Wild Animals at the Waterhold, Farm Animals in the Little Red Barn
by Brenda Apsley, illustrated by Paul Morton (Human & Rosseau)
The beautifully illustrated, interactive animal stories for young children were a hit at story time in my home.
In fact, after reading the first one, I learnt my lesson: these books are not designed for bedtime stories, not if you want your little one to go to sleep quickly.
The books include cardboard models of the animals for children to build, and a game at the end of each story so the child is involved in how the story ends.
The models are not only fun to build, they are used in the games: who gets to the waterhole first; what is the surprise in the farmer’s barn?
From an educational point of view, the models help children to practise their fine motor skills and the games teach problem-solving.
My son enjoyed engaging with the stories and, being a typical boy, building the little animal models was the first thing he tackled. His only gripe was that the stories were too short.