Peter Bently, Sara Ogilvie (illus)
Simon and Schuster
Age 3-5
What are parents for? This book shows parents have lots of uses other than just telling children what to do, from hunting for lost toys to mending hurt knees. Meet the Parents is a lovely celebration of family life and what mums and dads do for their children. It will amuse children and chime with parents too. The rhyming text works well, the scenarios are very well observed and the detailed colourful illustrations add to the humour and interest.
Share the story
Read aloud
Before reading the story aloud, talk together about what is happening in the cover illustration and the title pages. What does your child notice? What do they think might happen in the book? Then read the story aloud pausing to talk if your child wants to.
Join in
When children have heard the story a few times they can finish off the sentences with repeated words and rhymes. The instructions on the first double page spread would be great fun for joining in; children will enjoy playing the part of the parent and giving you instructions.
Talk about the story
Talk about what you can both spot in the pictures, eg when mum is searching for toys in the garden.
Share favourite pages and talk about which page is the funniest or which pages are like your family.
Watch the story
The Storyteller From Oxford, England
Things to make and do
Dressing up
Create a dressing up box of adult or older child sized clothes and accessories for children to dress up in like the children on the cover of the book. Take photos of them in their dressing up outfits.
Act out the story
Children can act out parts of the story with themselves as parents and their toys (rather than any pets!) as children.
Make a comic strip
Children could draw pictures of some of the things their mum, dad or carer does for them in comic strip format. You could help children write captions. Children beginning to write could have a go themselves. This could be a nice thing to do for a Mother’s day or Father’s day card.
Find out more
Read more books by author Peter Bently here
Titles include:
The yoga ogre
A lark in the dark
Cats ahoy
The shark in the dark
Find out more about illustrator Sara Ogilvie here