Pip and Posy The Super Scooter



I actually love this book, mainly because it was the first book my own daughter wanted to hear which had an actual plot. Ok, it's a pretty simple (and slightly preachy) plot, but it has a beginning, a middle and an end, which came as a relief after 20 months of naming pictures in baby books. Here is my review:

Who is it for? Children who are starting to get bored of baby books, which often happens at around 18 months to 2 years. It is the perfect level for children who are combining words into short sentences.

What is it about? Pip (the rabbit) has a scooter. Posy (the mouse) takes Pip's scooter, believing she has the skills to necessary to control such a vehicle. She is wrong and falls off, resulting in many tears. Pip somehow resists the urge to shout WELL THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU STEAL SOMEONE'S SCOOTER YOU STUPID MOUSE and offers her a plaster for her knee. They hug and make up and pretty much live happily ever after,

The Good: There is so much to like in this book. It's beautifully illustrated and the pictures have loads in them to talk about together. Children love pointing out the interesting things which are happening in the background, such as the bird eating the worm and the cat holding the yellow balloon, and this makes it such a great book for waiting to see what your child is interested in and talking about it. Toddlers will be able to relate the story to their lives, and it provides the perfect opportunity to talk about being hurt and what you can do to feel better.

Anything not so good? On my first reading of this book (and actually all the books in the Pip and Posy series) I found it rather preachy which grated on me. The moral point is not subtle, but perhaps subtlety is not really required when you are dealing with toddlers (it's certainly not practised by my own toddler). In any case this is far outweighed by the clear story and beautiful illustrations in this book so don't let this put you off.

Tips for using this book to support your child's language development:
- Read it slowly and pause on each page to look at the pictures. Wait for your to child point something out in the picture then talk about it. If they don't point anything out even after you have waited then point something out for them and describe it simply e.g. 'look, the squirrel is on the slide'.
- Resist the urge to quiz them on the book. If you go through the pages asking 'what's that?' at every picture they will learn the phrase 'what's that?' but not much else. Instead describe what you can see e.g. 'oh look a worm'.
- Talk about feelings e.g. 'Pip looks really cross because Posy took his scooter', and 'Posy is really sad because she hurt her knee'.
- If you haven't already read this post about staying one step ahead of your child's talking, because it will help you when looking at the pictures in this book together.

If you'd like to buy your own copy of Pip and Posy the Super Scooter, you can get a copy from Amazon
Happy reading :)

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