Children's Book club - Meet the Parents by Peter Bently and Sarah Ogilvie

[RachelMumsnet]

Meet the Parents is the brilliant new book by Roald Dahl Funny prize winner Peter Bently. Meet the Parents will be enjoyed as much by parents as children, with lots of recognisable family scenarios played out in rhyming text and glorious, vibrant illustrations from Sarah Ogilvie, the artist behind Dogs Don't Do Ballet.

If you fancy getting your hands on a copy and reviewing, apply here. There's also some great downloadable activities on the Meet the Parents activity worksheet. If you've been selected to receive a copy, we'll email you on 7 Jan and don't forget to report back if you're one of the lucky 50.

[AliceMumsnet]

This giveaway is now closed. We will notify those who have been selected via email and they will receive a free copy of the book.

[ktmd]

Just received this book and I must say I'm impressed. Funny, pacy, rhyming text moves the story on quickly, with the added bonus of detailed illustrations which draw the reader to return for closer inspection. Children and their long suffering parents will recognise and laugh at the many familiar scenarios, including parents as care givers and donkeys!

The final page delightfully encourages children and their parents to TICKLE! A warm and funny classic. Highly recommended.

[bettybooboo1]

Just received my copy and it's great - really lovely illustrations and funny text. Thanks!

[sassie25uk]

Recieved this today and have found it very amusing. The drawings are lovely bright and colourful. The story is funny and I love rhyming books. Can see this being a classic of the future.

Brilliant!

[sarahyewman]

We ADORE this book! And when I say 'We' I mean it. Both my husband and I and the children. We all had different empathies towards different pages in the book and it made all 5 of us laugh out loud at some point. See my review here: picturebooksblogger.wordpress.com/2014/01/09/meet-the-parents-by-peter-bently-sara-ogilvie/

[CarmonEileen]

Received the book this morning, Thank you. Its Dd birthday today so she will be over the moon at home time. Will report back once we have read the book.

[Jweight100]

Received this book today, what a treat it is. Touching, funny and very true to life. A delight for children and adults alike, can't wait to read it to my little ones at bedtime.

[Lilybensmum1]

Received our copy of meet the parents today and we have really enjoyed it, my DH and I read through it first and it made us laugh as we can relate to everything in the book that us parents do for our children, my 6 year old DD read it with me and described it as 'nice and funny' I won't spoil the end but she said that it is her fave bit as it's something we all do as a family. My DD thought the illustrations were really funny.

Highly recommend had a lovely rhyming text and great illustrations. Thanks for giving us the chance to review this.

[HazelDormouse]

Thank you for this warm hearted picture book. I really like Sara Ogilvie's style of illustrations. (Very, very sad person that I am, I will also admit to appreciating the quality of the paper cover of this picture book, same as 'Rhinos Don't Eat Pancakes'.) Ds (4) thought it was funny and enjoyed a quick 'tickle' before going to sleep. DH thought it was great length for a bedtime read.

[violetwellies]

Than you for the book, received today, it didnt really 'do it' for me, but DS (2.5) loves it, although neither of us thought it was funny we have read it lots already.

Much appreciated, if only for the fact that it has given me a break from Slinky Malinki (I love L Dodd but we do have to read them many, many times). I did like the rhythm of the book, however if it becomes a favourite it may have to get left at Grandad's.

[fourmonthstogo]

Thank you for the book, which arrived today. The prose is good, nice to read and flows well, and the illustrations are lovely. They prompted lots of discussion with my daughter and made her laugh. She is 3 next week and it was clearly a hit as she wanted me to read it three times in a row!

[BlackSusie2004]

The book arrived yesterday and is already a hit, we found we could relate to quite a few of the uses for parents, and we all enjoyed the ending, even if it did get a bit out if hand!
I intend to ensure my daughter has Meet the Parents read to her so much that it becomes ingrained in her psychi, and hopefully, when she hits the teenage years she'll remember that we're not all bad!

[RAZDAZ]

Thank you for the book. Once I had explained what Parents were we really enjoyed reading the book together. although James does prefer the Parents to be called Mummy and Daddy and did change it when explain the book to my husband. Loved the tickles at the end.

[chris69]

Just received my copy of the book,and it was instantly a huge hit! Funny, witty and exquisitly illustrated my 5year old nieces fell in love with it from the first page as did my 12 year old! As a parent I could definitely identify with the theme of what parents do, this book is definitely a keeper.
Thank you Mumsnet.

