A Desert Friend

Description

An exciting rhyming, pop-up adventure with a little desert friend.In the quiet of the desert, a little fennec fox prowls the dunes in search of a friend... But can he find anyone who wants to play? With rhyming text and eye- catching animal pop-ups on each page, Essi Kimpimaki's screen-printed illustrations make this an exciting visual adventure for all ages.

Essi Kimpimaki is an illustrator and printmaker originally from the land of thousands of lakes, Finland. She is currently based in Glasgow, where she studied Illustration at the Glasgow School of Art.Eryl Nash is a writer, editor and all-round enthusiast for children's books. Having once worked as an archaeologist, she now enjoys creating fun non-fiction science and novelty books. Her previous pop-up titles include Who's Who in the Woods? and Who's Who in the Water?.

The tagline for this book is 'A rhyming, pop-up adventure!' Which caught my attention straight away. This book allows you to discover a host of desert animals as the little fennec fox wonders through the landscape looking for a friend to play with. Written in the first person, it allows you to feel part of the story and the constant use of questions draws you in further. The illustrations are wonderful and the pop up pages will entertain and surprise all readers. New animals are introduced and as the book begins to end, it seems like our little fox friend will be alone. This sets up for a lovely ending with a final pop up page. The rhyming in this book is simple and easy to follow, with children able to attempt to guess what is coming next. -- Kyle Matravers * Reading Zone * There are so many pop-up picture books around but this one is a little different Its desert setting introducessome unusual landscapes and brings together a lovely collection of animals, some of which children may not have come across before. The hot sun, sweeping sand dunes, distant mountains, sparse low-lying trees and brightly coloured night sky offer a fascinating view of desert life, and every 3-D animal leaping from the page is beautifully constructed and shown in wonderfully realistic detail. The book offers lots of opportunities to compare animal sounds and talk about loneliness and friendship. While the paper inside is quite thick, teaching children how to show care in handling is very important as the popup parts can be so easily damaged. -- Vivien Hampshire * Practical Pre-School *