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Showing posts with label Nigel Tetley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nigel Tetley. Show all posts

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Children's Books: Comical Introduction to Numbers, Days of the Week and...Fruit



Book Details:

Order! Order! by Nigel Tetley
Illustrated by: Simon Goodway
Published: Jan 11, 2018
Published by Matador (imprint of Troubador)
Softcover picture book: 54 pages
For children ages 2-5
Content rating: G

Book Description:

Teaches a key mathematical theme for Early Years Numeracy through both imaginative and entertaining text and pictures. Not a typical Maths book – engaging for children up to 5 years. Ideal for teachers and parents to read with children.

The book features four variations on the mathematical theme of sequence, which together introduce young readers to the first ten ordinal numbers, the first five cardinal numbers and the seven days of the week. Imaginative and with funny texts, this brilliantly illustrated book will educate young children without them even realising it.

From the Great Penguin Race; a week of Animal Antics; to the tragedy of Little Lucy Ladybird, and finally, the ingenuity of an original action finger rhyme, children will be both enthralled and informed by these well told stories.

My Review:
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

I've now read several books by Nigel Tetley who makes use of humour, rhyme and the animal kingdom to teach valuable lessons without sounding preachy. Instead, I've found all of Tetley's books fun and creative, including Order!Order!

In this chapter book, the author tackles numerical sequence, such as first, second, third, with the help of ten penguins in a race. In the second chapter, we learn the days of the week through the funny antics of animals with names such as Greedy Gertie Goat or Silly Sally Snake. In the third chapter, it's back to numerical sequence with rhyming storytelling, and finally, we have a cute rhyme about handy fingers. I love the play on words.

Order! Order! is an intelligent book that is for young children, yet uses a vast vocabulary of words. It's educational, fun, creative and includes pastel-colored illustrations that are simple and age-appropriate. This book is ideal in the classroom setting or the home library.



Buy the Book:

About the Author:



Since qualifying as a Religious Studies teacher in 1989, Nigel Tetley has worked in a variety of schools, spanning middle and secondary age groups in both the State and independent sectors. At the beginning of his teaching career, he also spent a year in Greece teaching English as a second language. In 2001, he started writing children's poetry at the suggestion of a colleague. Since then he has also written the texts for three carols: 'Alchemy,' 'Snow,' and 'The Way of Paradox.' (Encore Publications, 2006.)





Book Details:

Nothing Rhymes With Orange by Adam Rex
Published: Aug 1, 2017
Published by Chronicle Books
Hardcover picture book: 48 pages
For children ages 4-8
Content rating: G

Book Description:

A perfect laugh-out-loud, read-aloud from New York Times bestselling author Adam Rex!

We all know nothing rhymes with orange, but how does that make Orange feel? Well, left out, obviously!

When a fruit parade gets together to sing a song about how wonderful they are—and the song happens to rhyme—Orange can’t help but feel like it’s impossible to ever fit in. But when one particularly intuitive Apple notices how Orange is feeling, the entire English language begins to become a bit more inclusive.

Beloved author-illustrator Adam Rex has created a hilarious yet poignant parable about feeling left out, celebrating difference, and the irrefutable fact that nothing rhymes with orange.

My Review:
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

This is the second children's book I've read by Adam Rex and once again it stands out! This rhyming book celebrates fruit and how good they are. Orange appears in every page corner with a little comment, wanting to be a part of all the fun that the other fruits are having. He's feeling left out and is visibly upset until the popular apple notices.

I thought this book was vibrant, colorful, and unique. It's funny for kids but hilarious for adults. The orange's comments are smart. They just cracked me up. Although he was left out until the end, he really is the star of the book. The illustrations are made with pics of real fruit that have faces drawn on them with a black marker. I loved it! If my kids were still young I would have taken fruit and drawn faces on them and paraded the fruit while reading the book.



Children not only get to learn different fruit, like quince and honeydew, but they also get to learn about different emotions and feelings. The faces drawn on the orange and the other fruit display sadness, disappointment, exasperation, anger, happiness, and more. The text can also be turned into a song. Some pages are bursting with color and some are on a stark white background that really made the fruit stand out.

This book will appeal to children of all ages and lovers of fruit, especially oranges! Great for kids 3 to 100. This book is a winner.


Buy the Book:




About the Author and Illustrator:

Adam Rex has written several books for young readers including the New York Times–bestselling Frankenstein makes a Sandwich and The True Meaning of Smekday. His picture book School's First Day of School earned seven starred reviews and was a New York Times Bestseller. He lives now with his wife and son in Tucson.