[mazgoli]

My copy arrived today. Lovely quality feel to the cover, even though it's paperback I think it will last well. I actually don't think I'll read it to my 2 year old granddaughter as the first page is all about parents nagging and bossing and she hasn't reached that stage yet - she's just really keen to help out and do what is asked of her.
But for a child of 4 or 5 I think it would be much more suitable. The style of the book is lovely, the illustrations are quite busy - just like our lives as parents, and all the scenarios are lovely and so true!
All in all, it's a fun book.

[Tailtwister]

Our copy arrived today and it was a huge hit with both DS1 (5) and DS2 (3). The illustrations are lovely and they laughed like drains throughout the whole thing!

I agree with others that although our 3yo loved it, it would probably be more suited to a slightly older child. DS1 really understood why it was funny, whereas DS2 was laughing more because we all were I think. They did both love the finale of tickles though and were begging to read it at bedtime so DH could do it.

[cavylover]

Thank you for the copy of this book. Very enjoyable book with lovely clever illustrations coupled with a rhyming story which is great fun for parents and children alike to read together and have a laugh. Very familiar themes mentioned which are easy to relate to. All in all an excellent read.

[stealthsquiggle]

DD is possibly a little old for this at 7, but she still loved it. She read it by herself and then I read it at bedtime - she went through the book telling me which things I did and didn't do (she was feeling conciliatory, having been a complete nightmare all evening so I got off quite lightly, although we had some discussion about the "donkey" page ). I loved it too - it's beautifully produced, nice to read and the pictures are wonderfully detailed. I shall definitely be buying it for some of the younger DC of my acquaintance - I think about 5 is probably the ideal age to appreciate it.

[lottietiger]

DS is only 1 but really loved this book, its bright and colourful and ends up with him being tickled! This will definitely be a book we can keep for a long time, as now he just like the pictures but in a couple of years he can relate to the words. I thought the illustrations were of really good quality and brought the words to life. Nice to have a book about parents for children rather than the other way round!. Thanks for a copy of this book, it was really enjoyable.

[Uzma01]

I got this book late last week and have to say - it looked amazing. Just read it to the children, both of whom loved it - especially the end.

The text is simple and funny, the illustrations are lovely - sure to be a much loved classic soon. I'm sure my son will be reading it all by himself soon enough.

Thanks for sending us a copy.

[FoFeeFiMum]

Received my book last week and was very impressed with the illustrations - lovely, amusing pictures with lots going on to discuss as you read.

Both DS 4.5 and DD 2.5 loved the story (in fact DD has just demanded another re-read on seeing me with it now).

It has a lovely rhythm and is amusing for even younger children, with things they can all relate to. Happily DS was more appalled than amused at the thought of somebody wiping their dirty hands all over their DM :-)

[JimmyCorkhill]

Got it today. A beautiful book. Lovely paper quality which I am impressed by. The illustrations are beautiful, lots of detail to pick out. So true to our life too, especially the mum is a donkey part! Brilliant way to end on tickles too. DD (age 3) really enjoyed it. Think this will be a bedtime favourite. Thank you so much for a wonderful free gift, we very much appreciate it

[janney3]

We all love this book and have read and reread numerous since it's arrival last week. My 12 year old really enjoys reading it to my younger children and they are all giggling at various points throughout the book.

The illustrations are superb and the rhyming words are so true.

Thank-you for a lovely book that will be enjoyed and remembered for years to come.

[2014isanewyear]

My DD loves the book and it has been read numerous times since it arrived.
The illustrations are wonderful and DD loves picking out all the details whilst we read it.
Thank you for a lovely book.

[AnneOfGreenGarbles]

We were also lucky enough to receive a copy of this book - thanks MN.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It is printed on lovely thick paper so has a quality feel to it. The illustrations are also very good - a little bit different to the general offering. I think my 20 month dc is a bit younger than the target audience (maybe 3 yrs +?) but could still benefit from the simple bouncy rhyme. There are only 1-2 lines of text on each page so it is an easy read which should keep everyone's attention, little or otherwise. It is definitely the kind of book that parents will enjoy reading (always important ) as I'm sure they will recognise many of the funny scenarios.

This is a book I will be happy to read again and again over the next few years. A well written, funny book.