Hombo the Tortoise: Going to School with Loud Animals - Godwin Temisa

When I look for a children’s book that would interest my nieces and nephew, I look for three things that I feel are important for all children’s books to have. Hombo the Tortoise: Going to School with Loud Animals has all of these three things as well as some other factors that make it exactly the type of book that a little one would enjoy.

                First, there has to be pictures of good quality. Hombo the Tortoise is full of lovely, cartoon-like pictures that are bright and colourful which will help hold a child’s attention. As well, because they have a cartoon-like quality and resemble something that a child may see on their favourite television show, the pictures help the child comprehend the story a little easier because they are used to this type of illustration.

                Second, the story itself must be on a child’s level. Hombo the Tortoise is about a group of small animals who try to build a school because they find the larger animals too noisy in the current school. There are lessons for the child to learn in the story about feelings getting hurt and helping each other which made the book a great learning tool for my six year old niece. The characters are a lot of fun and it would be nice to see all of them used in other books so as to keep the series going. Although some of the vocabulary may be a bit advanced, older children will be able to read the book with help or even on their own.

                Finally, the writing style has to be one that flows well. Anybody who has read a book to a child knows that children love there to be a rhythm as you read. Hombo has a great rhythm with a story that allows you to emphasize the dialogue and actions of all of the characters.

                Hombo the Tortoise is really a fun little book and both of my nieces and my nephew thoroughly enjoyed my reading of it. In fact, it has been read a few times since I bought it and each time was as enjoyable as the previous one. Usually, I say that a children’s book is better read in print format but in this case, it downloaded really well onto my tablet and the pictures are as bright and colourful as they would be in print. The cover is as delightful as the pictures inside the book. This is a great book for kids!