This is a great book because of it's simplicity but a typical day at the zoo turns into an aesthetic feast thanks to Gravett's exquisite artistic flair. The heroine of the book drags her very understanding and quite clearly long-suffering monkey cuddly companion to see all the animals. These include favourites such as elephants and penguins but also include bats and kangaroos which add a spark of originality. For children learning English as a foreign language you can very quickly transfer the simple rhythmic language to their active vocabulary. They love to pretend to be the floppy monkey and enjoy creating their own version of a trip to the zoo.

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When I saw the brightly coloured cover illustration and realised that I didn’t know this particular Blake storybook I couldn’t resist reading it. I discovered a wonderful story about accepting people’s differences, about just being yourself and about the importance of friendship and I instantly fell in love with it. One day, a happy go lucky sister & her brother meet by chance the character of the title and as we read each page we cannot help but agree that Daisy Artichoke really is fantastic. She has a snoring pig & a croaking raven, she likes to soak in her pond & wears an oversized patchwork cloak that gives her the appearance of a rather peculiar princess. The children have never met anyone quite like her and  what makes this book so extraordinary is that  all her quirks and differences merely strengthen  the bonds of friendship that develop between them. The whole book is written in rhyme, using vocabulary that is as original as Daisy herself, which Quentin Blake illustrates to perfection adding a fabulous visual impact to help young learners fully grasp the meaning of the story.  The overall effect with have readers of all ages cartwheeling round the room trying to imitate the children and their amazing new friend.

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For 8-10 year olds

This is one of my all time favourites. As the title and the cross patch Daisy on the front cover suggest, 'Eat Your Peas' is about food and the lengths Daisy's Mum will go to to try and get Daisy to eat the peas which are 'ganging up on her plate.' Children never cease to be amazed at Mum's quest to make Daisy eat her peas. Mum gets smaller as we turn the pages but her desperation just keeps on growing. By the end of the book she is trying to bartar with the earth, the moon, the stars, several chocolate factories  and bikes galore. The idea that if Daisy eats her peas she will never have to wash again delights and enthralls children every time. The cumulatative language and reoccuring pictures make this a very accessible story for 8-10 year olds learning English as a foreign language.    

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coming soon.