Bing and Nero by I L Williams & Inci Alper (Children’s, 5 years +, 10E/10E)

 April 2014, Northern Phoenix, 34 pages, Ebook, review copy

Themes: making things, trial and error, pets, having fun

Content: lots of laughter

Summary from Amazon

Share a day with an inventive young boy in a story that celebrates creativity, friendship and fun! Bing wants a dog. But his mother says a dog is out of the question. What´s a young boy in need of a friend to play with on a boring Saturday morning to do? Why, make his own friend! And what a friend his new creation is! 

Nayuleska's thoughts

I didn’t expect to love this read as much as I did because I usually don’t relate to boys as much as girls. However, this story is awesome! It’s a bit sad at the beginning because Bing can’t have what he wants, but it’s fun watching  him work out what he can have and then make it himself. The illustrations made the story shine: I love the way Bing balanced on his bed to look at the poster, the way he was totally into making the robot with his tongue stuck out. I liked how the cat often featured in the picture, showing it’s interest in what was going on, dancing when the opportunity arose.

I think it sends a great message to readers that you might not be able to have a pet (or anything else) straight away because of your current circumstances, but often you can find a substitute which can be better than what you wanted. For example at the moment I would love some gerbils and many more zebra finches/bengalese finches, but I don’t have the space and my family wouldn’t be too keen either. I’m definitely looking out for book 2 which is out later on in the year. 

Find out more on the dedicated website.

Suggested read

Another read of inseparable friends is Zoe and Beans: Pants On the Moon by Chloe & Mick Inkpen (Children's, Picture book, 10E/10E)