As much a toy as it is a book, this cute little offering is lots of fun and likely to delight kids well outside the stated age range of Baby to 2. Five in the Bedis a hand puppet board book, comprising a good sized hand glove with a small board book attached, enabling an adult reader to wear the glove, reading and acting out the story with the five finger puppet characters.
Using the popular nursery rhyme (variously called ‘five in a bed’, ‘ten in a bed ‘or ‘roll over’) as a basis, this version uses five Australian animal characters – Koala, Cockatoo, Emu, Wombat and Little Roo – and has a slight twist at the end with Little Roo declaring himself lonely, inviting the other animals back into the bed.
This would be a great tool for read aloud games, both in the early childhood classroom and at home, and will also be loved as a toy, although the size of the glove is better for adults than for children.
A cute concept, which would make a lovely gift.
Five in the Bed, illustrated by Claire Dowe
Little Scholastic, 2009
This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.