Karl's Reading List

We have been living in my parents' house for two months now, and they have a lot of picture books here. As a result, we have been reading a lot of new stories to Ezekiel, and it feels only right that I should do another picture-book entry to acknowledge some of them. Keeping the list to only ten has been tricky, particularly as I also wanted to include two books we read when we went to a friend's bach at the lake a few months ago. Aside from those two, I have limited myself to books that belong to my parents, knowing that the ones we own will still be with us the next time I do one of these. As is now usual, each of these books has their own page, meaning that you can easily skip all ten if you want to just move on to the next 'proper' book on my list. Karl's List First Flight ; Good Night, Alice and Other Stories ; Skarloey ; Swiggo ; Minny Car Elise's List Just Me and My Puppy ; Dogs ; Who's Driving? ; Mosan Mouse ; I've Lost My Kisses Previous Book ~...

Published by Gecko Press: Australia and New Zealand, 2007 (2006). English translation by Gecko Press, 2007. First published in Belgium by Clavis Uitgeverij. I say this a lot for Ezekiel's books, but this is a beautifully illustrated book! And it's a pop-up book too! Who's Driving? is fairly self-explanatory. Each page has three animals dressed in different uniforms, each approaching a vehicle that they could conceivably be driving. When the pop-up tab is pulled, the driver of the vehicle is revealed, and sound effects are added as the vehicle 'drives' away. The illustrations are clever in that there are hints given as to which animal will be revealed. The desert jeep, for example, is being approached by a hippo in khaki. Of course the one in khaki is the driver! The pop-up elements are also cleverly done, with my favourte being a small convertible that is revealed as being driven by a giraffe. I am still impressed by how that giraffe pops up from that little convert...

Published by Macmillan Children's Books: London, 2012 (2009). A fun book about dogs, opening with "I love dogs." After this the book goes through, giving different types of dogs from "stroppy dogs and soppy dogs" to "Scruffy and smart dogs" among others. The book then ends with the twist that it is being narrated by a cat, which means that the dog "that I love best? Let's see... ...is any dog that won't chase me!" The illustrations in this book are well drawn, the types of dogs are well varied, and the twist of having the narrator be a cat is a fun joke at the end. With Ezekiel now more into dogs, this book and Just Me and My Puppy are definite favourites. Karl's List First Flight ; Good Night, Alice and Other Stories ; Skarloey ; Swiggo ; Minny Car Elise's List Just Me and My Puppy ; Dogs ; Who's Driving? ; Mosan Mouse ; I've Lost My Kisses Previous Book ~ Next Book (Ezekiel Books) Previous Book ~ Next Book

Published by Wm. Collins Sons and Co. Ltd: London and Glasgow, date unknown. A book I remember from when I was a child (along with Swiggo ), this book is old enough and has 'seen enough' that its cover is now missing - the picture here is from it's inner title page. Minny Car is quite dated - one of the main characters is a gollywog! - but still cute and well illustrated. The story begins with Minny Car broken down on the side of the road. A group of toys rescue her and reattach her wheel. In return, Minny Car takes them on a journey through the highlands. First, they encounter the Loch Ness monster, then they have a picnic that gets rained out, and then eventually they face off against a bad-tempered Highland Bull!  It's all told in rhyming verse, with each character getting a chance to shine; Golly actually turns out to be the most practical of the group! I enjoy the story, and it certainly has that nostalgia factor for me, as well. Karl's List First Flight ; Good...

Based on The Railway Series by the Rev. W. Awdry. Published by Egmont UK Limited: London, 2008 (2003). I'm not really sure who wrote this book, as it is based on stories by Reverend W Awdry, and then filtered through the series owned by Guillane (Thomas) LLC and created by Britt Allcroft. The book only tells me who the illustrators are! So, apologies to the unnamed ghostwriter... There are a number of Thomas -brand stories at my parents' place, and Ezekiel likes them all. Wanting to include at least one of them for this list, I chose Skarloey mostly because one of us pointed out to Ezekil that my name is hidden in the title, and now Ezekiel also points that out every time. He'll point at the title word and say "Skarloey" and then point at it again and say "Karl." He's not quite up to actual reading yet, but he is starting to do a good imitation of it. At some point I'll add Tacky the Penguin to one of these lists and talk about the lines he has a...

