If you're not familiar with this series you should really check them out. If you buy direct from the publisher, a percentage of the money goes straight to help the British wildlife, a passion of the author that is clear from the wonderful characters in the book.
There was only one downside for me which I will get out of the way first. I wasn't too keen on the front book cover (below) but I loved the illustrations and the woodlouse character named 'Wibble' was my absolute favourite. I loved all the pictures and attention to detail too. I think that it is maybe just the font that I'm not keen on, we all know not to judge a book by it's cover though.
The story had a really nice nostalgic feel to it. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly it reminded me of, but it just a general feel of the books that I loved as a child. I've always been a huge fan of woodland creatures, fairies and talking animals! (It's OK I'm aware the latter two aren't real!). As a kid I loved making little acorn people and digging up what I thought were fairy bottles, but I think were in fact either some kind of larvae or bulb! I love the idea of this tiny little world existing.
The stories aren't too long but just long enough, especially for the younger reader - though A (nearly 4) was more than captivated throughout. The use of alliteration and adjectives in this book are great for young readers and it was lovely to introduce A to some new words. I love all the little details like the 'rose-hip' hook in the house and her little hat. Every part of the story has been described so accurately you can really imagine the characters coming to life.
The story in this book sees the characters preparing for pancake day with a practise run, only to taste too many and get a terrible belly ache before the big day. I won't say any more as I'd hate to ruin the story for anyone though!
My favourite thing about this story was the raving badgers, up late at a party. It just gave a funny little twist that made me chuckle. Badgers are always deemed as grumpy things in stories so it was nice to see them given a humorous persona. I also loved the reviews on the back of the book that are mainly written by children, the 'cuteness' of that alone sums up the feel of this book. There were also a couple of morals within the story such as the badger being told off for littering (something I hate with a passion - littering that is, not telling badgers off) and washing their hands before preparing food. Subtly done but nice touches for a kids book.
I would recommend these stories to anyone with a young book lover at home. You can access the book in paper, PDF, ePub or Kindle/Mobi formats.
Thanks for reading,
Wafflemama
