Big Red Dragon

Find hamsters and dogs, robins and unicorns, little cars and big diggers. Stomp like a dinosaur or fly like a big red dragon in this brilliant collection of 16 action rhymes for young children and babies

Find hamsters, dogs, robins and unicorns, little cars and big diggers – and of course Big Red Dragon, in this brilliant collection of 16 action rhymes for young children and babies. The rhymes go through the year and include festivals and special events, such as Easter, Halloween, Diwali, Christmas and Chinese New Year. With clear instructions to parents and carers, there are fun activities and lots of joining in for every rhyme, for babies, toddlers and older children too. This book is a perfect companion to Jane Newberry’s very popular first collection, Big Green Crocodile, which was shortlisted for the CLiPPA award. At home, playgroup or nursery, the rhymes provide fun while also nurturing children’s responses to language, rhyme and images.

"Bring rhymes to life as never before with a collection of fifteen action rhymes to play and say... Watch as children respond in all ways to the language of these rhymes, the actions that they can learn and the colourful, child-friendly illustrations by Carolina Rabei... A book of delights for sharing."

"Definitely worth adding to foundation stage collections: I envisage it being used in lots of story time sessions when it will unobtrusively help develop children’s verbal and visual learning. Carolina Rabei’s playful illustrations are an ideal match for Jane Newberry’s rhymes; her visual images are vibrantly coloured, textured, perfectly in tune with the words and sure to appeal to young children."

"Stomp like a dinosaur or fly like a big red dragon with this collection of poems for the very young that moves through the year, exploring festivals such as Christmas, Halloween, Diwali and Chinese New Year."

"This book is a perfect companion to Jane Newberry’s very popular first collection, Big Green Crocodile, which was shortlisted for the CLiPPA award. At home, playgroup or nursery, the rhymes provide fun while also nurturing children’s responses to language, rhyme and images."

"The illustrations give a small child every reason to want to join in as they listen to each verse and copy the action… The language is accessible because of its context, and many of the repetitions form simple chants to recall on turning a fresh page. This makes the book useful for babies, toddlers, pre-school children and through into Key Stage One."

Jane Newberry’s unique insight into very young children began as a puppeteer at children’s parties. She then taught music to Early Years groups for 25 years, garnering and creating a portfolio of rhymes and songs for creative play. Her previous collection, Big Green Crocodile, was a great success and prompted many requests for more. Jane’s work with children in her local library keeps her very much up-to-date with what they like and enjoy. She lives in Cornwall.

Carolina Rabei grew up in Moldova, and gained a BA in Graphic Art there, and a distinction in Children’s Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. Her debut book was an illustrated edition of Walter de la Mare’s poem Snow. She has also written Little Lost Fox (2020) and illustrated Jane Newberry’s previous activity rhyme collection, Big Green Crocodile as well as Binky’s Time to Fly by Sharmila Collins. She lives in Cambridge, England.

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