Review: Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb

Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb is a lovely picture book, which reminds me a bit of The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

What happens in Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb?

A little girl is playing happily, but her mum wants her to have lunch. She is so determined not to have lunch (What child hasn’t experienced an occasional moment of stubbornness?) that she just sits at the table in front of her lunch, not touching it or eating it, while her mum is busy elsewhere (Filling the dishwasher? Tidying the toys? Writing a blog post?). Then, along comes a crocodile, a wolf (There was some debate her as to whether he was really a wolf, or perhaps actually a hedgehog.) and a bear. And they eat her lunch up. All of it. When her mum returns, she is very pleased to see that the little girl has cleaned her plate. The little girl goes off to continue playing though, as the afternoon wears on, her tummy gets louder and louder. Come dinner time, she is so hungry that she eats all her dinner herself, which is very disappointing for the crocodile, wolf (Hedgehog?) and bear.

What we thought of Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb

I loved this book. The illustrations are beautiful, bright and simple (you can see this very well on the cover image above). The story is lovely. I think what evokes The Tiger Who Came to Tea is the ordinariness that is exploded by this surprising visit from some animals. As an adult, we might read this as an insight into a child’s imagination, but as a child it’s just funny and surprising and fun!

The girls enjoyed the book too and RoRo (five years old) asked if I could video her reading the book to LaLa (two and a half). So here you go – RoRo reading Lunchtime to LaLa and then a moment or two of their impressions of the book.

Where can you buy Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb?

You can find the book direct from the publishers, Macmillan, on Amazon or on WH Smith (I’d give you the Waterstones link, too, but the site wasn’t loading!). Or, better still, why not support your local children’s bookshop and go and buy it there? I’m sure they’ll have a copy!

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of the book by the publishers, Macmillan, however, this is an honest review and represents our own opinions.