A Desert Friend

The tagline for this book is 'A rhyming, pop-up adventure!' Which caught my attention straight away. This book allows you to discover a host of desert animals as the little fennec fox wonders through the landscape looking for a friend to play with. Written in the first person, it allows you to feel part of the story and the constant use of questions draws you in further. The illustrations are wonderful and the pop up pages will entertain and surprise all readers. New animals are introduced and as the book begins to end, it seems like our little fox friend will be alone. This sets up for a lovely ending with a final pop up page. The rhyming in this book is simple and easy to follow, with children able to attempt to guess what is coming next. -- Kyle Matravers * Reading Zone *

There are so many pop-up picture books around but this one is a little different Its desert setting introduces
some unusual landscapes and brings together a lovely collection of animals, some of which children may not have come across before. The hot sun, sweeping sand dunes, distant mountains, sparse low-lying trees and brightly coloured night sky offer a fascinating view of desert life, and every 3-D animal leaping from the page is beautifully constructed and shown in wonderfully realistic detail. The book offers lots of opportunities to compare animal sounds and talk about loneliness and friendship. While the paper inside is quite thick, teaching children how to show care in handling is very important as the popup parts can be so easily damaged.

-- Vivien Hampshire * Practical Pre-School *