A delightful ‘lift the flap’ book that would make a perfect gift.
It’s a warm and breezy afternoon on Treacle Street and William Tripehound is hanging out his washing. Unfortunately, it’s a bit too breezy. Oops! The wonky fence panel blows away, taking William’s washing with it. William is going to need the reader’s help to find it. Together William and the reader set off around Treacle Street in search of William’s apron, trousers, pants and socks. Luckily, there are plenty of flaps to peep behind – where it will be possible to discover a few unusual uses for William’s washing.
The book is presented as a board book, suggesting it is aimed at very young “readers”. The much thinner paper flaps / doors, however, make it less suitable for toddlers without adult supervision. This doesn’t matter as the story itself is probably more suited to slightly older children (perhaps 3 to 4 years) and they are likely to love this wonderful book.
Children (and in my case adults) are likely to enjoy finding the washing over and over again and laughing at the different uses it is put to. (The apron is used to mend Marcel’s deckchair, the trousers are used as a flag, while the pants form a perfect sail for Hettie’s airship).
The clear and colourful illustrations are delightful with plenty of detail for eager eyes to study. The style and characters remind me very much of the Richard Scarry books that I loved so much as a child. (I was particularly intrigued by inventor, Hettie). And, as with these now classic books, there is a special insect (I’m not sure but I guess it’s a green and gold caterpillar) to find on every page as well as a collection of other fun insects to spot, including a pink worm, bumble bee and ladybird.
Where’s William’s Washing is part of a series and, if this is anything to judge by, you’re likely to be so charmed by the story, format and illustrations that you’ll want to own all the other books in Kate Hindley’s Treacle Street series – Prima’s Missing Bunnies or Marcel’s Parcels. Once you have these, you have just a few months to wait until the next Treacle Street adventure – Toot, Toot Hettie! is scheduled for release in July 2021.
ISBN: 978-1471188510
Date: July 2020
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Pages: 12
Website: Kate Hindley
