Swings + Roundabouts Summer 2020

MINI WHINNY BAD DAY AT THE O.K. CORRAL By Stacy Gregg Illustrated by Ruth Paul Scholastic; RRP: $18.99 paperback Children will delight in this mischievous tale, of goodies versus baddies, and read how the high spirited hero, Mini Whinny once again saves the day. As previous Mini Whinny books, this tale celebrates friendship in a honest way and allows children to explore the realities of learning to learn and play with other children. The ending is slightly unconventional compared to many books now written for our youngest children when the ‘goodies’ try and defeat Bandit the bully and his gang by catapulting muck, but this is what will appeal exactly to young children. “Bandit is a meanie,” the ponies said. “He has a gang. They’re real scary”. “He needs to be stopped,” said Mini Whinny. “Do you have an idea?” asked Bernice. “Yes, but we’ll need to go back to the dress-up box,” said Mini Whinny. “Bandit is looking for trouble…and he just found me.” This fun frolicking tale and colourful illustrations will appeal to tamariki 3+. SIR SINGLET By Dawn McMillan Illustrated by Ross Kinnaird Oratia Books; RRP: $19.99 paperback A hilarious new tale about following your heart from the author and illustrator of I Need a New Bum! McMillan and Kinnaird, who once again offer zany rhymes and crazy illustrations. The story is narrated by Sir Singlet’s nephew and celebrates special talents: Sir Singlet is clever with needle and thread. See all the cushions he’s made for his bed? Sir Singlet’s solution to his problem is to design his own line of comfortable and colourful ‘knightwear’. But before he can launch the product, the king gets in the way by declaring war. Wearing his new undergarments, Sir Singlet wins the battle, not by using hand-to-hand combat – but by scaring his enemies away with his colourful and creative creations. The book will be enjoyed by tamariki 2.5+. THERE’S A WETA ON MY SWEATER / HE WĒTĀ KEI RUNGA I TŌKU PARAKA By Dawn McMillan Māori text by Ngaere Roberts Illustrated by Stephanie Thatcher Oratia Books; RRP: $25.99 hardback This fun book follows the success of There’s a Tui in our Teapot, with both books being part of a bilingual nature story series that introduces nature and creatures to children in a fun and relatable setting. Weta, alongside a variety of critters, including a beetle, centipede, stick insect and a huhu come to school for Show and Tell, and after scaring the teacher and creating chaos the creatures flee. There’s a weta on my sweater! He’s climbing up my sleeve… A humungous weta! An awesome weta! He doesn’t want to leave. He wētā kei runga i tōku paraka! Kei te ngōki whakarunga… He wētā kaitā! He wētā hira! Kore mō te haere. The bilingual text offers both English and te reo Māori readers options and will also support those learning and introducing te reo Māori to their classroom. At the back of the book there is an informative spread with facts on the insects found within the book and the many wētā that can be found here in Aotearoa. The catchy rhymes and rhythms alongside the vivid illustrations will delight tamariki from 3+. December 2020 { 39 }