‘Emergency’ Book Review

Emergency: An imaginative fest for those in love with rescue vehicles

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Author - Margaret Mayo

Illustrator - Alex Ayliffe

Publisher - Orchard Books

Target Ages - Toddlers, Preschoolers, Early school-aged kids

Rating - ✪✪✪✪✪ 

"Help is coming - it’s on its way!”
If your child is into emergency vehicles, this action-packed, noisy and brightly-illustrated book is the perfect gift for her. There are loads of emergency situations and rescue vehicles coming to help the stranded.

The are more than ten vehicles including a police car, an ambulance, a crane, a lifeboat and fire-fighting planes. So everything is covered with the top team of these super vehicles out to rescue you on land, sea and air. The busy fire truck has “hoses sloshing, water swooshing” to put the fire out. The brave lifeboat sees “long ropes tossing, life belt dropping” when rescuing a boy stranded at sea. Mid-air, a mountain rescue operation is in full swing with the helicopter ‘hovering and whirring’ full throttle.

The book depicts exciting rescue scenes, fueling your child’s imagination and reassuring him that help will never be too far away. At one point, my toddler son was pointing at the the escaping burglars as if to direct the officers in their police car to where to catch them. In the flood scene, while the inflatable boats were out dealing with the crisis, he quickly pointed out to the dog stranded atop a little mud pile indicating how he should be rescued as well. That’s right; pets can’t be left out of rescuing!

The book makes rescue scenes come alive through its vivid visual descriptions and graphic language. “Bright lights flashing”, ambulance speeding “Whee-wow!”, crane “hooking, lifting, shifting”, snow plough “pushing, shoving, tossing, tunneling” and others will keep your kid hooked onto the book till it ends.

The author has worked well with the text as well. Repetitive sounds make for a pleasant reading and have been interestingly placed around the page. Along with a bright, bold and dramatic artwork, it makes for a fixating read. It is not hard to see how the team of Margaret Mayo and Alex Ayliffe have produced another best-selling gem. It is one of their books from the ‘awesome engines’ range.

Key highlights and Rating

The book is a complete package of action-packed storytelling, graphic and eye-catching illustrations, and interesting noises that will be read to the end. It will leave your toddler child excited and your older child, contended and armed with the knowledge of their favourite machines. It will be much more enjoyed by preschoolers with a passion for emergency vehicles.

If you want to make it one vehicle-book this Christmas, make it this one. It will make their imagination go “swoop, swoop, swooping” and reassure them that no matter what, ‘help is on its way’.

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Solomon Crocodile

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‘Solomon Crocodile’ Book Review

Solomon Crocodile - Trouble and mischief in the swampy paradise

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Author and Illustrator - Catherine Rayner
Target Ages - Toddlers and preschoolers
Rating - ✪✪✪✪✪

“Everyone is relaxing in the morning sun until....”

There is a sudden commotion in the quiet swamps as the mischievous Solomon sets out to find a friend to play with. Chaos sets in as the troublesome crocodile chases off the frogs, dragonflies and storks in his quest for play. But the riotous reptile is not welcome by anyone, dismissed as a “pest”, a “nuisance” and a “pain”.

But cheeky Solomon is unfettered and decides to chase the biggest hippo to have his “best fun yet”. An unexpected roar from the rather unassuming hippo spells the end of the ruckus. He begins to feel sad and friendless. But will he really be lonely or soon be joined in by someone seeking more fun and ruckus? Perhaps latter as he is crept up upon by another riotous crocodile.

The story ends on a positive note suggesting that even the mischievous crocodile has found a friend in the end and can finally have a playtime more like him. Sometimes older toddlers and preschoolers may feel lonely in their play. This story has a cheerful end suggesting you will find your friend, with the same idea of a fun playtime as yours.
The story is lively and fuels curiosity. Catherine Rayner’s artwork is bright and colourful. Her spray-painted illustrations are impactful and fit perfectly on the crocodile. Catherine has followed the story in another book titled ‘Solomon and Mortimer’.


My toddler enjoyed the story and wanted to read more. It is one of our favourites and we have read it many times now. My son loves ‘Chochiles’ (crocodiles) and goes ‘snap’ very time the story ends. He used to make a sad face whenever Solomon was dejected. He would point at the sharp zigzag crocodile teeth and its large eyes. He has roared with the hippo and jumped with the frogs. It can get quite animated and theatrical with an excited toddler.

Key highlights and Rating:

This beautifully illustrated story of a rambunctious crocodile in search for a playmate will be a good read for little kids, especially the ones who love crocodiles. Its vibrant artwork is distinctive and eye-catching and storytelling, simple and straightforward. This book is a treasure and will live in our collection for some more years.

In nutshell, a 5-star book for some excitement and animated fun for your reading time.

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