Toby and the Ice Giants

Toby and the Ice Giants provides an excellent mix of a fictional story as well as interesting facts about animals. Toby the Bison travels on an adventure to explore the Ice Age Tundra and meets many of the giants that roamed during that time. As Toby comes across new and exciting animals, he discovers some which may provide potential friendships and some that may end in disaster! When he returns to his herd at the end of the story, he feels quite relieved to be back under their protection. Interesting illustrations accompany Toby's adventure, as well as detailed drawings to go alongside the factual information. The book focuses on nine different creatures, giving basic information including size, weight, diet and habitat, as well as explaining their behaviour. Many of the Ice Age animals are also compared to animals that are around today, which allows children to draw their own conclusions too. At the end of the book, there is a lovely drawing which shows the difference in height and width of all the creatures in the book. There are also extra illustrations at the end of the book to show some of the other amazing Ice Age animals. This book would be useful as part of a topic based around the Ice Age - it gives some excellent facts but keeps the reader interested with Toby's adventure! Picture book / Ages 5+ / Reviewed by Lucy Newton, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 5+

Toby, the little bison, explores the Ice-Age tundra, meeting some of the other creatures who inhabited the planet. This is an excellent way of presenting facts to young children. On one level, we have Toby, a young bison who thinks he is big enough to explore on his own and we follow his adventures as he learns the folly of his ways. Whilst this is happening, we learn so much about some of the 'giants' that inhabit his world. Each creature has a fact file, giving plenty of information including the Latin name, size and habitat. A little picture shows the creature's size when next to a human being , allowing children to get a real feel for just how huge some of the 'giants' were! At the end of the book, there a pictures of more creatures from the period that Toby didn't meet on his adventure, offering the opportunity for further research. There is also an author's note which clarifies some of the historical accuracies of the story and a glossary covering some of the terms used. A very useful and attractive book! Picture book / Ages 5+ / Reviewed by Sue Wilsher, teacher.

Suggested Reading Age 5+