Tag: Laura Wood

Echidna Jim Went for a Swim, by Phil Cummings & Laura Wood

The animals floated on the waves.
They BOBBED and BOUNCED.
SURFED and SPLASHED.
They were having a wonderful time.
Until…
Echidna Jim went for a swim.

It’s a very hot day, but the animals don’t mind. Dingo has fixed the old blue bus that used to sit in the creek – and he’s taking everyone to the beach for a swim. At the beach everyone blows up their inflatable toys and swim rings, and has a lot of fun – until Echidna Jim joins in. His spikes wreak havoc, popping the inflatables – which could be a disaster, but instead, adds to the fun as the animals whoosh around.

Echidna Jim Went for a Swim is a humorous picture book story featuring lots of favourite Australian animals, including the echidna, the wombat, a platypus, an emu, a kangaroo and more, as well as all the fun of a bus ride and a trip to the beach. With lots of golden sand and watery aquas and blues, as well as the colourful inflatables and the browns and greys of the animals themselves, the illustrations fill the pages with movement and fun.

Echidna Jim Went for a Swim, by Phil Cummings & Laura Wood
Scholastic, 2016
ISBN 9781760152994

The Cow Tripped Over the Moon by Tony Wilson ill Laura Wood

Hey diddle

You all know the riddle,

A cow jumps over the moon.

It happened, all right,

On a crisp, cloudless night

On the second last Friday in June

Hey diddle

You all know the riddle,

A cow jumps over the moon.

It happened, all right,

On a crisp, cloudless night

On the second last Friday in June

The first time the cow tried to jump over the moon, was disastrous. Embarrassing. And as for the fiddler cat? Some practice wouldn’t go astray there either. Luckily they were among friends and friends help friends. So begins a night of getting it right. Some training, some direction, some practice and support all help to make the night a success. Along the way, there’s plenty of fun. Illustrations are full bleed and full of nighttime blues, reds, golds and more. Endpapers feature patchwork paddocks.

The Cow Tripped Over the Moon revisits the popular riddle ‘The Cow Jumped over the Moon’ and explores just what happened before ‘opening night’. This delightful nonsense has at its heart a reminder that things don’t always go perfectly the first time. It explores the nature of friendship, the value of persistence, failure and success. Young readers will come for the silliness, and that’s as good a reason as any to get lost in a story. Recommended for pre- and early-schoolers.

The Cow Tripped Over the Moon, Tony Wilson ill Laura Wood
Scholastic Press 2015
ISBN: 9781743623534

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com