Down The Back Of The Chair

This was such a fun read, we loved turning the page to see what the next thing to be found from the back of the chair and then had fun imagining what could be down the back of ours!

A wonderful, story that sparks the imagination. Who knows what you can find down the back of the chair. My little girl absolutely loves it and asked for it again and again.  Would highly recommend it.

A down on their luck family finds all manner of things down the back of their family chair in this engaging picture book with a great use of verse and some quirky illustrations which remind me of Roald Dahl. It’s a simple premise but a clever one and hopefully would get children chatting about what they imagine. This is a great read for primary or elementary school age children, which is a really enjoyable and imaginative read, which might just send them looking down the backs of chair in their homes too!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for sending me a free advance e-book copy of this title.

I love the cover of this book! The illustrations are brilliant and the text is easy to read. We liked this rhyming book about the interesting things down the back of the chair. We have read this several times and discussed all the wonderful and random things that could be down the back of the chair. I think this is a must read for children who like to giggle. Thank you for the opportunity to review this very lovely book.

What's not to love about this crazy, funny story about all the weird and wonderful things that turn up stuffed down the back of Dad's favorite armchair!  From a diamond ring to a spider, from  a cake to a snake, from a lion to a dragon, the objects get ever more ridiculous. Until, finally, out comes Uncle Bill's will and moneybox to rescue the family from destitution. It's a roller coaster ride of silly nonsense, but exactly the kind of stuff that small children adore.

With colourful illustrations and creative placement of text, the pages are instantly appealing.  And it's a joy to read aloud: rhyming and rhythmic with lots of delicious alliteration and onomatopoeia. I read the digital copy with my two young grandsons (3 and 4), and they were utterly captivated. In fact, we had to go through it several times so that they could take in all the silly detail.  Granted, some of the vocabulary is quite advanced for kids in this age group. Indeed, some words, e.g.  docket,would never be used in British English. However, this would not stop me from buying the physical version of this book. 

My thanks to Quarto Publishing and NetGalley for providing the digital ARC.

What CAN'T be found back there...?

Dad's lost the car keys, he's running short of money... the last possible chance is to see what's down the back of the chair. Just what will he and the kids find?

'Bubble Trouble' gives my son endless amusement listening to me avoiding tongue tie, working around the twisting poem of Mahy's invention. This, fortunately, eschews such parent-troubling wordplay for something a little more reader-friendly, though just as bouncy.

A missing twin, spider and conger eel, a pirate with a treasure map... and other more exciting hidden gems all turn up once Dad feels his way down the back of the family chair. This is a pleasure to read, and the illustrations by Polly Dunbar add to the fun (we even see early on where Dad's car key went!)

A little bit bonkers, but we could all do with some of that in our lives. Great rhythm, lots of fun objects to spot, and a refrain that children will enjoy.

For ages 2-6.

With thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy of the latest edition.