PENGUIN Blueberries for Sal

I was looking for 'feminist' pre-school books - ones with strong female characters and lack of stereotyping. Despite being very old, this book fits the bill. The phrasing and length isn't the most compelling thing for a modern audience but my children (2 and 4 years) liked it and wanted to go back to it. Sal wears dungarees and goes wandering off behind bears and both human characters are female so it's a good addition to the feminist pre-school bookshelf to try and redress the balance somewhat!

A lovely book with the charm of the olden days. Lovely illustrations as expected and a good quality paper! Would love to collect more in this genre! I love how this subtlely speaks of how we share resources with other creatures! A lesson we certainly we need to learn and teach the younger ones.

I have no childhood connection to this book, just bought it randomly. Lovely little story and nicely illustrated, but a little long. Failed to become a favourite or asked for book of either a 2 or 5 year old.

Little Sal and Little Bear mix up their mothers on Blueberry Hill! McCloskey has perfectly captured the innocence and drama of the little girl and the little bear and the grandeur of the great outdoors. He also reminds us that we share nature with other creatures.

The story is very well written. I like the way it flows. I like the illustrations too. I just wish There was more colour in it. But Otherwise an excellent book for young readers.