Published by Scholastic Press: Lindfield, NSW, 2012 (2007). Set in a world of anthropomorphic animals, I've Lost My Kisses stars Matilda, a little cow who fears that she has 'lost her kisses.' This is especially an issue for her as her Poppa is going to arrive at the airport soon, "And the first thing he always says it "Where's my big smoocheroo?" I just have to find my kisses!" Despite her mother's reassurance that "They'll be there when you need them" Matilda spends the book looking for her kisses in such places as her room, the garden, and the supermarket. In each location, when someone asks her what kisses look like, she says that she doesn't know, but that she knows what they feel like, or taste like, or sound like. Eventually, Matilda, still without having found her kisses, goes to the airport, quite upset. However, when her Poppa arrives she finds her kisses within her, and learns her lesson that they will always be there...

Published by Daan Retief Publishers: Pretoria, 1989 (1988). Also published in Afrikaans as Moesan Muis. This is a weird little picture book, which somehow makes more sense when its South African and Afrikaans origin is taken into account! Mosan Mouse, the head of his family, is hassled by his wife for not providing enough food. She asks him whether he is a man or a mouse, to which he replies: "Wife," said I, "in this house I am the man and the mouse." He then proceeds to go through the house, facing off in turn with the cat, the farmer, the farmer's wife and the farmer's daughter. Each one in turn is knocked unconscious or otherwise side-lined, leaving Mosan Mouse free to help himself to the food they have on offer. At the end of the story, he returns home and tells his wife that "now it is up to you" to go with the children to collect the food, "And never shout at me again, for it should really be quite plain: in this house I am the man and t...

Published by Western Publishing Company, Inc./A Golden Book: New York, 1985. This 'Little Critter' book tells the story of the titular Little Critter swapping a baseball glove for a puppy, and the subsequent ways in which he plays with and 'trains' his pet. Little Critter books always have an element of humour in the drawings, even when the story is being told matter-of-fact, and this exists in Just Me and My Puppy as well. As an example, on one page the narration states "My puppy is a big help around the house. He's a good guard dog." Meanwhile, the picture shows Little Critter's mother pulling the puppy away from the mailman, who has fallen on the ground, with letters everywhere. As Elise observed, the fact that the mailman is an anthropomorphic dog adds another level to the humour. Just Me and My Puppy is sweet-natured, fun, and light, with great illustrations. And it talks about dogs, a topic that Ezekiel is becoming more fond of (see also Dogs ). ...

Published by Little Mammoth/Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd: Auckland, 1993. One of two books on this list that we found at a friend's bach and read to Ezekiel while staying there (the other being First Flight ) this book actually contains three short stories, the titular story of which was by far our favourite. Briefly, the other two stories tell of a meal where Alice - a small child - exclaims "Yuck" to a lot of foods that are offered to her (not something we really wanted to inspire Ezekiel to do) and then an 'imagination game' story where Alice pretends to be a number of different characters, and gets her family to join in (more fun over all, but just ok). The titular story is the strongest, and goes through a typical bed-time routine, with Alice being read to, sung to, having some milk, saying good night to her family... all good 'wind-down' activities. There is a moment where Alice tries to stay up rather than settling down, and her mother cautions her that...

Published by Happy Cat Books, Bradfield, Essex, 1999 (1997). First published by Little, Brown and Company, USA, 1987. One of two books in this entry that we found on a shelf at a friend's bach and read to Ezekiel repeatedly over the few days we were there (the other being Good Night, Alice ).  This particular entry, written in first person, tells of a small boy taking his first flight without parents. The story outlines the steps involved: going to the airport, watching the planes arrive, boarding, having a meal, using the toilet, etc. This is all told very matter-of-factly, and would be a good book to help prepare a small child for a similar flight. It even ends with the child's grandparent collecting them from the airport after the flight. Meanwhile, the illustrations for the story add in a fun subplot that is not mentioned at all in the text: the boy is seen carrying a teddy bear with him through the airport, and yet as he boards the plane the bear becomes a real bear, who s...

