Blue Balloons and Rabbit Ears by Hilda Offen

Review by The Mole

This is Offen's first collection of poems although she has had picture and story books published - many of which are still in print and have been award winners.

While this book is packed with very entertaining black and white illustrations (also by Hilda Offen) it's not at the cost of the poems so every page is jam packed but not in a daunting way for the young reader.

As a child one of the most important things a poem had to have for me was laughs, and many in this collection would suit such a child admirably. Others are more serious and try to prompt a bit of imaginative thinking:- Nasturtiums spreading rapidly like an invader - Kale standing tall like a forest to the young child - "Memories" of a past life.

The poems are collected into 4 themed groups of 8 or 9 and this makes the book just 62 packed pages long.

These poems stretch from poems for the very young through to about age 10 with something for everyone. My favourite? "Letter" - very funny.

Publisher - Troika Books
Genre - Children's illustrated poetry

Digging In The Dark by Hilda Offen

Sometimes Friends are needed
Review by The Mole

Josh's cousin, Malcolm, is dropped off unexpectedly by his parents who disappear without an explanation. Heavily into history and extremely unsociable, Malcolm then proceeds to dig holes everywhere until he declares that he has found a Roman villa. As Josh tries to help Malcolm be accepted by the children of the neighbourhood and Malcolm seems to work to not be accepted, we are witness to a great deal of funny moments but that doesn't change the fact that the story is mainly a light hearted adventure for early readers when Malcolm goes missing. The reason Malcolm has ended up at Josh's becomes apparent and is of great embarrassment to Malcolm. Izzie, Josh's sister, ensures the whole school knows about it and makes Malcolm's life a misery.

At only 112 pages this book will be a quick read for children looking for a light hearted adventure and with plenty of pictures throughout, this book is sure to be enjoyed by children 7+. It has plenty of examples of good behaviour from Josh and he would make an excellent role model as he shows friendship and loyalty to Malcolm. Malcolm however, doesn't appreciate Josh's kindness even when Josh manages to save the day! But Josh will have you laughing at his antics!

Publisher - Catnip Publishing
Genre - Children's 7+ fiction

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