I did not receive payment of any kind to write this post and purchased all products reviewed myself.
Author/s: Janet & Allan Ahlberg
No matter how hectic a process it has become, bedtime is still my favourite time of day. It is not just because that is finally the time of day when you achieve that combined sense of satisfaction and relief unique to parents around the world, as you realise you have successfully navigated another day alone with your child without killing or mentally scarring anyone but you. It is also good to know you are on the home straight and a whisper away from a chilled glass of wine but I mostly enjoy it because in our house it means bedtime story time. Since the Little Chap was six months old, OH or I have read him at least one book pretty much every single night. He has requested many of them time and again but I’ve made it a personal mission to ensure we cover as wide a range as possible – old and new classics, great rhymes, fairy tales, adventure stories, quality prose and quirky picture books, our own copies and library books alike. We have done touchy-feely and lift-the-flap, hardbacks and paperbacks of every size. I therefore thought it would be a good idea to start posting regularly my thoughts and recommendations on which are the best, which are ok and which I wish I had left on the shelf.A few weeks ago, I reviewed Peepo! one of our favourite bedtime stories. Another book by the talented Ahlberg pair that is highly recommended wherever you look (in my case on Amazon and in the pages of the children’s book club I had joined), it seemed we had nothing to lose by trying Each Peach Pear Plum too. There were more charming illustrations and rhyming text – by now I appreciated the value of a good rhyme in helping to hold a little person’s attention as well as increasing the enjoyment factor for Mummy!
I particularly liked the way the title words rolled around in your mouth. The front cover itself is a wonder. We’ve spent time identifying the various objects on the front cover illustration, with the Little Chap quickly liking this game and adding his own finds to the mix – “A shoe Mummy! Look! Cat! Witch’s cat!”
Like Peepo! this book is also a poem, but a clever one at that. While I reckon it would also have an appeal for older pre-school children reading it for the first time too though, as it plays on their knowledge of favourite fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters – Cinderella, Robin Hood, the Wicked Witch, Jack and Jill and the Three Bears, to name a few, I actually first read it to the Little Chap at some time between age 1 and 2 so many of the characters were new to him and its cleverness of course, totally lost on him. However, that did give me the perfect opportunity to tell him their stories too. The poem has a clever continuity to it as one set of characters interacts in some way with the next, before going on to tell their story too. It is all illustrated of course with the usual beautiful colours and painstaking details. At the end of the book there is a special treat – plum pie – as all the characters gather to share it, giving your little one great fun as they play I Spy… and try to find all the hiding characters before being rewarded with the ending.
With its catchy rhymes, familiar characters and beautiful illustrations so typical of the Ahlbergs, this is another favourite treasure of a book that we’ll definitely keep hold of.
Have you read it to your Little One/s? Did they recognise the characters or did you introduce them for the first time? What did you and your little one/s think?
© Mayfair Mum, 2012
Mayfair Mum 
I don’t know this book… As I’m French, I only read books in French to my son. His father reads to him in English but I don’t think my toddler has this book… I should order it 😉
Thanks for stopping by again. Do you have any good recommendations for French bedtime stories?
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Thanks for the linkback! Nice blog. Love the illustrations – have bookmarked you to come back and have another look when I have more time 🙂
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