While this book is fun (and we mustn't over look this, because it is Super fun, capital S) it is also a brilliant one for engaging your child as you read to them. You can talk about what Toucan can do, and later what you can do that Toucan can't. You can talk about families and whether your aunts are like Ewan's aunts, and whether they too have pet pandas. And you can talk about animals generally because there are so many new ones in this book they might not have come across before - like goose and gander and panther and salamander. It's a lovely imaginative book in which kangaroos do kung fu (the panda doesn't - that would be too much of a cliché) and an eclectic mix of animals live (and dance) in harmony.
Even as a child, I appreciated that hardbacks were that little bit more magical than paperbacks, and this edition is no exception. The colours are so vibrant and the animals jump (and swing and dance) right off the page at you. The paper is silky, glossy, feels like a treat to read and the pages are huge and full of detail, though text is limited to a line or two per page to keep it from being too overwhelming. The minutiae are awesome too - the look on Aunty Shanti's face when she sees Aunty Anne and Aunty Candy dancing without her is delicious and will make little ones cackle.
Even as a child, I appreciated that hardbacks were that little bit more magical than paperbacks, and this edition is no exception. The colours are so vibrant and the animals jump (and swing and dance) right off the page at you. The paper is silky, glossy, feels like a treat to read and the pages are huge and full of detail, though text is limited to a line or two per page to keep it from being too overwhelming. The minutiae are awesome too - the look on Aunty Shanti's face when she sees Aunty Anne and Aunty Candy dancing without her is delicious and will make little ones cackle.
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