Books for kids | Wairarapa Lifestyle News | Health, Fashion, Food and Wine in Wairarapa

Harry's Hair
by Jane Buxton, illustrated by Jenny Cooper
Puffin Books, $19.99
Review by: Seamus Boyer

The story of a boy who refuses to brush his hair, Harry's Hair is a brightly coloured book about how sometimes it's nice to be normal. After a family of birds make their nest in Harry's hairdo, chinchillas, spiders, frogs and mice soon follow. Banned from school and confronted by police because the animals aren't toilet-trained, Harry becomes a celebrity after hairdresser Saucy Sue decides his hairstyle is modern art. But he soon tires of the limelight.

Written beautifully in easy rhymes, and illustrated somewhat cheekily, Harry's Hair is a delightful book which should encourage even the most stubborn tots to keep their hair tangle-free. Oh, and the odd humorous toilet reference doesn't hurt either.

The House that Went to Sea
by Melinda Szymanik, illustrated by Gabriella Klepatski,
Duck Creek Press, $29.99
Review by: Seamus Boyer

Bored and moping, Michael Gale watches TV at his granny's beachside house. With his parents shipwrecked by "bad-tempered monkeys", Michael is interested only in his peanut butter on toast.

But when granny decides to raise the cottage's anchor and head off to the Equator in search of Michael's parents, an adventure begins that slowly brings Michael round to the wilder side of life.

The House that Went to Sea is a book about why staying at granny's house is never that bad, especially if you just switch off the television and give things ago.

Simply and playfully illustrated, the book is filled with pirates, sharks and mermaids - plenty to keep kids engaged right up until the final coconut-throwing monkey.

The Call of the Kokako
by Maria Gill and Heather Arnold
New Holland, $29.99
Review by: Katy Davidson

What bird can hop like a kangaroo, scurry like a squirrel and climb like a monkey?

After reading this book you will discover the answer is the kokako (blue wattle), the last species of the wattlebird family to survive on the New Zealand mainland.

Its relatives are the huia, which died out 100 years ago, and the tieke (saddleback) which survives only on predator-free islands and fenced mainland sites.

The kokako is New Zealand's biggest songbird and is described as sounding something like a cat miaowing, a bell ringing and an organ playing - all in one tune.

This collectible hard-cover book is a complete package of exquisite artwork, informative conservation text and a book within a book that tells the true story of kokako-rescuer Geordie Murman.

Older children will enjoy reading this cover to cover while younger children (like my 5-year-old son) will particularly enjoy having the picture book story read to them, and the Maori myth of "Maui and the Birds" that ends the book.

This beautiful book will make a great addition to any home library, with lots of information on the fight to save this ancient bird - which, at last count, is down to just 780 breeding pairs.

Ella Bella Ballerina and Swan Lake
by James Mayhew,
Hachette NZ, $19.99
Review by: Katy Davidson

This is a delightful book based on the world's most famous classical ballet, Swan Lake.

Many readers will be familiar with James Mayhew's earlier Katie series, which introduced children to famous figures from the world of art, such as Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet.

This new Ella Bella Ballerina series takes young readers on a discovery of well-known ballets.

The book's beautiful illustrations are reminiscent of Marc Chagall's dreamy masterpieces. The entertaining plot involves Ella Bella befriending the beautiful swan princess Odette and helping her evade the evil sorcerer to find her prince.