Tiny Miss Dott and her Dotty Umbrella by Michelle Osment

Meet Miss Dott the awesome charity store volunteer, who incidently, has a beautiful dotty green coat with mismatched buttons and a gorgeous green bag and tights. While at her volunteer job, her beautiful yellow dotty umbrella, which she leaves just outside the front door, has a little adventure all of its own. At hometime, Miss Dotty collects her umbrella from just outside the store where she had left it a few hours earlier. The sun has come out, it is a beautiful day and Miss Dotty is delighted that she didn't need her umbrella after all.

A delightful story, beautiful illustrations, bright and bold and I bet you can feel the raindrops as they fall. This is a story that bounces along with a lovely rhythm. A great book to read aloud and the kids are going to get the hang of those read out loud words really quickly. I don't know why it took me so long to notice it. Themes in the book surrounding kindness, sharing, friendship and appreciation. Miss Dott is one very cool lady and she is not afraid to give it a whirl "with a twist and a twirl" to an old gramophone on occasion.

This book was also the recipient of the Storylines Joy Cowley award in 2008. Other Michelle Osment books include the character Percy the Pukeko (a swamp bird). I like the one about crossing the road safely, a pukeko definitely needs to know how to do this (and perhaps a few children might as well). Beautifully illustrated, lovely to read aloud.

~Reviewed by Thyme

Better than fiction : true travel tales from great fiction writers - edited by Don George

There are times when it is the perfect time to read short stories, on the bus, coffee break time, how many excuses do we need. In this little treasure there are more than 30 stories to enjoy. Reading the first story by Kurt Anderson called 'Going South' had me totally engrossed. You can imagine the Summer of '72, an old school bus and a group of boys .. all the ingredients for an adventure. From there I went to 'Off the beaten track in Malawi' by Marina Lewycka. I look forward to reading anything written by this author and this travel tale was no exception. Looking for a place to stay off the beaten track, this is beautifully written, be taken in by the views, the sunlight and the warmth surrounding you.

Reviewed by ~ Thyme

Dinosaur vs. Santa by Bob Shea

Big, bright and ROAR (really loudly) that is. Read this out loud to your kids, your friends kids and to your workmates. Delightful story with colourful illustrations, Dinosaurs red and white stripey outfit with a hint of green is so very cool. Not too many words (perfect to read out loud). We are getting ready for that special visit from Santa. Has Dinosaur been good? Will Santa visit? Let’s wait and see.

All the excitement leading up to Christmas can all be a bit overwhelming for anyone, let alone a little red roaring dinosaur. Will there be a happy ending?  What is that sound? Could it be Santa? Enjoy the story and ROAR out really loud.

~Reviewed by Thyme

Monsieur Marceau by Leda Schubert, illustrated by Gerard Dubois

Marcel Marceau, one of those memorable characters like Charlie Chapman that we remember because of what they didn’t say. What is it that makes mime so appealing to us? This beautifully illustrated book will draw you in, you will learn something about Marcel Marceau’s earlier life and about the character Bip that was created back in 1947. How lucky we were to have had Monsieur Marceau in our world.

~ Reviewed by Thyme