Nuddy Ned by Kes Gray and Garry Parsons

Bloomsbury, 2013. ISBN 978 1 4088 3659 0
(Age: 5+) Picture book. Nudity. Humour. When Ned has a bath he is overcome with the steam and decides that he will not get dressed but run about in the nude. His parents chase him through the pages of this highly entertaining book, imploring him to get some clothes on. He runs through the garden, along the street, startling those waiting for their bus, into the park, then the precinct, the pizza shop, the bus and finally the field. By the time he reaches the field both his parents are covered with mud and so decide that they too do not need clothes either.
Told in verse, the story is simply fun. Lift up flaps reveal pieces of Ned's anatomy covered by things unexpected, and the fun of his movements will make kids laugh along with the rhymes.
For a great deal of fun, for classes wanting an introduction to the theme of bodies and clothes, for parents wanting a fun story about bodies, this book is a useful addition to the school or home bookshelf. The illustrations add to the humour in the book with readers recognising things in their own homes and streets with laughter and glee.
Fran Knight