Toppsta - Childrens Books – Reviews

This book is absolutely hilarious, we saw it on CBeebies Bedtime story a few weeks ago and my 6 year old has watched it daily since then. We got the book out of the library (and subsequently found a copy in a charity shop) and have enjoyed reading it just as much. My 6 year old likes to read it in the same style as the CBeebies presenter with lots of shouting. This would be great from age 2 or 3 as it goes through a bad for a little girl, nothing is right - 'ballet is TOO ITCHY!' and she just shouts all day long. If you have a toddler, or even if your child is past the toddler stage you will recognise the big feelings Bella has.

We're already fans of this series of books and hadn't realised that there was one about friends out until I saw it on the library catalogue. As with all the other Great Big Books it's an inclusive, kind and fun read, with lots of information about what friends are, who can be a friend, how to be a friend, falling out with friends, being a good friend. It acknowledges that not everyone wants to have friends, or maybe some people prefer non-human friends. A really good book to help children who are struggling with social skills, without being preachy or worthy. Lots of fun illustrations with details to look out for.

My 6 year old started reading this book as soon as it arrived (although I did most of the reading at bedtime) and was in fits of giggles within minutes. Andy has a toothache and the next book is due very soon, but he and Terry have discovered a special pencil called the Joke Writer 2000, it sounds like it will solve all their problems! But first they need to find one, and then they need to find the money to pay for it. My 6 year old says his favourite moment was when Terry snorts milk out of his nose, and he keeps pretending to be a baby worm snatcher. There are loads of fun details and we loved reading about the different storeys. There is a joke on every spread, some my 6 year old found funny but others we had to explain to him (and some I didn't get at all!). A great fun addition to this hilarious series.