SYNOPSIS:
When Ben meets Bug at the swing park, they instantly become the best of friends.
But when everyone around them gets sick, Ben wonders about the identity of his new playmate.
Ben and the Bug is written for families looking for a friendly approach to discussions around Coronavirus.
My Thoughts:
Ben and the Bug is written in a poetic style with rhyming couplets. It demonstrates really clearly to children just how fast germs and bugs can spread and how to prevent them through regular washing of hands. The bug in this story is spreading the Coronavirus and as children are very aware of this virus at the moment it was lovely to see it featured in a picture book. Not only does it allow them to relate to something that they know about but it also reiterates the message of how to stay safe and stop the spread. As well as a story this book also provides information with a Did You Know? box on most pages. This is such a lovely added feature and something you can read alongside the story or afterwards. I know my daughter and class enjoyed spotting the information boxes on the pages as well as finding the little bug that was hidden on each page. The final pages are packed with more factual information on COVID19 which is great in providing children with further helpful information about the virus.
Madison's Thoughts (aged 7):
This was a fun book to read. I loved the bug who actually looked quite cute apart from making everyone ill. The pictures were lovely and colourful and I really enjoyed looking for all the little bugs on the page. I thought the hand prints and splodges on the pages were really cool and I liked seeing the germs that the bug was spreading. As well as the story there was lots of information to read about which helped me understand a bit more about germs and the Coronavirus.
Many thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me to join Ben and the Bug blog tour and to Natalie Reeves Billing for writing another wonderful book that has become a firm favourite in our household.
About The Author:
Natalie Reeves Billing is a Liverpool lass with a dark sense of humour, which often spills onto the page. She loves to write spooky, fantastical stories for young audiences, and dabbles in poetry, contemporary fiction.
Natalie spent most of her early career in the music industry as a performer and professional songwriter. This lead, almost inevitably, to storytelling. Natalie is an Arvon Foundation friend and is a student of the Golden Egg Academy. She is mentored under the Lloyds Bank SSE program, with her Bubs Literacy project. She is published in several anthologies with her poetry and flash fiction, including the Writing on the Wall, Read Now, Write Now, and is involved in several collaborations with fellow writers across poetry, song, and scriptwriting.
Her new book, My Mummy is a Monster (part of the Monstrous Me collection) will be available in March 2020 and Carry Love in June 2020
Connect with Natalie on Twitter @BillingReeves.
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