Adam Rex's celebrated picture book Nothing Rhymes With Orange came about in an unusual way. In this video, Adam explains his top tips for getting a picture book published with a delicious end. Funny!





Disclosure: Thanks to the authors and publicists for sending me these book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Children's Books: Waking up grumpy!

So it's back to school and back to waking up early for my kids. Although they are teens now and love sleeping in, my kids were never early birds but more like night owls, and you guessed it: they wake up grumpy. I loved both of these children's books because they address how to deal with that grumpy person in your life.:-)



Book Details:

Good Morning, Grumple
Written by Victoria Allenby
Illustrated by: Manon Gauthier
Published: April 23, 2017
Published by PajamaPress
Hardcover picture book: 24 pages
For children ages 1-3
Content rating: G

Book Description:

Not every child greets the new day with enthusiasm. Those who don’t are called Grumples, and they must be dealt with carefully. Sing very softly, tickle one pinky toe, kiss the scrunched-up forehead. And then a big hug and a singing rhyme to see in the day. Even Grumples cannot resist.

There are many going-to-bed books, but Good Morning, Grumple is a unique look at the celebration of morning. Manon Gauthier’s endearing collage illustrations capture the love between a mother and child, even in cranky moments. Parents will find Victoria Allenby’s droll story in verse to be a perfect accompaniment to the beginning of the day, and a gentle way to turn their own Grumples into children again.

My Review:
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani & Son

My son and I thought this book was absolutely adorable. And of course, we could both relate! He the grumpy morning kid who needed singing, caresses and hair ruffling before he staggered out of bed, and me trying to come up with gentle ways to wake him up for school.

The book uses rhyming verse as it tells of a mother who awakens her grumpy little one to a new day of sunshine and discovery. It is humorous, delightfully told and fun to read. It celebrates the love between a mother and her child. It makes difficult mornings easier to face. It made my son and I smile as we read it.

The illustrations which were created with paper collage and mixed media seemed almost 3D on some pages. They really popped out of the book. They looked like they've been drawn by a child, however. They were in earth toned colors, mainly browns, black, taupe, tan, beige. My son wasn't crazy about them. He loves art, drawing and coloring, even as a teen, but these child-like drawings by an adult (he would have been okay had they been drawn by a 5 year-old) did not appeal to him.

This book is perfect for little "grumples" who have a hard time getting up in the morning, and a good reminder to be creative and patient for parents whose job it is to make that transition smooth in the morning.

Disclosure: Thanks to the publisher for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.
About the Author:


Victoria Allenby has been writing poetry and stories for as long as she can remember. Her debut picture book, Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That, won the 2014 Preschool Reads Award and was nominated for the 2015 SYRCA Shining Willow Award. She has followed up the success of this debut with the critically acclaimed early reader Timo’s Garden and, in 2016, the lively picture book Rhino Rumpus. Victoria lives in Toronto, Ontario. Victoria’s website

About the Illustrator:

Montreal native Manon Gauthier is a self- taught illustrator and visual artist who studied graphic design and worked in that field for more than fifteen years. She has won several important prizes and nominations for her work, among them, four nominations for the Governor General’s Literary Awards (illustration), Canada’s most prestigious annual literary prize and more recently her illustrations for the book « Mon parc » published at Les éditions de l’Isatis have been selected for the prestigious Illustrator’s exibition at the Bologna children’s Book fair 2014.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Book Details:

The Grumpy Crocodile
Written by Nigel Tetley
Illustrated by Simon Goodway
Published: April 1, 2017
Published by The Choir Press
Softcover picture book: 28 pages
For children ages 4-8
Content rating: G

Book Description:

What are the jungle creatures to do about a bad-tempered crocodile who is making their lives a misery because of his constant oversleeping? Find out in this amusing rhyming story for young readers.


My Review:

Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

The Grumpy Crocodile is a fun and amusing tale of a crocodile who makes the lives of the other jungle animals miserable when he oversleeps and wakes up grumpy, hungry and cold. But the animals put their heads together and devise a plan to solve this problem.

The book uses rhyming verse and is full of emotions describing the actions of a ferocious crocodile that is sure to catch the attention of young readers. The croc can be likened to a bully. The other animals are afraid of him but also want to play with him and figure out how to appease him. They use discernment to discover what is making the croc so grouchy and scary, and then work together to help the croc.

Teamwork, friendship and problem-solving are good themes to explore when reading this fun story aloud to children. Oversleeping rather than getting a good and fresh start to the day, is also a good lesson learned. The watercolour illustrations by Simon Goodway are simple and cute and depict the story well. Overall, a fun book with good themes!




