Did My Mother Do That? by Sharon Holt & Brian Lovelock

If you were a new chick, your mother would have fluffed up her feathers and sat on you to keep you safe. Your mother didn’t do that.

Did My Mother Do That?

Holly’s mum has to go out, and Holly isn’t keen. But Dad offers to tell Holly a story, about the night she was born. As Holly and Dad snuggle up, getting ready for bed, Holly asks about where she came from and what happened when she was born. Dad starts by telling her, in response to her questions, about the things her mum didn’t do – hatching her from an egg, carrying her about in a pouch, or even feeding her mice for dinner, before telling Holly what her mother did do, carrying her in her tummy and then crying tears of joy when she was born.

Did My Mother Do That? is a gentle story of the bond between mother and child which manages to also be a lovely demonstration of the paternal relationship, too. with Dad being the one who spends the time with Holly when Mum has to go out.

A lovely bedtime – or any time – story, illustrated with lovely mixed media illustrations using a combination of acrylic, watercolour and pencil. The animals hop, swim and wander across the pages, as they enter Holly and Dad’s imaginations, so that the animals and the humans share the spreads in a way which will intrigue young readers.

Lovely.

Did My Mother Do That?, by Sharon Holt & Brian Lovelock
Walker Books, 2012
ISBN 978192172060

Avaialble from good bookstores or online from Fishpond.

It's True! You Can Make Your Own Jokes, by Sharon Holt

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Max.
Max who?
Max my brain bulge to read this book!

Kids love telling jokes, and for all young jokesters this book has plenty to offer. It is much more than just a book of jokes – although there are plenty included – being instead a book about the history of jokes and joke-telling, and a guide to making up jokes.

Author Sharon Holt gives young readers insight into how different kinds of jokes are written, and includes step by step workshops to help them create their own. She also gives plenty of examples to show just how jokes are created, as well as an insight into why jokes make listeners laugh.

The text is accompanied by the humorous illustration work of Ross Kinnaird and is part of the highly popular It’s True! Series.

Loads of fun.

It’s true! You Can Make Your Own Jokes, by Sharon Holt, illustrated by Ross Kinnaird
Allen & Unwin, 2006