Books for kids...
Dad is deaf to his pleas and puts the smelly bear into the washing machine. When Bear emerges he goes wild in the house leaving a trail of destruction. But Mother comes to the rescue when she returns and hangs Bear out to dry. Father then looks at Rabbit. Will he ignore the ‘do not wash sign’ again? Fun for age four and up.
Though chock-full of jokes, riddles and puzzles, this little book is mainly about being creative at Christmas. Readers are asked to design a Christmas card and stamps, make Christmas crackers and decorative stars and also find ways to recycle Christmas cards. Instructions for games like table tinker and the memory game vie with a true or false Christmas tree quiz. Imagination is the keyword, with plenty of opportunity to involve adults. Suitable for age six and up.
If one ignores the unconvincing narrative format — very, very, long letters to Mollie’s friend at boarding school in England, we are left with an excellent portrayal of life in Dublin 1912. Mollie lives in a house where men rule, or think they do. She resents the favouritism shown to her brother Harry, and though their live-in maid Maggie does at times lend a sympathetic ear, Mollie is convinced she and older sister Phyllis are up to something secretive.
When she discovers they are suffragette supporters she is determined to join whatever movement they belong to. Her friend Nora is intrigued by the burgeoning drive for women’s equality but they are wary of Grace who would scupper their plans if she could. The strength of the story is the drama within Mollie’s family running in tandem with the threatened upheaval in society where the authorities and most of the male population are against the suffragette movement. Age 10 and up.