Published in Western Germany, date unknown. This book, sitting in the 'children's room' at my parents house, has a dedication inside the front cover saying it was given to my mum by her brother, obviously when both were children. It has no publication date, no author's name, and putting the title into Google doesn't provide any further information. Quite interesting to find something so 'mysterious' in today's easy-access-to-information age. As for the story and the layout: Simon's Adventure in Goblinland is a very accurate title for a book that tells the adventures of Simon in Goblinland. Simon, playing in the woods, rescues a trapped goblin, and in return is allowed to visit Goblinland, where he is guests at a wedding and helps save an injured animal. After this, he returns home. It is simple and sweet, and has a large number of full-colour (and almost full-page) images that help tell the story. It comes across mildly old-fashioned (it seems to dat...

Published by Walker Books Ltd: Vauxhall Walk, London, 1996 (1994). Ok, so this one is pretty cute. Little Nutbrown Hare is getting ready for bed, and wants to communicate to Big Nutbrown Hare how much he is loved. So Little Nutbrown Hare begins to say how much he loves Big Nutbrown Hare, using actions such as outstretched arms, high jumps into the air, and even describing distant locations to say, "I love you this much." However, whatever Little Nutbrown Hare is able to do, Big Nutbrown Hare can repeat, but do it bigger, or see further, suggesting that he loves Little Nutbrown Hare even more! At times, Little Nutbrown Hare is very impressed with Big Nutbrown Hare, such was when Big Nutbrown Hare reaches his arms up to say he loves Little Nutbrown Hare as high as he can reach, and we read: "That is very high, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. I wish I had arms like that." The game continues until Little Nutbrown Hare, trying to find the most distant thing he can, says th...

Published by Little Tiger Press: Munster Road, London, 2013. This book is written and illustrated by Ben Mantle, who also illustrated Bunnies on the Bus, a book I featured in my first picture-book group review , and that still remains one of Ezekiel's favourite reads. A sweet rhyming story about the joy of hugs, each page of this book shows a pair of animals embracing in some way, with descriptive adjectives describing the type of hug it is. From "wriggly, jiggly" for a pair of snakes to "upside-down" for a pair of bats, each animal is given fun illustrations to add to the light-hearted nature of the poem.  The book builds to the final statements: "Sharing hugs is lots of fun. Time to snuggle, everyone!" In the context of a children's book being read to a child by their guardian, this is a good message. Karl's List Simon's Adventure in Goblinland ;  Slide and Find Trucks ;  Make Tracks Trains ;  Guess How Much I Love You ;  Hug! Elise's...

Published by St Martin's Press/Priddy Books/Macmillan Publishers Ltd.: London, 2007. A book that has numerous sliding sections on each page, and themes to each page, this proved useful in helping Ezekiel begin to understand that words have meanings too. For example, on a page that gave four different trucks, each with a different colour, the text then asked the reader to slide the 'door' with the right colour written on it (also, handily, written in the appropriate colour) in order to reveal the appropriate truck. This meant that we could point to a truck, ask Ezekiel what colour it was, and then have him point to the appropriate word in order to reveal the appropriate truck. Handy, and providing good visual cues. The only tricky bit was when Ezekiel mislabelled a truck's colour, pointing at the word 'yellow' and saying 'orange.' However, when he was corrected he embraced the right word in it's place. Karl's List Simon's Adventure in Goblinla...

Published by Nosy Crow Ltd: The Crow's Nest, London, 2023. The fun gimmick with this book is even observable if you look closely at the cover: the track that surrounds the central picture of a train has a moveable train 'token' on it. You actually make it move around the track! Each page has a similarly laid out feature, highlighting a different train and the journey that it may take. We get underground trains, high-speed trains and others, and each one can be taken on a literal journey. It needs no further reasoning to see why this book is a favourite one for Ezekiel whenever we go to visit Grandma and Grandpa. It's even fun for me as his fellow reader. Karl's List Simon's Adventure in Goblinland ;  Slide and Find Trucks ;  Make Tracks Trains ;  Guess How Much I Love You ;  Hug! Elise's List Ezekiel's World of Trucks ;  Snappy Play Set Garage ;  Big Machines ;  Did You Do This Poo? ;  Truck Trouble Previous Book  ~ Next Book (Ezekiel Books) ...

