Harper Collins ISBN 9780008306809 £12.99
The astonishing and ever popular Judith Kerr has just produced another charming, yet relevant book for 3-7-year-olds – in her nineties! With her trademark detailed pastel and pencil illustrations, she has created a gentle, whimsical tale which, for all her recent protestations on Radio 4, manages to point out the possible hazards faced by Mums on their mobile phones while out with their toddler. The ‘little one’ here, has all sorts of encounters, scrapes and near misses whilst in the park – all cleverly echoing the content of his mother’s phone conversation, while she remains blissfully unaware and uninvolved in much of the fun. The way text and illustrations work is delightfully amusing and somehow we never really fear for the child’s safety. There is much scope here for talking about the difference between literal and figurative meanings in the text with older children in KS1, the reason for the choice of title, as well as exploring why Mummy might feel she is ‘just hanging on’. There are hidden depths here.
Sue Barrett