Author: Sarah Creagh
Illustrator: Lachlan Creagh
ISBN: 978-0-7344-1765-7
RRP: $16.99
Publisher: Hachette Children’s Books
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
Over is Out is a fun and fabulous story by Queensland husband and wife team Sarah and Lachlan Creagh that is sure to keep your little ones entertained for hours.
This book has been languishing on my desk for way too long as I juggle commitments, family, book club and everything else that life throws at me. My book loving Master Four discovered it this morning and I think we have read it at least 10 times today.
Over is Out ticks all the boxes for a dinosaur loving little person. It is simple enough to have him reading to me after the second or third read through, not word perfect but he sure had the important bits. The illustrations are eye catching and vibrant, with fantastic dinosaurs that won’t fail to impress. The two are married together beautifully to tell a story that will help your little one get a grasp on prepositions.
I was thinking about this review as I washed dishes, I know… #mumlife. As I was writing the review in my head I actually came up with a great teaching moment for my darling Mr 4 because as much as he loved this story he struggled a little with the order of things.
Two friends are playing cricket in the backyard and one hits the ball over the fence into the neighbour’s yard and that means he’s out, and he has to go over the fence to retrieve the ball.
One friend stands at the fence offering encouragement while the batter searches for the ball in a backyard filled with neighbours sure to entertain every pre-schooler. He follows a path from the fence through the yard to the resting place of the ball; when he finds it he needs to race back, retracing his steps, until he gets back to his side of the fence.
My young man had a massive issue with the retracing of steps, he didn’t get that on the way back you saw things in the reverse order, so next time we read I’m going to enact it with our toy dinosaurs to illustrate how things need to go in the reverse. But when I think about it, it’s a little odd; we have a couple of other books with a similar premise and he hasn’t been concerned. Today he had to flick to the end and read back towards the resting place. I wonder if it is because Over is Out is less wordy than the others so he was more focused on the prepositions and the path through the yard.
I digress, Over is Out is fun and entertaining for a wide range of readers but for younger readers it is simple enough for them to catch on and start reading independently. We read it twice over breakfast and then Master 4 was totally entranced, going back to it time and again throughout the day.
Definitely a story I would recommend for little ones, I think I might even let him take it to kindy to share tomorrow.
Check it out, it has the stamp of approval by my young family.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!