A little boy called George sets off to find the Yeti armed with only a backpack, a hat, map, and a tin of spaghetti. Along the way he comes across several monsters all offering advice on what the monster might want to eat. As the Yeti’s menu grows, George heaves his hoard further up a steep mountain. When he finally finds the Yeti, all George’s other gifts are cast aside as the Yeti only likes spaghetti!
Despite all our efforts, reading has been a bit hit and miss with Dexie recently. When he was younger, he used to love curling up with Daddy on the sofa and listening to him read. I’ve mentioned before that Craig is a champion story-teller - he’s really animated, and great at ad libs and making Dex giggle. Recently however, Dexter has got very ‘grabby’ when you’re reading to him and will frequently tear the pages in his excitement. Reading to him at bedtime is also one big game and he’ll jump around in his cot and get frustrated that he can’t help daddy turn the pages.
We’re undeterred though. We’re hopeful that one day he’ll find it comforting and it will become a staple part of his bedtime routine. I’ve written extensively about the educational benefits so we’re way too stubborn to give up. I received one of those “What you can expect from your son at 16 months” emails today and nearly fell off my chair. They said that saying up to 15 words, walking backwards, and singing along to nursery rhymes is NORMAL. Given Dex thinks everything is “Dada” (literally, everything) it made me more than determined than ever to spend quiet reading time with him to help him pick up new words.
Right now, the name of the game is fun. If he’s not ready to lay still and listen to a bedtime story in bed, we’ll do it earlier and let him help us turn the pages. Spaghetti with the Yeti is just the sort of fun reading material we were after. The illustrations are second to none in my opinion - we’ve certainly reviewed nothing on a par with them. The colours, the shading, the added interest… Lee Wildish has thought of everything. They also fill the entire page which really helps hold Dexie’s attention.
In terms of the story, writing and characterisation, most of the book is presented in rhyming couplets making it fun for mum and dad to read. Listening to Craig read the story aloud - he used lots of different voices for each of the monsters and over-stressed every onomatopoeic word (there are dozens in this book) to get Dexter giggling.
It’s one of those stories I can imagine that you can sit and have a discussion with your (older) child about. Dexter is too little to hold a conversation right now, but I can see how you could conjure up your own monsters and what they might like to eat.
This is the first in a series of books and Marshmallows for Martians is next on the list for 2014 - as we’re so taken with Lee Wildish’s amazing illustrations, we’ll certainly be buying this for Dex.
Spaghetti with the Yeti is available at all major retailers including Amazon and Waterstones, or direct from the publishing house priced at £6.99. To discover more books from Egmont Publishing you can like them on Facebook and follow on Twitter.
DISCLAIMER: We were sent a review copy of this book but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
