Turning the page reveals a wider view of each scene of bustling life during WW2 in England, in a cluttered but cozy house strewn with toys and laundry. The many British English words and detailed illustrations of, say, coal ovens and double-decker buses provide plenty of opportunities to develop vocabulary and learn about a way of life that may be unfamiliar to readers. Baby is too impatient to sit through the full verse and the pages get turned rather quickly, so I edit out the gender-restrictive parts. Absolutely love the details, which are so true to life (the baby watches the tassels on his Grandma's shawl waving in the breeze). Furthermore, KS1 children may also appreciate the rhyming nature of the book and may want to create their own one during a literacy lesson, which focuses on their lives.

You couldn't ask for a more colourful snapshot of daily life in the past with which to compare homes and lives today.This book contains a hole in the middle of the page so the audience can only see a small part of what the boy is seeing until we turn the page. Throughout the day and the story, the baby is watching what is going on around him, for example his dad sleeping, mum cooking, grandma putting out clothes and so on. Panda soft toy sitting at dining chair, teacup on the floor, socks on mantelpiece, rubber ducky underneath a chair in bedroom. This book is an enjoyable read for children in Foundation Stage but once the book is looked at in more details there are plenty of opportunities for book talk, regardless of age, which add to the story and meaning. By contrast, Judith Sharman, in Books for Keeps, was pleased to have "such a good book in a more durable format".

Daddy carrying bucketful of coal, mummy pouring hot porridge in a bowl, grandma pegging washing on the clothes-line, the sisters skipping in the yard outside.While the Booklist review on the back of this book recommends it as a first book for babies, it is interesting enough on different levels that it can grow with your child until he or she is an early reader. Allan Ahlberg has published over 100 children's books and with his late wife Janet, created many award-winning children's picture books. The book has a very clever ‘peep hole’ cut out on each page, where he audience can only see a small part of the setting.

One child even managed to guess that the picture of Winston Churchill hanging on the wall was 'an important man from the passed' which was very impressive and enabled us to talk about how we can find out about the past. Also, the text and the images follow traditional gender norms, which is to be expected since this is a book written in the 1980s. Some reviewers, such as the staff of Horn Book, said the board book format diminished the appeal of the illustrations. This hidden secondary story speaks to the tenacity of family love and the will to retain a semblance of normalcy for a young baby in spite of the situation. Janet Ahlberg, along with Allan Ahlberg, created some of the world's most popular picture books, including Each Peach Pear Plum and The Jolly Christmas Postman, both winners of Greenaway Medals, and The Baby's Catalogue, inspired by their daughter Jessica.

Burglar Bill; Cops and Robbers; The Baby's Catalogue; The One and Only Two Heads; Son of a Gun; The Little Worm Book; Two Wheels Two Heads; Funny Bones; A Pair of Sinners; Happy Families; Peepo! Web icon An illustration of a computer application window Wayback Machine Texts icon An illustration of an open book. A series of holes peeping through to the next page leads the child on to the next stage in the day, giving a hint of what is to come. The book is written in gentle rhyme which we all know by heart and Janet Ahlberg's illustrations are stunningly detailed, ans is perfect for bed times.