Can I Sit in the Middle?

Susanne Strasser

Gecko Press, 2024

22pp., board book., RRP $A16.99

9781776575855

It’s time to sit on the sofa and read a story together, but it takes a while to get everyone together and be ready to start. And just when it looks like it’s good to go, Rhino comes in looking for his slippers…

Young children will enjoy this cumulative story that is full of fun and laughter, as they try to predict which creature will be next to come through the door and join the others,  And the ending is particularly satisfying because is there anything more enjoyable than snuggling sown behind the conch in a blanket tent? With its clear illustrations that tell the story almost on their own, this is one that our earliest readers will love because they will be able to tell it to themselves over and over again, the basis of being a successful reader as they get older.