Natalie Shaw

Little fans of Donkey Hodie are going to smile, when they get their hands on this one. It comes directly from one of the episodes, a silly one which puts a new twist on pickles and important rescues. For those who know the show well, there's also the words to the song, which can be sung along.

This book has a very directed audience group, and I truly believe that young fans will enjoy it. The tale is cute and allows the imagination to take flight as something as simple as pickles are fantasized into animals...and need rescuing. I doubt we'll ever see pickles the same again in our household. The text works as a read-aloud, since it takes someone sure of their words to read. And there is the written version of the song found in the show written on the bottom of several of the last pages. This works best for those who already know the song (as said, this is for fans and watchers).

The illustrations follow the show as well, making it highly recognizable for those listeners/readers. The benefit of this book form is that it shows viewers that books can be fun, while remaining in a stream they recognize right away.… (more)

I did not like this book very much and I think that is because I didn’t find it very believable. I don’t think that if a mother was sick, she would leave her 7 year old daughter to run her business. I also don’t think it’s believable that a father would leave his oldest child alone with a sick mother. This being said I don’t think the characters were very believable. I also think the plot was uninteresting. I didn’t get any amusement out of the idea of a garden club tea party becoming more fun because pirates were the entertainment. I do think the theme allows readers to acknowledge what it means to be human because I would never ask my child to do this, let alone leave them with an unwell parent. I feel like if the author were to write this in the standpoint of an onlooker like Olivia’s brother, it would seem more interesting because the reader would be viewing the story from his point of view. I would say that the big picture of this book is that accidents can sometimes be a good thing.… (more)

A short story that is a small surprise for being a kids meal toss in. Usually the toys and even edu-toys are little more than temporary distractions. This little book was actually good enough that I would be willing to read it more than once, and include it with the other books on my youngest daughter's shelf.

Read the full review here:
https://ermareads.wordpress.com/childrens-choices/in-a-pickle-busytown/… (more)