________________ CM . . . . Volume XI Number 11 . . . .February 4, 2005

cover

Little Humpty.

Margaret Wild. Illustrated by Ann James.
Vancouver, BC: Simply Read Books, 2004.
32 pp., cloth, $22.95.
ISBN 1-894965-11-6.

Subject Heading:
Camels-Juvenile fiction.

Preschool-grade 2 / Ages 3-7.

Review by Helen Norrie.

**** /4

   

excerpt:

Big Humpty chased him here and there. When she caught him, she gave him a big, sloppy kiss and said, "You know, Little Humpty. I love you best in all the world." With a happy wiggle, Little Humpty said, "Tell me about the world, Big Humpty. Tell me!"

internal artLittle Humpty is a delightful picture book from Australia. With echoes of Good Night Moon (but not the same author despite the similarity in name) a mother camel (Big Humpty) and her baby (Little Humpty) love to be together. However, when the mother realizes the little camel is lonely, they cross a desert together and find a whole herd of camels, one with many playmates for Little Humpty.

     Margaret Wild is from Sydney, Australia, and has written more than 40 books for children. The text in this picture book is very simple and very sparse with large print, but youngest readers will enjoy the expressions of mother love and the "cozy" feeling of the book.

     Ann James lives in Melbourne and is one of Australia's best known illustrators. Her pictures, in ink and watercolour, are large, in desert shades (yellow, orange and red). The camels appear to be smiling, and the general effect is soothing. This would be a good read-aloud at bedtime.

Highly Recommended.

Helen Norrie is a former teacher-librarian in the Winnipeg School system.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
Hosted by the University of Manitoba.
 

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