Bedtime stories are very important in our house and although Eliza and Isaac are busying reading their own books now, they love listening in to Sebby’s stories.
Over the last few months, Eliza has flown up the reading targets at school and has moved on from basic school reading books to the likes of Roald Dahl and Miranda Hart, but that hasn’t stopped her from liking shorter reading books too.
We were sent The Grotlyn by Benji Davies to review and Eliza couldn’t wait to read it.
‘I know when the Grotlyn’s been, slipping through your house unseen……’
The Grotlyn is a stunningly illustrated picture book full of mystery and suspense and the pictures are as fun to follow as the gently rhyming sentences.
Who is this mysterious Grotlyn?
What sort of creature could it be, scuttling across town and frightening everyone in its path?
And why has it stolen PC Vickers’ knickers?
The kids love stories about things that go bump in the night and this certainly does not disappoint. Aimed at children aged 4 and up the story grabbed their attention from the cover.
The story is set in the backstreets of a Victorian city and is brought to life by a cast of intriguing characters. Younger children, like Sebastian, take the story at face value, whereas Eliza was intrigued by the images on the page and was asking questions about times gone by.
It is a book that you want to read again and again, trying to pick up the clues you missed the first time and has you rooting for the once scary Grotlyn in the end.
It is also a book that can start a great discussion about whether animals should be kept in captivity or why people go to such great lengths to get freedom.
This is a lovely heart warming story which has opened up lots of conversations in our house and I highly recommend it.
This sounds like a great book with some excellent discussion points to have with your kids afterwards! I find all the best books seem to manage this!
Ooh, I’ll keep my eye out for this. E loves having books read to her. She’s only 14 months but I hope her interest in books stays with her.
I love the sound of this book and it’s wonderful that it encourages thought about some interesting points.
I like books/cartoons that are frightening and spooky (scooby doo is my favourite cartoon atm) and The Grotlyn certainly looks like it’s my kinda book! Love the illustrations too x
oh i love books that provoke talks with the kids, i will keep my eyes open for this one!
I do wonder why Grotlyn stole PC Vickers’ knickers? But interesting to hear the topics you can discuss like freedom and ‘animals in captivity’ .
This sounds like a great read. Will check it out.
I used to love reading books as a child – we haven’t grown up having had these read to us but I very early grew a love for reading so had my head in books as far back as I can remember. Biff & Chip were my childhood favs but I love that there are new types of children books out for when I can read to mine when its my turn!
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This sounds like a great read and the illustrations look gorgeous too!
I adore the illustrations, it sounds like such a beautiful book. We’re a huge fan of bedtime stories in our house too. I love the sound of this one. x
Always looking for new books, this one looks great