The Colonels Sausage

I don't remember learning to read. I'm sure that I learnt to read using the ladybird reading scheme and learnt about the adventures of Peter and Paul. I remember the Mr Men books and also a series of books about an Ant and a Bee, imaginely titled Ant and Bee.

Now that I have my own children I feel a little for my Dad who when my brothers and I were young was forced to read the same stories night after night; stories like Scratchy Spider (who stole buns from old ladies) and the Colonels Sausage (about a stone statue that became animated by sausages!!!). I kid you not. These stories were found in a book called "I Can Choose my Bedtime Story" by Mary Parsley . This book made such a mark on me that when my first child was born I tracked down a copy from America and I relived some of my own childhood memories.

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There is now so much choice in children's stories, beautifully written and illustrated with titles such as Russell the Sheep Saves Christmas, Some Dogs Do and Aliens Love Underpants. Not to mention the rhyming books written by Julia Donaldson, of Gruffallo fame; my favourite being Zog, about a dragon learning to do what dragons do. In this book a princess gives up her priviledged position to follow her desire become a flying doctor, Zog the dragon is her flying machine. An inspiration to us all to follow our dreams?

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My youngest is currently learning to read. The Oxford reading scheme is based around amusing stories focussed on a family. We have read a number of these books together and I still struggle with the names of the children. There is one girl, her name is Biff (the only other Biff I know is the unfortunate bully in the Back to the Future Trilogy). Biff has two brothers named Chip and Kipper; their dog is called Floppy. Oh, what adventures they get up to but wouldn't they get bullied at school? Especially Kipper!! To make the stories more involved there is a magic key, that when held glows and transports th characters to fantastic places, always allowing them to return home by the end of the book.

The incentive for parents in reading these books? As your child gets better at reading so the stories become more involved and interesting. I can't wait to find out what happens in the last of the series.

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