Oh Dear, Look What I Got!

A child sets off to the shop for a carrot and comes home with a parrot. Every trip goes the same comic way: a simple errand, a mix-up that rhymes, and an animal nobody asked for. Each time comes the refrain, Oh dear, look what I got, and the firm reply that no, nobody wants that. Children will be shouting it out by the second page and guessing the next rhyme before you turn over.

Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, the pair behind We're Going on a Bear Hunt, are together again, and the book has been named a winner at the British Book Awards. Rosen's bouncing text begs to be read aloud, Oxenbury's pictures are full of warmth, and there is a final twist before a joyful ending. A lovely one for small children who like to join in, and for the grown-ups reading it for the fiftieth time.