Mem Fox is one of my favourite children’s authors. In her new book, Fox has teamed up with a former student Olivia Rawson to write the funny picture book A Giraffe in the Bath.
This is a beautiful book to read aloud to the kids and one that my preschooler wanted to hear “just one more time”. As with Where is the Green Sheep?, there is sparse but cleverly written text. The rhythmic nature of the text allowed me to pause at the end of the sentences and my preschooler could chip in with the end word (the pictures giving clues too), and he look forward to the opportunity to have his turn “reading”.
My preschooler loved the concept of animals doing crazy things and especially loved the roo in the loo and the elephant that rocked. The detailed illustrations by Kerry Argent brought up many talking points like “whose shadow is that?” and “the koala is reading the same book as us”.
A Giraffe in the Bath also held the attention of my very active 14 month old. The beautiful pictures and the short text allowed me to read the entire book to him sitting on my knee, without even squirm!
Inspired by the fabulous book reviews by Tania McCartney on Kids’ Book Review I am going to be adding a snapshot of the book’s details at the end of my book reviews.
Title: A Giraffe in the Bath
Author: Mem Fox and Olivia Rawson
Illustrator: Kerry Argent
Publisher: Viking (Penguin)
For ages: 0 – 5
RRP: $24.95
Author’s Website: Mem Fox