Jill Murphy, The Large Family: Five Stories in One
*
Peace At Last is a classic, so this cheap jumbo (do you see what I did there) collection from the same author seemed worth a try. Unfortunately, it's not very interesting. She pulls it out occasionally because it's there, but its attention-seeking widescreen format is just taking up space. It even made formatting this annoying.
2020 / Library book / 10 pages / UK/Sweden
****
Interactive rhymes, cameos from less celebrated critters and a surprise ending made this an early favourite library book, now that's become a regular pass-time on our morning shifts.
2018 / Library book / 16 pages / UK
*
An entirely gimmicky spin-off starring popular breakout characters we don't know, I couldn't be bothered to do it properly through every repetitive page and she didn't seem interested either.
2018 / Library book / 40 pages / UK
***
It's basically 'what haven't I anthropomorphised by now?', but she knows what she's doing and their vibrance is comforting. It's no Hooray for Fish or even a Peck Peck Peck, but it's better than that uncanny creep Maisy.
2019 / Library book / 12 pages / Unknown
**
From misleadingly-textured rainbows to perilously-helicoptering babies, this is a looser free-for-all than the restrictive themed entries in the series. It might be beneath her already, but I'll never let that stop her enjoying herself. She was happy improvising a narrative for the tactile chaos while I scoured the trays for more appropriate/boring things.
