Children's Book Spotlight - Greedy Gertie by Salma Zaman

Greedy Gertie by Salma Zaman

Published 9th March 2019 by Blue Falcon Publishing 

I was gifted a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Synopsis (from publishers website)

Greedy Gertie is a wonderful waffle-eater! But when it comes to dancing, she’s no good at all. Gertie is in a wheelchair, and everybody knows you use your legs for dancing.

One day, Gertie discovers a bunch of animals doing wonderful, unique dances. They encourage her to join them, but Gertie refuses. She’s sure she will get in a muddle and mess things up… but the wise old owl has other ideas!

Will Greedy Gertie find her talent for dancing? Or will she stick to eating waffles like there’s no tomorrow?

Salma Zaman has written this uplifting tale to promote disability awareness and acceptance to young readers. In 2018, Salma won the ‘Yorkshire Women of Achievement’ award for her contribution to the arts.

My Thoughts

So here we have yet another colourfully illustrated children's book from Blue Falcon Publishing, they seem to be going great with these super fun children's books at the moment. This one has some fantastic diversity too. This book focuses on Gertie the Cow, who is in a wheelchair, and how she is able to join in and achieve alongside her friends. This story actually reminds me of a more popular children's book with a similar message but I like that this book focuses on a character in a wheelchair. I think this is really important to show children, and the story itself lends really well to some really important discussions about differences and supporting others. 

As with all great children's books this one is also written in rhyme which means the story flows well and it's really beneficial to children's language development. So, with some lovely colourful illustrations, a fun rhyming story and some important discussion topics I think this one would be a great addition to any child's bookshelf or teachers reading repertoire.