What the fluffy bunny said to the lazy llama by P. Crumble and Chris Saunders

Koala Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781743832486. 24pp.
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Fluffy Bunny is a great organiser and is determined that the animals will all practise for the sports carnival that is on next week. He approaches each animal in turn, giving them a sport: the lazy llama gets gymnastics; the zebra is signed up for skateboarding while the snake is up for kayaking. The mouse is signed up for weightlifting, the turtle for trampolining, the hippo for high jump and the lion for ice skating.
Of course as the story is read aloud, readers will immediately shout out that the animal chosen for the sport is not the best one. How could a tiny mouse lift a really heavy weight? And the hippo is far too big and heavy to leap over the high jump. What is Fluffy Bunny thinking? The narrative gives young children the opportunity think about the skills that each animal might bring to sports day and what each could do best, while enjoying a laugh at the wonderful pictures that accompany each animal. These are done in watercolour and kids will love the expressions on the faces of each animal, climaxing in a wonderful double page where each animals does its best to participate in the sport that Fluffy Bunny has chosen. And those of us who don't like sports will empathise with the lazy llama who does lots of stretching after a nap. (Note: the refrain "You'll need to practice" has the verb 'practise' written in the American spelling version.)
Pat Pledger