Before Tia finished pre-school, she was gifted two beautiful books. Winston was Worried and Brown Rabbit in the City. Although Tia absolutely loves them both, Winston is clearly her favourite, where as Brown Rabbit is mine, here's a bit about the books...
Winston was Worried
"Poor Winston is far too worried to play with his friends. He's off to the vet with a splinter in his paw, and there's nothing worse than having a splinter in your paw. Or so Winston thinks..."
This is Tia's favourite and I can see why. With it's brightly coloured, glossy pages and no 'boring' paragraphs it keeps little minds entertained. The story is written by Pamela Duncan Edwards, using repetitive sentences which as an adult I can't stand, but is actually Tia's favourite kind of writing as she can memorise it and take part with the reading and join in. She gets really frustrated with books as she can't fully read yet. (She's only 4!)
The illustration is by Benji Davies and is very cleverly done. All the 'boring bits' such as the copyright and publish details at the start are cleverly included in the pictures by writing them on bill boards and shop windows in the story. From front to back this book is beautifully presented and has become Tia's 'go to' book most bedtimes. We definitely give Winston a huge 5/5 and recommend it for any pre-school or early readers.
We were also given a sheet of images from the story to cut up and use as snap cards or for playing pairs. These don't come with the book but are an excellent idea to make yourself for any of your childrens favourite story books. Because of Tia's frustration at not being able to read we like to keep books as fun and playful for her so that by this time next year when she is reading, she'll hopefully love books as much as the rest of us.
Brown Rabbit in the City
"It's Brown Rabbit's first time in the city and his friend Little Rabbit has planned a busy day. But as they rush from shop to cafe to art gallery Brown Rabbit starts to realize... There's only one thing in the city he really wants to see - and that's Little Rabbit."
This book is my favourite out of the two. It's the complete opposite of Winston. The pages are all muted autumn colours on matte paper. There's small paragraphs written on most pages and I just think it is a really well written, beautiful book.
Tia absolutely loves the story of this book, she gets so lost in the story because every bit of Rabbits adventure is beautifully described, there is no need to even have pictures in the book. I absolutely love the contrast of the matte colours on the front cover with the rose gold detail. Brown Rabbit is written and illustrated by Natalie Russell and she also has another book advertised at the back of this story called Moon Rabbit, which we will definitely be adding to our collection. This story also gets a 5/5 and I feel is a great book for all of the family. (My 7 year old absolutely loves reading this to her little sister!)
We were given a board game that matches this story and again I think is an amazing idea for pre-readers to get more involved and enjoy it.
Both of these books are published by Macmillan Children's Books.
You can buy Winston here and you can buy Brown Rabbit here.
