Tabitha Posy Is Ever So Nosy

Julie Fulton and Jona Jung(illustrator)
Tabitha was a nosey child, always asking questions and giving no-one any peace. A trip to the zoo however may change that a little bit but who knows?
We were given this and as soon as she laid eyes on it my just three year old wanted it read to her. We read it, and read it again and have now read it quite a few times since. As it is written in rhyme and I find those stories very catchy I am nearly at the point where I can recite it all! But the point is that she loves it!
This is a picture book with humour and plenty to talk about on every page. Tabitha Posy is so nosey that the neighbours hide from her, even leaving shoes on the steps like Cinderella in their efforts to get away. She is never where she is meant to be, or paying attention to what she should be; she lies on the classroom floor looking at a spider whilst her teacher is talking. She doesn’t take any notice of instructions, preferring to find out for herself; climbing into the tiger enclosure at the zoo to see if the tiger has been fed, and (as my daughter will tell you) with the big bad wolf watching (greedily!). Her desire to know leads her into big trouble! Much of these things are told as much through the pictures as through the text and it is definitely the eye-catching, colourful and funny illustrations that have grabbed my daughter’s attention and her comments.
As I mentioned the story is told in rhyme and is easy to read. Again there is humour and fun for adults and children. Tabitha does get eaten by the tiger (very funny picture) and is in his tummy until she tickles him with a feather and he doesn’t like it so he spits her out. She then has to have a shower from an elephant to clean her up! Brilliant! I loved the imagination in this. In the end there is a moral to the story as Tabitha concedes she should use books to find out some things and not first hand experience. You could make up your own morals too, if you wished to discuss with your child listening and doing what they are told! The humour in this means the moral side is not overly prominent.
Verdict: This book has gone down a treat in our house, I’ll be keeping an eye out for any more in this series.