The Gobbling Tree - Written by Mark Carthew & Illustrated by Susy Boyer

Many children who love to play outdoors have had their ball or some other toy stuck in a tree. In The Gobbling Tree, Mark Carthew tells us about a tree that won't give them back!

Source: http://www.newfrontier.com.au/

Zac is out playing cricket one day and his ball gets stuck in a tree. Soon, all his friends come to help Zac by using their own belongings to get his ball back. However, the tree gobbles all their stuff up and soon all of them have something of theirs stuck in the tree - even his friend Simon climbs up into the tree and gets stuck! Fortunately, everything eventually gets blown down by the wind. We see that Zac has not learnt his lesson, though. At the end of the book, Zac is out playing cricket again and once again, his red ball has found its way into the tree.

This book is full of rhyme and rhythm which helps make reading aloud to children fun. The use of sound effect words and exclamations also help to add to the excitement of the story. This story also fosters imagination and a sense of adventure. Mark Carthew personifies a tree and takes a regular, everyday occurrence and turns it into a fun-filled story.

Susy Boyer's use of bright vivid colours helps to further capture the attention of children. Her illustrations compliments the narrative well and helps in storytelling. By giving the tree a huge smiley face, young readers are further encouraged to imagine the tree to be a greedy and mischievous creature who gobbles up anything that comes its way. Zac and the other characters also have rather exaggerated expressions and this can help children to relate to the characters' emotions and empathise with them.

This book's catchy rhyming narrative coupled with its bright and cheery illustrations makes it an excellent book to read to a small group of young children. Parents or teachers can easily turn it into a fun and interactive storytelling experience.

Watch Jimmy Giggle reading the book here!