Marion Billet(Nosy Crow)
Welcome to Littleland, and follow ten cute little furry friends as they go through their day. From going to the park and going shopping to bedtime routines, there is never a dull moment in Littleland.
Littleland is a bright and cheerful compendium of all the familiar things in a toddler’s world. Each double spread presents an everyday setting – the park, the shops, the bathroom, etc – and introduces a selection of objects and situations linked to that setting. What is particularly great about Littleland, and is unlike many word books, is how much it encourages active interaction between the child, the adult reader and the book. This is done through the use of questions within the text. Firstly, the bottom of each double-spread includes a section entitled “can you see …”, which includes a variety of items to spot on the page. Additionally, there are questions within the text, such as “how many books have the little ones read tonight?” and “what do you think the little ones will do today?”. These features actively encourage verbal interaction between adult reader and child, but the “can you see” feature will also encourage young readers to repeat this when looking at the book on their own, thanks the pictorial clues.
Because the illustrations all portray familiar scenes for toddlers, Littleland also promotes more interaction between adult and child as they use the book as a platform to talk about their own day; ie “we went to the park yesterday, who did we meet when we got there?” etc. With such features, Littleland offers opportunities for interaction which are vital to children’s language acquisition.
The use of colours is perfect for this age range – bright and attractive, and Marion Billet’s child-friendly style really shines here. There is a real sense of fun and happiness within the pages, and some humorous details such as the dog sitting on the potty won’t be lost on little readers. The double spreads are busy without ever being crowded and will delight even the youngest of readers.
With its big size and padded cover, Littleland will make a lovely gift for little people and will make the perfect first word book.
Tomorrow, I am delighted to welcome Marion Billet to Library Mice who has kindly agreed to answering a few questions for us.
Source: review copy from publisher
