E Oma, Rapeti - Te Wa Takaro. Run, Rabbit - Playtime product reviews

Mr Five is full of energy. He lives on a large section in the country, and there is always something to do. Having just started school, he has added a number of activities to his already busy life. He has discovered team sports, and his favourite subjects in the classroom are Art and Singing. Given a choice, he is like Rapeti; flitting from one thing to the next, he is in his element. And of course, essential tasks like stopping to eat or going to the toilet are way down his list of interesting things to do. He remembers them only when his tummy rumbles or he suddenly needs to pay a visit to the bathroom.

It was interesting to see Mr Five relating to Rapeti as the little rabbit became involved with each game. I pointed out that they were similar in many ways; Mr Five thought for a moment then agreed. His favourite page depicted a sheep holding a paintbrush in its mouth because that meant it was time for Art, but he also chuckled at the picture of Rapeti making a sudden dash for the toilet as he has been caught short like that too. There is nothing worse than having an accident at school, and Mr Five was determined that would not happen to him. So far, he has always made it in time!

From an adult's point of view, I found that the authors had perfectly captured the idea of a child being so absorbed in an activity that he gets annoyed when interrupted for something mundane. I loved the detail in the pictures; there is a glimpse of what is in Rapeti's backpack (Mr Five thought it was a camera), and the interior of the dolls' house includes a little rabbit in a bathtub and a front-opening French door which is as tall as the house itself,

As in the first book in the series, the text is presented in both te reo Maori and English.. Because he was familiar with the other book, Mr Five was happy for me to read each page twice - once in Maori and then again in English. We read through at a great place until we got to the part where Rapeti's mother comes to collect him from school. Mr Five suddenly jumped down from my knee and announced that he had to go to the wharepaku too. RIGHT NOW! That was so funny, I don't think I stopped laughing until he got back and settled on my knee again for the rest of the story.