Title: Look, Daddy, Look!
Author & Illustrator: Manlu Tu
The Story:
Told from the point of view of a little hedgehog, this is the story of the time when Daddy Hedgehog lost her! Daddy Hedgehog is the best daddy, but he is often forgetful and he doesn’t notice when his daughter falls into a basket of chestnuts. He searches everywhere for her, in snowy forests and deep ponds, asking all of the other animals if they’ve seen her. What he doesn’t realise is that Mrs Squirrel is trying to catch-up with him – could she be the one to reunite father and daughter?
Favourite Spread:
I really liked the opening pages of this book (Daddy Hedgehog reminded me very much of my husband!).
After a lovely set up showing the bond between Daddy Hedgehog and his daughter, we get to the really fun spreads where our narrator says on each page “Look, Daddy, Look!”. Somewhere hidden in the background of each scene is Mrs Squirrel and the little hedgehog.
The Verdict:
This is a warm, light-hearted book about the special bond between a father and daughter. The “Look, Daddy, Look!” line on each page gives the story a pantomime-style humour – you’ll find yourself wanting to shout “they’re behind you!”. Children will love spotting the little hedgehog on each page. This would make a lovely Father’s Day gift.
Publisher: Scribblers
Publication date: 28 April 2020
ISBN: 978-1913337087
About Manlu Tu:
Manlu Tu is a graduate from the Anglia Ruskin Cambridge School of Art. Manlu won the 2019 Stratford-Salariya Picture Book Prize.
You can read an interview by Manlu here.
You can also follow Manlu Tu on Instagram and Twitter.
About the Stratford-Salariya Picture Book Prize:
The competition, which has been running now for four years, welcomes authors who have a wonderful story to tell and illustrators who can create charming images, suitable for children aged 0-5. There is a cash prize of £1,000 and the chance that their imprint ‘Scribblers’ may publish the winning story.
Every year a select panel of judges come together to judge the submissions, a shortlist is then announced for the final and overall winner is announced later on. Author submissions are judged on the quality of the story and illustrator submissions are judged on the quality of the images, with a lesser focus on the quality of the story itself. Entries are also welcome from author-illustrators or author and illustrator pairs. The overall winner will also gain career advice from a leading children’s book agent and publicity through the Stratford Literary Festival.
The judges for the 2019 prize were: David Salariya, Founder and MD of The Salariya Book Company, Annie Ashworth, Director of The Stratford Literary Festival, Nick Butterworth, award-winning author/illustrator, Smriti Prasadam-Halls, children’s author, Steven Lenton, children’s author/illustrator, Tamsin Rosewell, bookseller at Kenilworth Books and Jodie Hodges of United Agents, literary agent for children’s books.
You can find additional information about the prize here.
You can follow Salariya Book Company on Instagram and Twitter and also the Stratford Literary Festival on Instagram and Twitter.
I am very grateful to the publisher for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this book. This voluntary review contains my honest opinion.
Picture Book Perfect 
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