Review: Harry's Hat and Gus Has a Gap

Finger puppets are so much fun - for storytelling, playing games, using your imagination and as craft projects. Kids will love this series of books, with finger puppets to help bring the stories to life.

In Harry's Hat, a young boy, Harry, heads to the beach with his hat right where it belongs - on his head. But it doesn't stay there for long, with the wind claiming it and whizzing it away.



The hat travels to all sorts of places, being used by a magpie, a kangaroo, a pelican, and more - before finding its way back to Harry on the beach.

This is a fun introduction to different animals, complete with beautiful Steve Parish photography. A great story to read with your early reader; more difficult reading pages alternate with simple sentences, such as 'Tess bit the hat', which will help to give kids more confidence in their reading ability.

The magpie finger puppet is also a good little project to work on together, helping to bring the story to life.

Title: Harry's Hat
Author: Sue and Kerry Kitzelman
Photographer: Steve Parish
Publisher: Steve Parish Publishing, $6.95 RRP
Publication Date: 2010
Format: Softcover
ISBN: 9781741935400
For ages: Early readers
Type: Picture book

This book is available online

Gus the glider has a gap, right between his two front teeth where everyone can see it.

None of the other gliders has a gap - and he wishes he could look just like them. He dreams of life without a gap between his teeth... but to his surprise, it isn't as good as he had at first thought. Maybe having a gap isn't so bad after all.

This story follows in Steve Parish Publishing's tradition of creating stories for children about Australian animals, combining fun with little snippets of information. And this one is great for those learning to read, with each page providing a simple sentence especially for kids to read by themselves.

Best of all, though, is the Gus the Glider finger puppet. Cut it out, fold it as directed and let your finger puppet act out the story - so great for creating interaction and developing more interest in reading and telling stories, as well as for using your imagination to create other stories with a glider (and the other animals in the series).

Title: Gus Has a Gap
Author: Sue and Kerry Kitzelman
Photographer: Steve Parish
Publisher: Steve Parish Publishing, $6.95 RRP
Publication Date: 2009
Format: Softcover
ISBN: 9781741934366
For ages: Early readers
Type: Picture book

This book is available online