Meekoo and the Muddy Farm

When shopping for a book for babies or toddlers, there are a few things a parent always considers; are the pages hardy enough to withstand bending, learning to turn, being sucked on? Does the book make noises? Is the story engaging enough for you to interact with your child as you read? Are the illustrations bright and colourful? Meekoo and the Muddy Farm achieves all of these things and is therefore a huge success with all of whom I have shared this picture book.

The story tells of a very cute little Bear who is wearing a shiny new pair of yellow wellies and is going to visit a farm. Meekoo explores the farm with his Daddy (Big Bear) and we meet lots of different animals that one might expect on a farm. As you turn each page, we are also able to engage with a range of sound effects as each page gives you a sound effect of things you might expect from a visit to a farm – tractor, lambs, cows and Meekoo falling into a muddy puddle. This gives you plenty of opportunities to interact with your child – 'Look a cow. What noise does a cow make?' Before pressing the button.

Children will absolutely delight in finding the buttons (they are well integrated and not obvious) on each page, to find what noise the page will bring. The big, bright, colourful illustrations make this a lovely book to read with very small children as they can immerse themselves in the farmyard pictures.

Each page is detailed, so in an Early Years' environment, you could extend your reading to counting how many cows there are or ask them to identify all the different types of animals on the farm. My 6-month-old, loves studying the pictures and becomes very excited when I press the buttons for him. Farmyard books are always a huge hit with small children as you can really interact when reading with your child and even end your reading with a popular farmyard song.

This is a lovely first picture book that you can return to again and again.

Picture Book / Reviewed by Joanna Hewish 

Suggested Reading Age 0+