There’s always excitement when reading a new Julia Donaldson book for the first time, and The Teeny Weeny Genie was no different. This story is about a teeny weeny blue genie, who once disturbed from his peaceful life in a teapot finds that things get very noisy very quickly as he grants wishes on Old Macdonald’s farm.
Your children will delight in listening to this noisy farmyard story, filled with wonderful onomatopoeic words that will captivate their imaginations and encourage them to join in the fun. One of the first things that I loved about this story was the funny refrain the genie uses to grant wishes. Although it changes slightly every time, your kids will pick up the familiarity and soon be giggling every time the genie speaks.
The genie puffed himself up and said,
“ABC and XYZ, Gobbledegook and garlic bread.”
It’s not long after the first wish is granted that more wishes are requested, and the farm becomes busier and noisier very fast. Old Macdonald gets a new tractor, quickly followed by a wife, a baby, a dog, a cat, and before you know it there’s a fire engine, a band practice, a football match with mice and even lots of different superheroes whizzing around.
The poor genie would like some peace, but he’s forbidden to grant his own wishes and instead chooses to try climb back into his old teapot. He doesn’t count on meeting another genie in his teapot, but together the two genies come up with a plan to get some peace and quiet. The blue and green genie are finally asleep in the teapot, and we are asked not to disturb them if they are found. The story ends with little readers being asked if they must have a wish for it just to be one and to share what that wish will be.
The Teeny Weeny Genie is a charming new picture book that will lead to a noisy story time filled with farmyard fun. As always Julia Donaldson’s story will make your children smile while the brightly coloured illustrations by Anna Currey will hold the attention of even younger kiddies.
The Teeny Weeny Genie is available in hardback for a recommended retail price of R257.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan for sharing this new book with us.
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