Wednesday 18 January 2012

18. Violet Mackerel's Natural Habitat by Anna Branford illustrated by Sarah Davis


Violet Mackerel's Natural Habitat by Anna Branford and illustrated by Sarah Davis
Published November 2011 Walker


From the publisher:

VIOLET MACKEREL has a new theory. It is the THEORY of HELPING small THINGS.
VIOLET MACKEREL quite likes helping. She PARTICULARLY likes to help SMALL THINGS. So when Violet makes friends with a tiny ladybird called SMALL GLORIA, she wants to give her a HELPING HAND. But sometimes it’s hard to know the best way to help a SMALL THING – especially when it’s not in its NATURAL HABITAT.

This is the third book about Violet Mackerel, and if you haven't come accross her yet, I will tell you that she is charming.  The books are only available in hardback, but that adds to their charm also, and while a few years ago children were put off by hardcovers, that no longer seems to be the case.
Violet is a thinker, and in this book her new thought is The Theory of Helping Small Things whereby if you help something small, that small thing may find a way of helping you.  In an attempt to help her older sister with her Natural Science project, Violet heads out to the garden where she knows some particular Small Things live.  She finds a ladybird, who she names Small Gloria, but unfortunately it takes more than good intentions to keep Small Gloria alive.


This is an excellent book if you have a really young child (5+) who is already reading and needs something that will appeal and is age appropriate.  It is equally great for any reader who is just starting out with novels. There are pencil illustrations on nearly every page, and there is a double page in the back on how to keep a ladybird in a jar....suggesting that the ladybird stays only a few hours in the jar!


Who will like this book: Girls Age 5+
Read it if you like: Henrietta by Martine Murray  or Quirky characters

No comments:

Post a Comment