So Much

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Helen Oxenbury was born in Ipswich and attended the Ipswich School of Art before moving to London to study at the Central School of Art and Design.Her career has spanned many fields, including design work in theatre, film and television. She started illustrating children’s books in 1964 and has published books across age groups, from classic board books for babies to collections of nursery rhymes for all ages. It is so repetitive that it begs audience intervention, and it is the perfect read at the end of a long, exhausting day. Especially for pupils that have a short attention span. It keeps the pupils wanting to join in. One of my favourite repetitious factors of the book, which I found very fun to read, was the door bell going, 'DING-DONG' and the kids absolutely loved shouting out, 'DING-DONG!'. They can also anticipate when this is going to happen. A Wonderful, enjoyable and engaging read for children. Trish Cooke’s book ‘So Much’ is about the events of a day for a mother and baby, who have lots of relatives come around to visit their home leading up to a surprise birthday party for daddy. With an untraditional story layout, the language structures of this book play on the use of rhyming words, onomatopoeia, repetitive phrases and Caribbean dialect related expressions and sentence structures. This story is mainly described from the viewpoint of the baby which helps to emphasise its main theme of family love. This is shown throughout the story as each relative arrives at the baby’s house sharing different types of affection with the baby.

In EYFS this is a good focus book to use in literacy as you can get the children to role-play each of the characters by acting out what each character does to the baby. Extended from this, it can be used as the basis for topic activities for the afternoon to do with celebrations. So the children could write party invitations or have a party small world. She has always like performing, and she and her sisters used to do shows for their friends and neighbours.

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This book is full of enjoyment, has an unpredictable ending and offers the opportunity for children to be actively involved in helping to tell the story and have fun whilst carrying out the actions. She first discovered how much fun writing could be when she started writing in her diary. She enjoyed exaggerating the truth! Her favourite place to write is in front of a beautiful landscape – on a verandah in the West Indies, or looking out on hills from her office window in Yorkshire. One by one, family members drop by on a mum and her tot – all wanting to squeeze, kiss and give undivided attention to the baby. When Dad finally homes home to a surprise birthday party, the house erupts in celebration and love. It's a night that the baby never wants to end...

Helen Oxenbury's characteristically warm, funny illustrations, paired with Trish Cooke's rhythmic, cumulative story capture the joy of being a baby in a large extended family - a baby who knows that he is absolutely, utterly adored. With a foreword and gorgeous golden foil on the cover and spine, this edition is one to share and treasure. About This Edition ISBN:Her favourite place to holiday is St Lucia. She loves the white sands, the blue sea, and the peace and tranquillity. There are so many positive things about this book that make it fantastic. For example, as I have said it opens children up to a different culture, as there is lots of Caribbean dialect used, so it obviously doesn't conform to the rubrics of Standard English, but it doesn't matter. It is very easy to read and understand, and has lots of humour embedded in it. The Library's buildings remain fully open but some services are limited, including access to collection items. We're Mum and baby are home alone when - DING DONG! - Auntie and then Uncle and Nannie and Gran-Gran and the cousins come to visit. And they all want to hug and kiss and squeeze and eat the baby right up ... because everybody loves the baby SO MUCH! A special 25th anniversary edition of a multiple award-winning story, So Much is a celebration of family life. So Much" By Trish Cooke is a wonderful, multi-award-winning picture book! I have just read this book to a class of thirty year one pupils and they absolutely adored it. This was my first time reading this book, and it was such a lovely, fun and engaging story about a family gathering, with a strong emphasis on the amount of love and care, everybody wants to show this little baby.

Her first pet was a green budgie called Joey. Her big brother, Joe, fed it one of her sister Mary’s johnny cakes, and the next day it was found dead at the foot of its perch. Trish cried for days. So Much by Trish Cooke, is a fantastic read for everyone, children from early years through to year 2 will greatly enjoy the illustrations and repetition within this book. The text is also brilliant– written in an easy, sing-song rhythm that is fun to say aloud. It's refreshing to see it capture the cadence of an Afro-Caribbean family, with Trish Cooke writing the language as it would be spoken. It's a brilliant way for all parents and carers to talk about different cultures with children. is reviewed between 08.30 to 16.30 Monday to Friday. We're experiencing a high volume of enquiries so it may take us Trish Cooke has worked as a TV presenter, has written stage plays and has had numerous acting roles in the theatre and on screen. She is also the author of several picture books including Full, Full, Full of Love. She lives in Bradford.All upcoming public events are going ahead as planned and you can find more information on our events blog What I really like about this book is foremost the illustrations. They are bright and vivid to capture the audience’s attention but also reflect the warmth of the story through the colours used to create them. The text is written in a singsong rhythm, which encourages children to participate when listening to the book. For the same purpose the text is repetitive ‘Ding Dong’ as this allows children to join in but it also keeps those with a short attention span actively engaged. Trish Cooke was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Her parents are from Dominica in the West Indies, so she’s “a Yorkshire lass who can speak Dominican patois”. She comes from a large family, with six sisters, three brothers, eight nephews, six nieces, three great-nieces and one great-nephew, all of whom provide her with the inspiration for her picture books: “there’s always some conversation or other going on somewhere that I can eavesdrop on – language is very important to me. I love music and rhythms and when people talk, it is as if sometimes they are actually singing. I remember Sunday mornings, the smell of saltfish and johnny cakes wafting up the stairs, Mum singing and Dad telling stories that were always ‘true’.”

I came across this book while in a Reception class this week, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is perfect for the EYFS setting. Both the children and I loved the images and the language used in this story. It is perfect for our current theme this half term of homes, families and celebrations. The author uses Caribbean English and I think this is really effective if expressed well when being read to the children. It is a perfect story for carpet time as it captures their attention and they can all join in with the responses. The images are very vivid and the colours used are warm and exciting. You could use these images to predict who was going to be the next person to ring the doorbell. Trish attended Leeds Polytechnic and Ilkley College in 1980, where she gained a degree in performing arts. After moving to London, Trish began to write for television, contributing to the BBC’s children’s programme Playdays, which she presented for nine years. More recently, she has written scripts for the popular Tweenies show. She has written plays and scripts for the theatre, radio and television, including Eastenders. In 2001/2002 she was a BBC Writer in Residence. Trish now lives in Bradford with her partner and their two children. I also love the unpredictable ending that the relatives are not just there to see the baby; they are also there for a surprise birthday party for the Daddy. Through all the different things the family members want to do to the baby and them getting together for a birthday, there is a strong emphasis on love in the book. This teaches children to appreciate their family and how much they mean to them. The book is also multicultural and written in a Caribbean dialect, which not only teaches children about family, but likewise they learn about other cultures.So Much has many uses within a school environment. It can be used to teach young children about family members and the concept of love. In EYFS and KS1 it is a very good carpet storybook because it captures the children’s attention as it gives them the chance to be involved with the story telling. This is because they can anticipate what happens next and through the teacher pausing they can predict who the next person at the door is. The more this book is read to a class, the more you can question them, which is key for building their comprehension skills at an early age.