These are 'must buy' books for the whole early years. The Reception children at St Oswald's Catholic Primary in Wigan couldn't put these down. They laughed, compared, recommended and discussed them. Each book has its own sturdy card figure (boy on one side, girl on other) fixed by ribbon to the spine. Move it to the plastic 'costume' pocket on each page and turn the child into a penguin, nurse or an astronaut! Children were fascinated by the idea of dressing up as a hotdog and intrigued by the fun, factual text which they could read: 'I am chewy. Squeeze on the sauce. Munch! I am a hotdog! The books prompted speculation about what they would do if one child was a bowl of spaghetti and the other was a crocodile, or if someone was the ice-cream, which would the croc eat? These books are very good value for the conversation they inspired and at a basic level they clearly define categories. Practical Pre-School 20050901 More of a novelty than an activity book, we just couldn't resist this. There's a little cardboard figure on a string, with a boy on one side of it and a girl on the other. You slide the figure into plastic pockets on each page to see the child appear as an astronaut, a nurse, a fire-fighter, a mechanic or a gardener. As with all Child's Play books this is top quality, a natty idea and very gender PC as well. Evening Echo/Irish Examiner 20050601
