Where’s Mr Tractor?
This title in the series from Ingela P.Arrhenius is one of the latest that features a vehicle at the centre of it, and given we are leaving spring and entering summer it is perfectly timed with families heading off on a trips to farms, and that we see/spot tractors around the countryside at this time of year too. The trademark felt flaps and a mirror finale continue to feature in this book as they do across the series, and offer continuity to fans of the series, like we are, but especially my beautiful nephew.
We get to find Mr Farmer behind a house shaped felt flap, Mrs Combine Harvester awaits being found behind a hay bale shaped felt flap, Mrs Sheepdog can be found behind a bush shaped flap, and then finally there is Mr Tractor to find behind a barn shaped flap too. Little ones can find themselves in the mirror at the end of the book, including them in the search style adventure. The felt flaps are not only different shapes but also differ in colour, which gives you another thing you can utilise to teach little ones as you share the book, and honestly this is my nephew’s all time favourite series, which he has spent the past two years enjoying with each new title added to his collection, and frequently searching out these specific titles from his bookcase at home. I love being able to share the titles in this series on here and give continuity to readers whilst sharing a spotlight on what are must buy titles in an incredible series. We loved looking for Mr Tractor behind each of the flaps and finding a variety of farm themed things hiding along the way.
Bizzy Bear : On the Farm
As part of the ‘Find and Follow’ series from author and illustrator Benji Davies, this newer title is based upon a farm, with Bizzy Bear doing what he does best, and what his name indicates, being busy! The book was published back in February, but this is the first time I have had the chance to write this post on the book as it was whisked away by one of the little ones in my family, and I only got to admire it from afar! Now I have had the chance to literally hold it in my hands and share it with little ones I couldn’t wait to include this title in the Bizzy Bear series right here on my blog.
The book feature the push along counters that we have come to associate and love about the book in this series, and they are so much fun for little ones who enjoy interacting with the book along the way. There are 5 of these in total, and they interest readers every single time. With each two page spread we use the counter, which features a Bizzy Bear illustration on it, to help Bizzy find his way to the referenced part of the farm. What you can also anticipate is a selection of different sized squares featuring a farm themed illustration in them, and then you are asked to look for them on the pages. Each of these illustrations are clearly labelled so that you can correctly identify them to little ones, and they can come to read them as they develop the skills to do so. I love that the illustrations within the books in this series, including this farm themed title, have a traditional style to them, by which I mean clearly identifiable and giving you a sense of all the times you’ve seen similar style illustrations going back years, decades even, and this is the illustrative style that I warm towards most, and truly admire. Benji Davies does such a beautiful job with the finish of these books that you can clearly see they are a labour of love for him, and I cannot wait to find out where Bizzy Bear heads next!
Bizzy Bear : On the Building Site
This title has also been published back in February, and I immediately knew that Benji Davies had once again created a success given this time we are heading to construction themed content with Bizzy Bear, and this became a huge hit with little boys in my family. Honestly, the ‘Find and Follow’ series is a masterpiece of Board Books series’ and each addition to the series is like an early birthday gift! Using the counters we find various things including a bulldozer, rubble, house, and colleague Callie Cat. The various squares featuring relevant illustrations include vehicles as well as items used and found at a building site including tools. Theres much to see and learn within this book, and we love to find different things clearly labelled throughout the book, and this seeking style game is a huge hit with the little ones I have shared this book with, What’s not to love!
Let’s go home, Baby Chick
This February publication in the ‘Let’s go home’ series is the perfect title to share with little ones during spring, which is exactly what we have been doing in my family. My nephew took this home with him to share with his mum and dad, and it has become a staple in his bedtime routine over the past few months. It was especially perfect for sharing over Easter, and we made sure to take it when on a family trip to a local farm too. The book features sliding counters to interact with, a huge highlight of the series, and little ones get to help different baby animals find their way home. These include a chick, lamb, duckling, and a calf. There are also an array of spring/farm/animal themed illustrations adorning the page, clearly labelled, and these are all featured within the slider trail full sized illustration covering one page in the two page spread to find, adding another element to sharing and enjoying this book, and the series as a whole.
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