True to the title, this story is about a girl named Molly who loves her wellies. She loves them so much that she won't take them off for love nor money, and that includes wearing them to bed and to ballet class. She gets away with it until she has an itch, an itch between her toes that just won't go away. But there's just one problem - Molly's worn her wellies for so long that they're stuck to her feet! After a herculean effort by friends, family and dog the wellies finally come off and Molly is reunited with her toes. It's after this 'a ha' moment that she decides she'll only wear flip flops ... even in the snow.
There's so much for kids to engage with in this book. I've found it to be ideal for the 2-4 year old range. It will appeal to kids who love wellies, kids who love jumping in puddles, kids who might enjoy being that little bit mischievous and kids with their own ideas. That pretty much covers every kid I've ever met.
The illustrations give us a second chance to enjoy Hicks' line drawings and fun colours (she's also the author of The Boy Who Hated Toothbrushes). It takes a whole village to get Molly's wellies off her feet and there's a joyful two page spread where everyone pulls together in one long conga line to remove said wellies. E loves this moment and recites the line 'everybody pulled' over and over again.
He also loves the two page spread where Molly greets her toes. He insists on taking off his socks at this moment and placing his feet over the brightly colored illustration of Molly's bare feet. It's a nightly ritual that we've all come to look forward to.
Earlier in the year I wrote a post about her debut book, The Boy Who Hated Toothbrushes. If you liked Billy then I have a hunch you'll be fond of Molly too. Zehra Hicks has a wonderful website http://www.zehrahicks.com/home. The Girl Who Loved Wellies is out now.
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