Buy the Book:



Disclosure: Thanks to the author for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.



About the Author:


Since qualifying as a Religious Studies teacher in 1989, Nigel Tetley has worked in a variety of schools, spanning middle and secondary age groups in both the State and independent sectors. At the beginning of his teaching career, he also spent a year in Greece teaching English as a second language. In 2001, he started writing children's poetry at the suggestion of a colleague. Since then he has also written the texts for three carols: 'Alchemy,' 'Snow,' and 'The Way of Paradox.' (Encore Publications, 2006.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Nigel Tetley's Two Fat Cows and When Bees Flew in for Breakfast (Reviews)

Today I'm highlighting two books from UK author Nigel Tetley whose writing is imaginative, diverse and humourous. The first one is a children's book and the second a poetry book for teens.


Book Details:

Title: Two Fat Cows by Nigel Tetley
Illustrator: Simon Goodway
Publisher: The Choir Press
Category: Children's Fiction, 20 pages
Genre: Humor
Published: Nov 1, 2016
Content Rating: G

Book Description:

Meet two very greedy cows, Marigold and Petal, and follow them in their madcap plan to eat every blade of grass they can get their hooves on. A new laugh-out-loud rhyming story for young readers.

Buy the Book: Amazon UK ~ Amazon  ~  Add to Goodreads


Our Review:
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani and Son

The first thing that struck me about this book was the cover. The cow on the right has that look on her face. Mischievous and secretive, while the other looks deceivingly innocent. That in itself told me this book would be funny.

Told in rhyme, this is the story of two fat cows stuck in their pen where there is no more grass. They long to get out to eat the long green grass on the other side of the pen but can't get past the gate. So they look for a way to get out. How they finally get out is funny and silly. 

My son was curious at to what the moral of the story was and after reading it several times we came to the conclusion that it's a cute way to use a funny situation to learn new words and build a vocabulary. Overall, this is a fun story to read out loud to young children who will be entertained at the antics of these two fat cows.



Book Details:

Title: When Bees Flew in for Breakfast: Forty Original Poems for Teenage Readers
Author: Nigel Tetley
Publisher: The Choir Press
Category: YA Fiction,  pages
Genre: Poetry
Published: June 10, 2016
Content Rating: G

Book Description:

When Bees Flew in for Breakfast is a collection of forty original poems written specifically for the 11-16 age group. The poems cover a wide range of themes, from nonsense humour to Gothic horror to logical puzzles to the Natural World. The poems are playful, surprising, thought-provoking and intriguing. This is a book that young people will want to read.


Our Review:
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

I used to love poetry when I was a teen, so knowing this poetry book was written especially for teens intrigued me. To begin with, I love the title. It's a phrase that can conjure up different emotions: fear at having bees fly in during one's breakfast; comfort that bees provide honey which has been a staple for breakfast for many years; and humor when picturing bees eating their version of breakfast. I think you get what I mean. Like poetry, the title can be viewed or interpreted in different ways.

This book is filled with a varied selection of poetry, from simple (A Year and a Day) to more complex (Trewyn Subtropical Gardens, St. Ives Cornwall), from short (Summer Moment) to long (The Mystery of Inglebrough Mill), from fun (Colour Contest) to sad (On the Death of a Friend) to reflective (The Wind). I truly enjoyed reading these poems, with their vivid imagery, diversity and myriad of topics. Each poem had a different feel to it. Here is a stanza from the poem The Wind, one of my favorites from this book:

The wind rushes onward from nowhere,
To an end-point that reaches no rest
As it swells like the turbulent ocean,
But its waves have no trough and no crest.

I have two teen kids and neither said they would read this book, primarily because they are both reluctant readers and poetry is not their thing. Having said that, I think that teen kids who love to write poetry or songs will appreciate this book. Furthermore, teachers can use this book in the classroom for reading assignments or poetry discussion. I think the poems are diverse enough that they can interest kids with varied reading tastes. And I think it a great way to build appreciation for poetry. This is a unique poetry book that can be inspiring for young minds attracted to words, songwriting and poetry.


Buy the Book:  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon  ~  Add to Goodreads

About the Author:


Since qualifying as a Religious Studies teacher in 1989, Nigel Tetley has worked in a variety of schools, spanning middle and secondary age groups in both the State and independent sectors. At the beginning of his teaching career, he also spent a year in Greece teaching English as a second language. In 2001, he started writing children's poetry at the suggestion of a colleague. Since then he has also written the texts for three carols: 'Alchemy,' 'Snow,' and 'The Way of Paradox.' (Encore Publications, 2006.)

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