Georgie loves books. Basically he loves when I read to him. Every evening before we head upstairs he makes me promise to read him a ‘big book, mummy, not a little one’. Once we’re nestled in his bed and I begin to read I always notice the way he stares at me, my mouth and the expressions I make while reading as if my face can tell a better story than the pictures. I read to him every day which means we go through an impressive amount of used, borrowed and new books. Recently, in a bid to mix things up I stocked his bookshelf with storybooks I had when I was little. Big and chunky with bare pages and packed with various stories from Tom Thumb to The Snow Queen, they seem worlds away from the versions published today. I have had to explain what ‘shan’t’ means on more than one occasion! Man, I feel old sometimes.
Often I’ve failed massively when choosing books for Georgie; just because images of well-drawn pirates grace the cover does not mean it will necessarily interest all four-year olds, I’ve noted. And then something like Jonathan Ayre’s magic creation comes along and I pat myself on the back. I discovered Ayre through Georgie’s school which he visited to promote his two utterly fantastic books about Hatty, a vegetarian tiger who is desperate to be friends with other vegetarian animals. Originality oozes from each page and furthermore it is an absolute delight to read due to the rhythm and rhyme fashion in which it is written. I love that it covers issues such as healthy eating, diversity, perseverance and courage, spoken in a language kids can actually understand and parents enjoy reading out loud. ‘Hatty: The tiger who wasn’t’ is the first in the series of books which are beautifully illustrated by Ayre himself. The second ‘Hatty and the Hard Beans!’ is just as funny and original as Hatty attempts to cook beans for his jungle compadres without success until he figures what is missing. Teaching kids about cooking too? I cannot recommend these books enough.
