Stomp School

Stomp School is the daycare for raucous kids (dinosaurs in this case) who are ready to start stomping. Rikki is the main character in this book written by Jeff Norton. Rikki is described as being sensitive, intrepid and wide eyed - all of which are perfectly displayed throughout the book. Whilst reading this, it is easy to identify the different personalities of the dinosaurs and relate them to your own children (as both a parent and as a teacher). The opening page of the book introduces each of the dinosaurs and gives a brief character description, something which would be easy to share within an English lesson in school and could be used as a good example of text type. This book would be perfect for parents of children about to begin preschool or teachers in preschool settings as it deals with the emotions and worries the children themselves may be experiencing. It then shows how they can be overcome and how leaving home for the day can actually be fun! The book itself is beautifully laid out with bright and colourful illustrations. I enjoyed how the pages also had interactive flaps and peek a boo holes to add to the reading experience, each flap giving an opportunity to add questioning to the reading. Another element to the book which I felt worked well was the use of the dad figure as the primary career to Rikki. This is only a small thing but I can see it being very positive to many children. This book was a lovely read and I will be recommending it to my preschool setting at work. Picture book / Ages 3+ / Reviewed by Kyle Matravers, teacher.

Suggested Reading Age 3+

Stomp School is the daycare for the 'World's most famous city-stomping monsters'. The story follows Rikki (a Kaiju) as he goes to stomp school for the first time. There he meets other little monsters with the same passions as him - building big cities and then stomping on them! This is a charming story that younger children will find amusing. The images are engaging and some of the pages fold out to show the scale of Rikki's buildings. There's a lovely learning point in it about drawing a picture of a model you've made, so that you can share that image with others, rather than having to keep the model. Taking their model apart is something that can be a bit tricky for younger children, so this story is a nice way of discussing that with them. I'd also use this story as part of a topic on dinosaurs or for talking to younger children about start school/nursery. This is a simple story that is easy to follow and will engage many younger children. Picture book / Ages 3+ / Reviewed by Lizi Coombs, teacher.

Suggested Reading Age 3+