I was sent these books to review with my almost 4 year old son. All opinions are my own, created by myself and not subject to third party approval.
Now we’ve got the boring bit out the way, let’s skip straight to these two wonderful books. They arrived at the perfect time as we’d pretty much exhausted our book stash during lock down. Written by Tee Dobinson and illustrated by Steve Cox we’ve enjoyed both The Tower Bridge Cat and the latest release The Tower Bridge Cat and the Baby Whale.
The Tower Bridge Cat
This first in the series and was the 2019 winner of The Best Children’s Publication – A.C.E. Product Awards is a pretty impressive start. Aimed at 5+ for children reading, it was actually a really great book to read to my almost 4 year old. We always tuck up in bed after bath time to read a bedtime story as well snuggling on the sofa for a quiet time story.
The captivating story centres around the Bella, the Tower Bridge cat. Including all the best of iconic London with the Tower Bridge, a London red bus and of course the queen, you follow Bella on her adventure to save the day. The tale was inspired by the true story of a London bus jumping over the Bridge in 1952 but I won’t give away anymore and spoil the story.
The illustrations fill the whole of each page and are wonderfully colourful with lots of detail and facial expressions. We spotted something different each time we’ve read the book.
The Tower Bridge Cat and the Baby Whale
We fell in love with Bella the cat in the first book and the sequel, The Tower Bridge Cat and the Baby Whale doesn’t disappoint. In fact I think we like it just a little bit more with the baby whale and adventurous pilot. A race to the rescue theme also runs through this book with brightly coloured illustrations.
Both books get a big thumbs up in my house. My son loved them and just as important, I enjoyed reading them with him. They’re staying right within easy reach for bedtime and when the pandemic is over, I’m looking forward to a London family trip to see the sights including Tower Bridge.
