One of the most magical things I remember about my kids being small is curling up with them and a book before bedtime. There was a stage with both of them when they were really small when they had a complete obsession with animals, and rather than reading story books to them we instead used to have a series of old books that were more identification books for animals. There were full of pictures and we just used to spend ages going through the pages, pointing at everything, identifying what it was and talking about the similarities and differences between it and other animals on the same pages. For those where I knew we could often both be found laughing as we made strange animal noises together, pretending to be whatever we’d just been pointing at.
Hello Hello is basically the book that I wish we’d had at this stage. It starts off simply with two cats to say hello to. One black and one white. Page by page more and more animals and birds are introduced. The text is simple, just focussing one one physical attribute or characteristic, but the book provides so many prompts to be able to talk to your little one as you go through the pages.
Brendan Wenzel’s illustrations are stunningly beautiful and make Hello Hello into one of those absolutely gorgeous children’s books that I feel my kids are so lucky to have.
There’s an added few pages at the back that I feel make Hello Hello particularly special from an educational point of view. There is a comprehensive list of all the animals featured in the book, in order of appearance, with a silhouette-style picture of them all and it tells you which the conservation status of all of them all (according to The International Union for Conservation of Nature). It’s a lovey touch, and so valuable if you have a little one who demands to know what everything is when you find yourself struggling in a sleep deprived state.
Hello Hello is a beautiful book for any young child who loves animals and wildlife, and it’s the perfect book to snuggle up and share with them.
Hello Hello, illustrated by Brendan Wenzel, ISBN: 9781452150147 Price: £12.99 Available to buy online here
Disclaimer: We were sent a copy of Hello Hello for the purposes of this review. All opinions remain my own. This post contains affiliate links.
