Angus and Isobel, aged 4 

Time for Dinner by June Morley – review

Angus, Isobel and Ella:'Both Isobel and Ella enjoyed the animal illustrations, in particular the spider on the cover with his eight eyes matching eight legs'
  
  


We're in Gruffalo territory in the world of Time For Dinner, written by June Morley with illustrations by Marina Le Ray. It's a jungle out there, and every animal has to watch out and stay one step ahead of becoming somebody's dinner. We climb up the food chain, from fly to spider to bird to cat to dog. And when the cat meets the dog, we tumble down it again enabling Fly to sup on the bone Shaggy Dog has left in pursuit of Fluffy Cat.

This was fun to read aloud, with simple rhymes and plenty of opportunity for adults to try out their repertoire of animal noises. Both Isobel and her little sister, Ella, aged 2, enjoyed the animal illustrations, in particular the spider on the cover with his eight eyes matching eight legs. Much pleasure was gained from counting the eyes whenever Spider made an appearance, with the total number depending very much on the age of the counter.

The story was structured well, but could have benefited from Fluffy Cat and Shaggy Dog being as colourfully individualised as Spider. And Isobel had never seen a blue bird before, although his straw nest did look nice and cosy, so she could understand why Spider wanted to rest in it. Overall, I felt Time For Dinner was more appropriate for a two-year-old than a four-year-old, though any animal loving pre-schooler would enjoy it.

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