Captain Kangaroo's Activity Book

 Captain Kangaroo's Activity Book by Lothian/Hachette Australia, illustrated by Mandy Foot
PB RRP $12.99
ISBN 978 0 7344 1310 9

Reviewed by Hilary Smillie

Following the success of the in-house picture books, Come Fly with Captain Kangaroo (2011) and Captain Kangaroo and the Great Balloon Race (2012), Lothian/Hachette and Mandy Foot have again combined talents to produce a great companion activity book. While the picture books are aimed at a younger flying audience, many of  the activities in Captain Kangaroo's Activity Book will also interest and entertain the high end of primary age children. Parents will enjoy helping the under-sevens solve the puzzles and answer the questions, and may even find they have to stop and think twice!

Mandy Foot's colourful Aussie animal crew, luggage and hot air balloon illustrations are featured as shiny stickers centre-page, and a set of colouring pencils is attached to the easily-recognised cover with its white plane and Captain Kangaroo in the cockpit. There are various black and white drawings waiting to be coloured in, including a colour-by-numbers drawing to assist the indecisive. A travel diary, a passport to cut out once home and a word search puzzle based on air travel words are just a few examples they kids will enjoy.

Captain Kangaroo's Activity Book is packed with fun and is a happy and educational way to  keep boredom in check while in-flight. With 24 pages to choose from, kids are bound to be absorbed for hours on end.  

Come Fly With Captain Kangaroo

Come Fly With Captain Kangaroo by Mandy Foot (Lothian/Hachette)

PB RRP $14.99

ISBN 9780734411945

Reviewed by Hilary Smillie

The title of this colourful in-house picture book is an immediate indication of being the ideal choice for parents anxious to prepare a child for his/her first flying experience. For once a book can be judged by its cover!

Australian fauna are the airport staff and crew, and the bouncy rhyming text guides children through every step of catching a plane for a flight within Australia, from the moment of arrival at the airport to the flight itself. The text includes great action words such as loading up, bumpy, the click-clack of seat belts, the thump! thump! of the wheels when landing. Mandy Foot’s brilliant illustrations are imaginative and zany, and the only small flaw was that the animals were not shown to be wearing seat belts. I liked the inside cover illustrations of luggage of various sizes and shapes.

Come Fly With Captain Kangaroo is a fun read as well as being practical and educational. Not only will it be enjoyed before or during a flight but afterwards it is sure to prompt a child’s recollection of their own experience of air travel which, hopefully, was just as pleasurable.