No. 5 Bubblegum Street by Mikolaj Pa. Illus. by Gosia Herba

No. 5 Bubblegum Street is a very busy picture book that shares with the reader the day in the life of an apartment block full of different animals. Translated from Polish and told by an insect narrator who lives in apartment eleven, it is an opportunity to explore how each of the animals live and look after each other.

As well as the tiny insect, there is a famous rapper mouse, monkeys who bake, an owl who plays checkers with hippo, a cat who records bird sounds, a panther who is crazy about houseplants, a family of musical spiders, a hippo who loves adventures, frogs who compose songs, a dog who sculpts and a bat who practises dance routines. All of the animals meet at the end of the day for their weekly party. They all get along and have a great time.

This is an imaginative book full of colour and fun. The bright illustrations are cleverly contrived and the detail in each warrants a very close look. As an added bonus is the use of positional language: behind, under, left, right, over, above and will reinforce this concept for Early Years students.

Themes: Apartment Buildings, Neighbours, Differences, Community, Humour.

Kathryn Beilby