"Each Peach Pear Plum. I spy Tom Thumb!" In this engaging, interactive book for the very young, familiar nursery-rhyme characters such as Mother Hubbard and Baby Bunting sneak their way into the gentle drawings. Even young children who might not know all the fairy-tale stars can find them lurking in the cupboard, on the stairs or deep in the woods. In the happy finale, the whole cast meets up for plum pie in the sun, where the little one on your lap will gleefully find everyone.

Play the game of hide-and-seek with Cinderella, the Three Bears, Jack and Jill, in this cunningly devised rhyming picture book. 'Tom Thumb in the cupboard/ I spy Mother Hubbard...' Can you see her in the picture? (0 - 3 yrs) (Kirkus UK)

The Ahlberg penchant for playing with nursery characters (Jeremiah in the Dark Woods, 1978) has issue this time in a more traditional, pastoral-pretty nursery book. "Each Peach Pear Plum/ I spy Tom Thumb," reads the first couplet (of what was originally a counting-out rhyme), while opposite Tom sits half-hidden in a tree; "Tom Thumb in the cupboard/ I spy Mother Hubbard" shows him in plain sight and - look sharp! - only her posterior, looming in the picture's corner. And so it goes, with a new character named - and cleverly half-concealed - at each of the openings. Youngsters will enjoy spying them out and appreciate their comical faces until at the finale - "Plum Pie in the sun/ I spy. . . EVERYONE!" - they all spring out from concealment and sit down to a picnic feast. Once you've seen it, true, there are no surprises but, for the very young, there's another sort of satisfaction from knowing what's coming next. (Kirkus Reviews)

A poem on each spread gives the clue as to what is hiding in the picture opposite. Many well-known nursery characters are included so that young children can follow the rhymes and enjoy this board book.

A poem on each spread gives the clue as to what is hiding in the picture opposite. Many well-known nursery characters are included so that young children can follow the rhymes and enjoy this board book.

2008-08-03 Lovely and gentle

Such a lovely board book and in my opinion it's perfect for babies and toddlers of any age really.
It's especially good for reading before a daytime nap (or any winding down time) as the beautiful rhymes and gentle illustrations can be quite soothing.
My 2 year old daughter loves it and I highly recommend it.
Buy it and you'll soon see...it will come out from the bookshelf time and time again.