Having spent several nights away from home over the past few months, we had got stuck in a bit of a bedtime story rut (there are only so many books you can pack in your suitcase) - it was nice to get home to a few new story books from Macmillan to inject a bit of fun back into bedtime.
Flying Lemurs by Zehra Hicks is definitely fun - lemurs by definition are fun in my eyes! This is a picture book featuring a little lemur who is part of a family of amazing jumpers - from Dad who can jump on a trampoline, to Granny who can jump out of a cannon...everyone knows that lemurs can jump. Except of course this tiny lemur who is just a little bit scared of jumping.
We enjoyed the first-person explanation from the little lemur of his worries about jumping - it struck a chord with both of my girls who often struggle a bit with nerves when they're asked to perform. Flying Lemurs has a gentle message in it about practicing things about which you are a little nervous but I think there is also a strong message about exploring your own strengths - if you don't think you're very good at jumping, then how about looking at what you really are good?
Each page features lots of fun lemur sketches and the illustrations are enhanced with pictures of different fabrics and textures that really bring the images to life; did you ever expect to see a lemur in a frilly skirt made from tassels?
Lara and Holly both love lemurs so they enjoyed this book; I think they both understood the message in the story and were impressed with the little lemur. I found the story enjoyable to read to them - I liked the first person aspect because it really highlights the main character but there is one page with speech from other family members which took me by surprise!
Flying Lemurs is written and illustrated by Zehra Hicks and is available in paperback and hardback.
