The Teeny Weeny Genie

Yet another captivating tale from Donaldson, with a magical genie in a teapot and a farmyard full of noisy fun. Children just love chanting the rhyming title over and over, from a whisper to a SHOUT. Old Macdonald had a farm… a farmhouse, a cupboard…. and a teapot. And in that teapot lived a teeny weeny blue genie. The farmer is asked by the genie if he would like a wish granted. The genie puffs himself up, saying, ‘ABC and XYZ, gobbledegook and garlic bread.’ And the wished-for bright red tractor appears! The wishes continue, each with a charmingly hypnotic rhyme from the genie. ‘ABC and XYZ, cauliflower cheese and chocolate spread;’ ‘ABC and XYZ, gooseberry green and raspberry red!’ All enormous fun, as the characters and wishes from the original traditional rhyme about Old Macdonald cover the pages. Each new wish creates a new scenario, and oh what a noise is made by each and every character…. We watch as we see the blue genie getting smaller and smaller, finding the incredible noises just too much. When a wished-for mouse wants to become Supermouse, the cat then wishes to be Supercat, and each of the new characters wishes to be their superhero version. Chaos! SO noisy, as mice, cat, dog, Mr and Mrs Macdonald – and baby – all whizz through the air, banging and crashing into each other. Poor genie cannot stand the noise any longer and wishes they’d all go away. He forgets that he is only allowed to grant wishes for other people. How the tale is brought to an end is very satisfying. ‘ABC and XYZ, broccoli broth and breakfast in bed!’ shouts the GREEN genie, and the two jump into the teapot which sails away. Landing on a beautiful, deserted beach, the only sound being the gentle lapping of waves, the two genies climb deep inside the teapot and fall asleep. ‘So……,’ says Julia, ‘Please don’t disturb them if ever you find that teapot on a beach. Think very hard to make just one wish. What will that wish be?’

In this enchanting tale of fun and frolics, as readers we are grateful for the peacefully quiet conclusion! Another big hit for Julia, and well supported again by Anna Currey. There is much movement in her brightly coloured, humorous illustrations. As readers we have high expectations of each new title from Julia. Expectations are realized, for here it is, a book of orchestrated exuberance!