Toddlers can be lots of fun, but they can also be exhausting in their boundless energy and endless curiosity. Little Humpty is no different from your average toddler, even though he's a camel, and he soon has his mother, Big Humpty, quite worn out...

That night, while the wind whirled and the sand swirled, Little Humpty snuggled up against Big Humpty as he always did, and quickly fell asleep.

But Big Humpty was awake until the stars went out. She thought about how fast Little Humpty was growing up, and how she'd seen him trying to play with the rock and the bush and the pebble.

"Baa!" she said softly.

And so the next day Big Humpty and Little Humpty set off for the Great Waterhole, all the while talking about what they might see once they get there.

Margaret Wild is a master of the picture book text, and lately she's been writing some entirely charming books for pre-schoolers (and their worn out parents!) Little Humpty is a perfect text; simply expressed, yet eloquent and affectionate in its evocation of the pleasures of raising a toddler.

Ann James has surpassed herself with the illustrations for Little Humpty. Little Humpty and his mother are lovingly drawn, (Little Humpty, with his fabulous eyelashes, himself reminds me a little of Shari Lewis's Porkschop!) and the imagined scenes of all the other animals they might meet at the Great Waterhole are simply gorgeous. You can see more of the illustrations from Little Humpty at Ann's Melbourne gallery Books Illustrated.

Highly recommended for mothers and fathers and toddlers and anyone looking for a warm, affectionate, loving snuggle-up read.

Review ©Judith Ridge 2003