Kiwi Corkers: The Ugly Hatchling product reviews

I have read several of the Kiwi Corkers series now and they are always such a hit with Miss 4 and my daycare children, the NZ twist always brings a lot of laughter and delight to the children when they hear a old classic been read in a new and exciting way which focuses on New Zealand. When I saw that The Ugly Hatchling was available for review I jumped at the chance to review it, Miss 4 is obsessed with Pukeko's as we have them always visiting our home and she just loves Kiwi's.

Right from the front cover the illustrations done by Dave gunson are just gorgeous, I absolutely love the cute little kiwi and his sweet little face. As we read the book at work the children's faces lit up as I turned each page, they were captured by the pictures, and told me how cute all of the animals were, they really liked the fact that the Kiwi came hatching out of the egg and loved the lead up to this, and being close to Easter this is a book we have had to read again and again as they have decided that the Kiwi is infact hatching out of an Easter egg, you can't help but love children's imagination! The staff at my centre loved this book also, however several of them did say they felt it was a bit too long, so best for all 4 year olds I had to agree with them here, however a great story.

I love the storyline of this book so does Miss 4 it has given us lot's of laughs and has become quite a regular bedtime request! We loved what great friends the Pukeko and the Kiwi became and I loved that the story points out how it is okay to be different and yourself. Miss 4 liked the happy ending at the end of the story when the little Kiwi Hatchling found another Kiwi who was just like him only bigger.

A beautiful book, with gorgeous illustrations and a great storyline which would be enjoyed by any little bird lovers, but probably more suited for 4 and 5 year olds, I can't wait to see if there are anymore Kiwi Corkers books released! At just $14.99 this book really is great value!

Both myself and my children were excited to see that we had been selected to review The Ugly Hatchling. In this household we love to read and our bookshelves are overflowing. I found this book simply delightful to read to my three young children. My children are aged 5 years old, 3 years old, and nearly 1 year old. The cover of the book is nice and simple and the Kiwi chick is very eye-catching and cute, along with four Pukekos flying. I love the Kiwi Corkers series as they showcase to children a NZ spin on classic stories, so knew this book would not disappoint.

We snuggled upon the couch and started to read. The first thing we noticed was how artistic the illustrator is. My daughter thought the stoat running with the egg could be a rugby player the way he held it hehe.The author has managed to use a lot of descriptive detail so while reading you can use your imagination along with looking at the vivid pictures. When I asked my children what they thought was the best part of the story for them, their response was the part where the kiwi goes into the house. My son thought it was funny when the kiwi found some items with kiwis on them and called the people 'two of the strangest-looking birds.' I personally enjoyed when the kiwi was released into the thick forest and found a kiwi friend so he wasn't lonely.

Overall this is a cute, friendly story to read and I would recommend for all young children. This would be a wonderful book for a child who is learning to read as the words are reasonably simple. This has become our new favourite bedtime story.