Lulu La Ru Step-Mum Shambles product reviews

Mr Nine loved this book. It was pitched at just the right angle for him. He has a stepfather of his own so was interested to follow the interaction between Lulu and her stepchildren, Coco and Rosa. Their challenges were similar to those he has experienced with his own mother and stepfather. Over two years his family has become very close and has enjoyed some amazing new adventures together, He appreciated the way the book is divided into chapters, each with its own story, as he is not a fast reader and found the divisions made it more accessible for him.

Our favourite story was the tale of the tramp. This made both of us laugh as we have both experienced walks where one member of the group neglected to take appropriate gear. He recounted the story of the time he and his aunt, together with other family members, set out on a hot day to climb to the top of Maunganui. Although it is not a challenging route, the sun can quickly cause discomfort for anyone who is not suitably dressed. His aunt had worn jandals and no hat, insisting that appropriate footwear for the beach did not include stout shoes. Lulu's bad choices were not just entertaining, they were hilarious when the animals decided to make use of her discarded items!

The illustrations are bright and quirky. Mr Nine commented on the expressions on the children's faces as they saw the piercing gun, and also on the detail in the backpack contents as the girls waited outside the school gate for Lulu to pick them up. At times, his own backpack has resembled that because of the number of things he is involved in. As a budding artist himself, his preference is for graphics that include plenty of detail and bright colours so the pictures in this book were perfect!

I asked his mother to read the book after he had finished it. She enjoyed it very much, and thought that the dynamic between stepparent and stepchild had been captured well. When she first told her son he would be getting a stepfather she had worried that things might not work out between them, but there had luckily been few problems. However, we both know that this is not always the case, so it is helpful to see the topic presented in story form in a way that younger children can understand.

The story is written in rhyme, a technique which neither his mother nor I especially like. However, for a slower (and often reluctant) reader like Mr Nine, it proved to be a useful means of engaging him. He even read the book to us aloud because he found it so accessible. This is the first time he has offered to read aloud. Certainly, this is a lesson to be learned for adults who make choices for their children when selecting reading material.