The Ugly Five

Strong bookGreat detailLovely pictures

Another great book from the collection. I felt a little sad reading it but keep going until the end!

Great book amazing author.

Bought for my grandson. Loves his story books at bedtime. Bargain at £4.

You can always trust Julia Donaldson to deliver a top quality kids read for the little ones (that can also be enjoyed by the adults reading it to them over and over). Me and Miss 3 really enjoy her rhyming, fun-filled tales, particularly those wonderfully illustrated by Axel Scheffler. In this one the pictures and the underlying story of the lesser-loved animals (as opposed to the famed 'Big Five' in African safaris) are probably the best point - Donaldson's verse is fun but not quite as memorable or on-beat as some of her other great tales. A good addition to the collection without being her best work.

Nice sturdy book for little ones! Got it for our great-great niece.

The Ugly Five arrived at a house full of high expectations from my own children who will, forever more, be know as “the ugly five”. The Julia Donaldson Axel Scheffler partnership has given our family hours of pleasure with my own favourites Stick Man, Zog, Tiddler, The Snail & The Whale and the wonderful Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book. There are many many more and this new book, The Ugly Five will have been eagerly anticipated by families and book worms all over the globe. They will not be disappointed.The story is delightful. It carries you along with it’s easy rhymes and charming characters, turning page after page to find what the author has in mind for her cast of ugly heroes. There is rhythmic repetition which smaller children can join in once they know what to expect and with ‘invisible counting’ and just enough word changes in the ‘chorus’, younger readers will have to stay alert and not recite parrot fashion. Incredibly, in just fifteen pages, Julia Donaldson has also managed to squeeze in an educational benefit, teaching readers about some unusual wildlife and their habits, as well as a ‘message’ about looks that parents, teachers and carers will certainly enjoy on the last two pages.Axel Scheffler’s beautiful illustrations are detailed and gentle as always. One young reader described them as ‘realistic in a not realistic kind of way’. I couldn’t agree more. He has obviously had fun with The Ugly Five as well as the opportunity to showcase his immense skills in a compendium featuring the Big Five the Little Five and the Shy Five at the back of the book. I cannot recommend The Ugly Five highly enough.

My son loves this book, always been a big fan of Julia Donaldson.