Thumbelina

Thumbelina, no bigger than a thumb, travels through a world of flowers, insects and weather in Andersen's story, retold here in board form with pop-up scenes. Wonder House Books keeps the language short and the pictures large, so the plot moves at a pace preschoolers can follow. The interactive elements give a reason to return to particular pages, and the board construction means the book can be handled without supervision. Courage and kindness come through the events rather than through stated morals. Worth noting: • Board pages combined with lift-up paper scenes • Simple sentence lengths aimed at first listeners • Illustration in strong colour for easy recognition • Useful for vocabulary work as well as story time A fit for toddlers and nursery groups, published by Wonder House Books and shelved with early reading at Boipoka.