Dim's Write Stuff

If you’ve got a truck, car, vehicle mad toddler in the house, find yourself a copy of these two brilliant picture books, stat. I love the sheer vibrancy and verve of Wheels and Tractors – two separate standalone titles that fulfill every wheeling, tractor obsession you could want. Wheels is my personal favourite but the other titles by these best-selling creators in the Roadworks series are equally compelling. Two kids are witness to a never-ending parade of wheels. Rumbly, grumbly wheels, yucky mucky wheels, tiny shiny wheels . We are told wheels go fast and wheels go slow , but the trick is guessing exactly which vehicle belongs to each spread of wonderful wheely verse. And wonderful it is. Perfect rhythmic, onomatopoeic descriptions draw youngsters in and set them up for the fun reveals. Visual clues provided by Lovelock’s energetic pigmented inked illustrations further enhances this excellent guess-what-it-is experience. Tractor is equally attractive in sound and visual a...

Over the years, I may have reviewed as many Easter themed picture books as I’ve gobbled Easter eggs…well maybe not quite as many; there’s no accounting for my insatiable appetite for chocolate. It’s that time of year when sweet expectations and spirituality soar. Family converge to celebrate the renewal of life and we pause to welcome new beginnings. Easter is many different things, not least of which an opportunity to share a few less rushed moments together. This Book Bite list is but a sparse suggestion of the many glorious picture books, new and old, that you could share with your young ones this Easter.   Hop Little Bunnies This utterly alluring lift-the-flap picture book oozes springtime fancy and every cute cuddly countryside baby animal you can think of. Lambs, bunnies, chicks and ducklings bounce along in merry nursery rhyme fashion after our egg-toting bunnies rouse the sleepy youngsters. Bursting with exuberant rhyme, soft springtime colours and an abundance ...