages 3+

We borrowed The Odd Egg from the  library. It was my choice, as I recalled it from previous occasions. Maximilian has really enjoyed reading it and often selects it from the book bag for us to read over and over again. Although the humour is beyond his immediate comprehension, he still enjoys the story - duck was one of his first words so he has a special fondness for books with ducks in them!!

Warambi by Aleesah Darlison and Andrew Plant

Warambi is the story of a little bent-wing bat. The story follows Warambi growing up and learning to fly and hunt. When the bat colony's cabe is demolished by excavators, Warambi finds herself separated from the other bats and the story follows her adventure to find a new home.

We stumbled across this book at The Library Shop, the State Library of Queensland's bookshop - a wonderful place to find excellent children's books, particularly Brisbane, Queensland or Australian books (actually it is a wonderful place to find all kinds of fabulous books!!)

As soon as we saw Warambi, we had to buy a copy - the illustrations are excellent and the realistic artwork really brings little Warambi to life. (It is amazing to learn that the bent-wing bat is only 45mm long - hard to believe from looking at the incredibly detailed drawings of the bats in this book).

The other really lovely thing about this hardcover book is the endpapers, which contain additional information about bent-wing bats, including where they live, what they eat, etc. We don't read this information to Maximilian yet, but these are a great way to  learn more about the facts behind the story - something which will really appeal to the wonderful curiosity of older children.

This isn't a short story so it is not one for young babies or toddlers. Although the text on each page is quite short, there are a lot of pages so younger children just wouldn't have the attention span to enjoy the story. The illustrations are remarkably realistic and mostly dark coloured, so also wouldn't really appeal to young children in the way that bright primary colours do. At eighteen months age, Maximilian will now sit still and listen to the entire story and he enjoys it but he doesn't really understand what's going on in the story, and it will probably be more suitable from around age 3 and up.

Warambi would be a terrific addition to a storytime program based on Australian animals and could also be used for environmental awareness or a conservation theme. It would also be a great book for primary school teachers or librarians to use an education aid. I really think this is a wonderful and unique book and I'm glad we found it - it will be enjoyed in our home library for many years to come.

Peek-a-boo Forest by Lamaze

Peek-a-Boo Forest is a cloth book for young babies made by Lamaze.

We love this book! Maximilian received it as a gift and the 3D furry owl on the front cover immediately piqued his interest. The bright, colourful, cartoon-like illustrations are also very engaging.

Each of the colourful double pages asks a simple "Who is?" question and features a shaped flap behind which the "Peek-a-boo" animal is hiding. See the image below for an example - the animal is owl!

Although simple, each page features lots of images that provide learning and discussion opportunities with toddlers. As well as owl, there is a ladybird, tree, leaves, moon and stars and more in the image below.

The interactive flaps are made from crinkly fabric, which makes reading this a lovely tactile experience - Maximilian has always loved grabbing and turning the flaps.

The story is short, featuring just five animals: moose, owl, raccoon, bear and beaver, so it will engage even the shortest attention span. I also found the rhyming text very engaging and fun to read aloud.

This book is quirky and interesting for us as Australians, because it features animals from faraway places such as moose and beaver. My favourite page is the last one - "Who built this dam? What an achiever!" "Peek-a-boo! It's the beaver!" Ha ha!

Like all Lamaze products, this cloth book is very well made and has excellent construction which withstands even the most ferocious chewing and sucking! One of our first books which Maximilian still enjoys at over 19 months age - he still loves flipping the flaps and saying "boo" to the animals!