Published by My Story Tale, 2025. In the vein of When Ezekiel Was Born which was featured in my first collection of picture-book reviews , this book was custom made/tweaked online for Ezekiel, this time by one of Ezekiel's friends Reuben, and his mother Morgan. Whereas When Ezekiel Was Born focuses on Ezekiel himself and the 'story' of his naming, this book stars a little truck who just happens to be named Ezekiel, and his journey to figure out what sort of truck he wants to be when he grows up. With Ezekiel already being fan of vehicles, this book is definitely a hit, featuring as it does such trucks as a fire engine, a tipper truck, and an ice cream truck. If there is not quite as much customisation as in When Ezekiel Was Born (which changes the whole plot in order to correctly spell the customised name) it still gives a little extra thrill by keeping Ezekiel's name featuring throughout. Karl's List Simon's Adventure in Goblinland ;  Slide and Find Trucks ;  M...

Published by Scholastic Australia: Gosford, NSW, 2023. Sigh. I guess we were always going to review this book eventually. I'm not a big fan of scatological humour, but I cannot deny that this book is popular for kids, including Ezekiel. And it is fun too. I'll admit it. The main character, a unicorn, comes across a " dark, stinky poo" in the middle of the forest, and sets out to play detective and figure out "who did this poo!" There is a little bit of playing with the fourth wall, as the first person the unicorn accuses is the reader -  "It wasn't, you, was it? Of course not. No, no" - but after that, the unicorn begins interviewing the various animals in the vicinity, learning about what their poo looks like, and whether or not they could have been the culprit. It all escalates to an eventual confession by the culprit, followed by a last twist that adds a bit more humour to the whole thing. Fairly decent, even if I admit it reluctantly. Karl...

Published by Templar Publishing: Dorking, Surrey, 2011. This is a fun little rhyming book that tells the stories of the various animals who bring their vehicles to get fixed by Larry and Barry at the Snappy Garage. Most of the pages are focussed on one vehicle and its issues, however, a little bit of plot enters in later in the book. An impatient hare who has a racing car has missed a light and gone into the river. Larry and Barry have to take their tow-truck out and pull Harry Hare's car - and Harry - to safety. Then all the animals gather to celebrate Larry and Barry's heroics. The story is basic and sweet, and about vehicles, so it's instantly a winner for Ezekiel. There is a gimmick to the book, in that when it is sold it also includes pop-out model versions of the garage and all of the main characters. I cannot review that part, though (which I'm sure Ezekiel would love), because we got given a second-hand copy in which the pieces had already been removed. Karl...

Published by Dorling Kindersley Limited: London, 1998. One of a pair of similarly themed books we got at the same time (the other is Big Machines ), Truck Trouble follows truck driver John as he sets out to make his daily deliveries in his truck. As the title suggests, things begin going wrong, ranging from bad weather, to traffic, to a tyre needing replacing...  This book introduced Ezekiel to some terms of frustration that he quickly picked up ("Oh no!"), as well as the idea of someone feeling time pressure to get somewhere. Being a book about trucks, though, makes this an instant winning. And the ending is good. John makes it to his final destination on time, and is able to provide toys to the children's hospital. Karl's List Simon's Adventure in Goblinland ;  Slide and Find Trucks ;  Make Tracks Trains ;  Guess How Much I Love You ;  Hug! Elise's List Ezekiel's World of Trucks ;  Snappy Play Set Garage ;  Big Machines ;  Did You Do This Poo? ;...

Published by Dorling Kindersley Limited: New York, NY, 2000. One of a pair of similarly themed books we got at the same time (the other is Truck Trouble ) Big Machines follows the demolition of an old factory and subsequent establishment of a park, by focussing on the big machines that perform the different tasks to achieve the goal. The book intentionally uses mostly simple words, including some onomatopoeia, and has a few moments where it breaks down a bigger word (particularly excavator). Most of the images appear to be stock photos, but they still tell the story fairly well. The only midly disappointing thing for me is that the final park is only shown in drawing form, where every other image in the book is a photograph. Needless to say, this is another book that Ezekiel greatly enjoys, being a fan of big machines. Karl's List Simon's Adventure in Goblinland ;  Slide and Find Trucks ;  Make Tracks Trains ;  Guess How Much I Love You ;  Hug! Elise's List Ezekiel's...