Pepi Sings a new Song by Laura Ljungkvist

Pepi the parrot loves to sing but his friend Peter is getting tired of the same old song, based on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, so Pepi heads off to find new inspiration.

At the baker he finds words like: cookie cutter; rolling pin; whisk and dough. In the music studio he tries out a xylophone; flue; trombone and violin. Art art studio is filled with wonderful objects: a canvas; some clay; an easel; and colours such as chartreuse and cobalt. And so the journey continues with a visit to the market and time at the dog park.

Pepi now has a wealth of new words to incorporate into his song.

Twinkle, twinkle, little flute,

Poodle, xylophone, cobalt, fruit.

Carrot, saxophone, icing, bow,

Violet, terrier, canvas, dough.

Blurb: Pepi the parrot is ready for a new song. So he decides to step out into the neighbourhood to find some exciting things to sing about. He discovers yummy things (sprinkles! icing! dough!) at the bakery, colorful things (paint! clay! easel!) at the artist's studio, and musical things (maracas! drums! guitar!) at the instrument shop. And then he puts them all together to create a song everyone will want to join in on. From acclaimed picture book creator Laura Ljungkvist, here is a delightful read-aloud romp that celebrates community, creativity, and the fun of learning new words.

Sadly I have to report this book is out of print but it might be in a school library here in Australia because it is a title on the NSW Premier's Reading Challenge book list for Years 3 and 4.  Actually that seems a little odd to me - I think this book would be thoroughly enjoyed by younger children in Year 1 and 2. If you can find this book it would be fun to share it with a group of very young children and I would also recommend putting this book into the hands of your school music teacher. You can see inside this book here.  You can see Laura's art (for adults) here. 

The digital art utilizes expanses of flat color and shaped, controlled line in elegant ways and with a distinctly Modern aesthetic. Kirkus

The library I visit each week continues to use date due slips inside their books. I was quite excited to see that since 2011 this book has been borrowed over thirty times. 

Laura Ljungkvist is from Sweden but since 1993 she has lived in New York City.  Here are a few of her other, very special books:

Book Covers from Laura Ljungkvist Children's Portfolio

I was surprised and somewhat delighted to discover Laura illustrated a book by the famous Australian author Mem Fox:

What's inside? by Isabel Minhós Martins and Madalena Matoso

Here is a puzzle book with a difference.  There are lots of things inside that you might predict but there are also some surprises!

What's inside  

Mum's handbag "an invisible mobile phone (left on the kitchen counter); a purse with four marbles"

The hall table drawer "a piece of plastic (no one can remember what it's for); a dice"

The fridge "An ace of spades; two strawberry jellies"

My raincoat pocket "A clothes peg; a pen lid; a snail shell"

Granny's beach bag "A recipe for pudding; my wet swimming costume (inside a plastic bag)"

What's on

The kitchen counter "A cobweb with a spider; two bottles without tops"

My bedroom wall "A small hole (I suspect it's the door to an ant's nest!)"

Publisher Blurb: There are thousands of objects surrounding us in our everyday lives: in the hallway drawer, the kitchen fridge, mum’s handbag, your bedroom wall, even in your raincoat pocket. But how many objects can you remember when you’re put to the test? Inside this book are dozens of pictures, puzzles and a mega memory game providing amusing challenges for all ages, from those still learning to talk to reader- detectives who like to follow the clues and put two and two together.

What's Inside was first published in Portuguese with the title O que há.  The English translation by Isabel Alves and Bergen Peck was published in 2015 but this book is still in print. I was lucky to pick up a half price copy at recent book sale. You might like to read my previous post about another book by this talented team of Isabel and Madadena - Where do we go when we disappear?

Take a look at this post by Zoe at Playing by the Book where she shares illustrations from What's inside along side her own real handbag, kitchen counter etc.

This is a delightful book, with bold and stylish illustrations, which will appeal across a wide age range, and especially to any children who love to collect and hoard, to classify and arrange their special things. Playing by the Book

One of my favourite alphabet books shares its title with this book:

If you were reading this book with a preschool group you might also explore these:

In a Jar

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