I picked this one up to check out the illustrations. A very interesting technique with thick, rough, black ink outlines around simplified shapes, but coloured over the top with pencil, charcoal, soft pastel, spots of collage. Really good rhythm and rhyme. Really good layout. Really good (and simple, and kid-friendly) concept with the kids and animals mixed playfully in the one batch. Really good illustrations. Like some of the rest of us (ahem) I think Katie Cleminson finds it easier to put the *sparkle* into her animal characters than she does into her people characters, but this is subjective. And I do sympathise with this problem! ;-) An excellent book. Wish I'd had a copy when my boys were a bit younger. I love Cleminson's illustrations, as I did in "Magic Box." But I didn't really like the text in this book. The rhyming didn't always work for me. A cute idea to have all of the different animals in a young child's (school) day. And the book could even be used to transition a child into school, or (more of a stretch) help them see ways one should behave while at school. Originally 2 stars, but the illustrations make it 3.
Do You like book Cuddle Up, Goodnight (2011)?
Pictures are adorable, with tons of child appeal. Text is disjointed and discordant. Disappointing.
—Lokiita
This book is a visual delight, and the child spends the day with the best ever friends.
—Krys
