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Lullabyhullaballoo!
The sun is down, the moon is up, and it's past bedtime. But outside the castle, there's an awful lot of noise! Will the princess ever get to sleep? This story is complete with a fold-out page on every spread!
32 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 1993
About the author
Mick Inkpen
391 books62 followersMick Inkpen is one of the most popular author/illustrators in the world. His books have sold over 4 million copies, and have been translated into over twenty different languages. His best-loved characters are probably Kipper and Wibbly Pig – who are both stars of their very own TV series!
He began his career as a graphic designer, and worked with another children’s author Nick Butterworth (of Percy the Park Keeper fame) on a cartoon strip for the Sunday Express. In 1989 The Blue Balloon was published to great acclaim, and established him as an important and original voice in children’s picture books. He and his wife, Debbie, also had children of their own by this point: “Without the experience of having children of my own I doubt that I would have been capable of writing effectively for children. And yet it’s true that good work really springs from trying to please yourself”
Mick lives in Essex with his wife and two children.
He began his career as a graphic designer, declining a place to study English at Cambridge University. During this period he worked with Nick Butterworth, a fellow children’s author, from whom he learned design and typography. Together they developed a cartoon strip for the Sunday Express magazine, later to become a first series of children’s picture books. They also worked in children’s television.
In 1989 The Blue Balloon established him as a truly original voice in children’s picture books, by which time Mick and his wife Debbie had two children of their own. “Without the experience of having children of my own I doubt that I would have been capable of writing effectively for children. And yet it’s true that good work really springs from trying to please yourself”
He began his career as a graphic designer, and worked with another children’s author Nick Butterworth (of Percy the Park Keeper fame) on a cartoon strip for the Sunday Express. In 1989 The Blue Balloon was published to great acclaim, and established him as an important and original voice in children’s picture books. He and his wife, Debbie, also had children of their own by this point: “Without the experience of having children of my own I doubt that I would have been capable of writing effectively for children. And yet it’s true that good work really springs from trying to please yourself”
Mick lives in Essex with his wife and two children.
He began his career as a graphic designer, declining a place to study English at Cambridge University. During this period he worked with Nick Butterworth, a fellow children’s author, from whom he learned design and typography. Together they developed a cartoon strip for the Sunday Express magazine, later to become a first series of children’s picture books. They also worked in children’s television.
In 1989 The Blue Balloon established him as a truly original voice in children’s picture books, by which time Mick and his wife Debbie had two children of their own. “Without the experience of having children of my own I doubt that I would have been capable of writing effectively for children. And yet it’s true that good work really springs from trying to please yourself”
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 28, 2016
This was my jam as a child.
April 3, 2012
'Lullabyhallaballoo' is the story of a princess who is struggling to get the sleep in her noisy castle. There are a whole host of distractions going on, and as the reader we see who/what is making all the noise and keeping poor little princess awake!
I read this story to a nursery class on more than one occasion, and found that it can be used in a variety of ways. For example the oohing of the owl can be an aid to help children with voice control. I would recommend modelling high and low oohs and encouraging the children to imitate; they also find this enjoyable. The different characters and sounds they make expose children to typical animal noises and different typical behaviours of different people in the story. The children also enjoy practicing saying 'lullabyhullaballoo' as a group; good for introducing different sounds and letters as it is a light hearted and fun method because the word is so long; even adults find it to be a tongue twister!
For EYFS, I also used this story as a basis for a memory game, because there are lots of memorable characters and objects that can be used. For example, what noise did the owl make? What came after the giant?
Recommended for EYFS and lower key stage 1.
I read this story to a nursery class on more than one occasion, and found that it can be used in a variety of ways. For example the oohing of the owl can be an aid to help children with voice control. I would recommend modelling high and low oohs and encouraging the children to imitate; they also find this enjoyable. The different characters and sounds they make expose children to typical animal noises and different typical behaviours of different people in the story. The children also enjoy practicing saying 'lullabyhullaballoo' as a group; good for introducing different sounds and letters as it is a light hearted and fun method because the word is so long; even adults find it to be a tongue twister!
For EYFS, I also used this story as a basis for a memory game, because there are lots of memorable characters and objects that can be used. For example, what noise did the owl make? What came after the giant?
Recommended for EYFS and lower key stage 1.
September 24, 2017
A cute story with fun interactive foldout pages.
September 22, 2018
The Little Princess is trying to get to sleep but outside the castle it's noisy and it is keeping her up past her bedtime.
Another great book from Mick Inkpen! I particularly enjoyed the fold-out pages that work wonderfully with the premise of the narrative.
The 'yes you' element to the story reminds me of pantomime, with the back and forth from the characters to the audience or in this case, the reader. A wonderful book for reading aloud to children, especially before bedtime.
Another great book from Mick Inkpen! I particularly enjoyed the fold-out pages that work wonderfully with the premise of the narrative.
The 'yes you' element to the story reminds me of pantomime, with the back and forth from the characters to the audience or in this case, the reader. A wonderful book for reading aloud to children, especially before bedtime.
May 18, 2018
I buy this book for everyone who has kids! such s fun story to read and the ilustrations are beautiful! My "babies" (21 and 24 yrs old) still say "Lullabyhullaballoooooooooooo" now and again when someone mentions a lullabye.
November 2, 2018
Fun but I inserted the word "please" because it was just rude otherwise!
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August 13, 2019Enjoyable join in book. Great rhymes throughout. Super appealing illustrations. Flaps to lift as well. Great for developing early phonological awareness.
April 6, 2020
Great for reinforcing the learning of 'sh' sound.
Could also be used to talk about fairy-tale characters?
Could also be used to talk about fairy-tale characters?
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December 11, 2020I had to include this to my list due to it being my childhood favourite!
February 13, 2024
Read about a hundred times, and will likely read it another hundred times, and it hardly ever fails to make me smile.
September 30, 2011
Sweet, calm story, perfect for little ones at bedtime.
July 19, 2014
My children love Mick Inkpen books, and I love reading them to them.
March 14, 2015
Mick Inkpen is a wonderful writer!
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May 7, 2019This book is super great for interactive reading with young children because they can say things and predict what will happen on each page. It is very fun to read as well.
The illustrations in this book have a lot going on which makes it fun for students to notice all of the different elements.
The illustrations in this book have a lot going on which makes it fun for students to notice all of the different elements.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews