My First Nursery Stories

Tony Ross’s wonderfully witty and distinctive style, full of zest and quirky detail, makes this an irresistible title. His telling of the stories keeps to the well-known format of familiar phrases and repetitive strains, with just a few welcome variations. In ‘The Gingerbread Man’, for instance, the woman makes a gingerbread man for her son and asks him to watch the oven while she picks some apples. While being chased by all and sundry, the Gingerbread Man adds to his taunt: ‘I’ve outrun a man and his wife, and a little boy and I’ll outrun you too-o-o!’ This makes a change from the well-worn ‘Run, run, as fast as you can. You can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man!’ It’s his loud boasting that does for him in the end, because the sly fox (rather than helping him across a river as in the more familiar version) tricks him into coming too close by pretending he can’t hear this very boast. Perfect first nursery storybook.