picture books – Picture Book Dragons

Inspector Penguin Investigates by Eoin McLaughlin

Posted on July 4, 2022 by Siobhan

Inspector Penguin Investigates: A Penguin with a nose for fishy goings on

You know the frustrating feeling when a book you expected to love lets you down? I’ve recently had the opposite experience when a book which I had zero expectations for proved a smash hit with my children.

I bought Inspector Penguin Investigates by Eoin McLaughlin and Ross Collins in a hurry when the cashier at Blackwells pointed out I was one book off getting a 3 for 2 deal after the children chose a picture book each, and if you’re going to grab a picture book from a table, then the one with a penguin dressed in the manner of Sherlock Holmes is an obvious choice. They both agreed that it should be their bedtime story that night instead of the books they chose themselves, and they’ve been asking for it as their bedtime story with an alarmingly high frequency ever since. I can even tell when their father is reading it as their bedtime story from the squeals and giggles that come out of them.

Inspector Penguin Investigates opens with the disappearance of the Diamond del Mondo from Baron von Buffetworth’s top secret and completely secure mega safe in an impenetrable castle. A detective is called in to investigate, and even though the penguin who arrives at the door doesn’t look like an inspector at first, they provide him with a hat and a magnifying glass and tell him to go off and find some clues. Inspector Penguin isn’t very good at finding clues, but he does have a finely-honed talent for finding fish while the young readers spot a series of clues which lead to the culprit on each page. Remarkably enough, Inspector Penguin does solve the crime at the end of the book, but who’s to say whether that’s because we’ve underestimated his talents, Columbo style, or whether it’s because there’s a large barrel of fish near the final clue.

Inspector Penguin Investigates is an uproariously funny book to read with young children, especially those who fancy themselves as great detectives. It’s great fun to appear absolutely baffled about what’s happened to the diamond, and the children take great pride in pointing out all the clues their silly parents have missed and explaining how the crime went down. I’m excited to check out Eoin McLaughlin’s other books, The Case of the Missing Cake and Secret Agent Elephant.

Big Feelings

The Grumpy Fairies by Beth Stevens

Posted on January 30, 2022January 27, 2022 by Siobhan

I often think the best picture books for kids are the ones in which they recognise themselves, so I think The Grumpy Fairies by Beth Stevens has something for all children and their carers, because the little fairies in this book are proper grumpy. Or as Beth Stevens puts it “I mean foot-stompy, frowny, bottom-lip-sticking-outy kind of grumpy. I mean ‘it’s just one of those days’ grumpy.”

Yes, these little fairies are so grumpy that they don’t want to help with their fairy jobs. They stomp noisily through the woods, and are far too busy being grumpy to help the mouse gather acorns for its burrow, take the snails for a walk or help clean up the hedgehog poo! But living in the woods is a goblin, and his favourite food is fairies – not the syrupy sweet sickly good and helpful fairies, but the sweet and sour grumpy fairies – and it’s not long before our grumpy little friends are forced to confront their own behaviour!

It’s the classic face plant of grumpy despair that gets me with this

It came as no surprise to me that Beth Stevens won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Best Illustrated Book 2021 with The Grumpy Fairies. The pictures of the fairies are guaranteed to make anyone with a slightly grumpy on occasions small child giggle, from the stamping feet to the face plant on floor tantrum, the poses are highly recognisable, and the lack of co-operation is gently poked fun at with a huge amount of warmth and good humour.

I like to pick out The Grumpy Fairies as a bedtime read on days when the terrors have been particularly uncooperative – I mean come on guys, I was only asking you to put the pen lids back on, it’s not like I was making you clean up hedgehog poo!

Big Feelings

My Big Shouting Day by Rebecca Patterson

Posted on January 24, 2022 by Siobhan

Even the toy rabbit is getting a headache

Have you ever had a Big Shouting Day? Let’s face it, we all have at one time or another. Our youngest terror is going through a particularly shouty phase at the moment, so we’ve been reading My Big Shouting Day by Rebecca Patterson a lot in solidarity.

One morning, Bella wakes up to find her little brother Bob licking her jewellery collection, and that is the start of her Big Shouting Day. When she gets going she just can’t stop! Ballet is too itchy, her foot is sore and bed is for babies. Little upsets make for big tantrums, which are very relatable for anyone who lives with their own little terror. Fortunately, it all ends happily with a cuddle with Mummy, a nice bedtime story, and after reflecting on her feelings, Bella feels much better after a good night’s sleep.

The drop and refuse to move is a very popular technique here during big shouting days

This book is a fantastic prompt for talking about shouty tantrums and how we manage our feelings. The first time we read the book, it was a little hilarious to watch the horror and admiration on the face of our own Big Shouter when we read the book the first time. Our own terrors now talk about having had their own Big Shouting Days, and it’s always nice to remember that things will often feel better after a good night’s sleep, even if parents and carers still feel frazzled from the Big Shouting Day the next day!