Catch by Trish Cooke, illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max

This story is about a young girl playing catch with her Mum. It captures the warmth of a relationship between a parent and child and has lots of parts where your toddler could move about or join in. Spoiler alert, there is a lovely ending when Mum gives something to Kiona that she knows she can catch and keep forever! 

In this story Kiona and her Mum are playing catch in the garden, the ball is too big for Kiona to catch so they look for something else!  

The pictures are clear, and the language is simple, yet they bring in early mathematical comparisons, like “not as big as the ball and not as small as a berry.”  

It's a great book for active toddlers as they can join in saying, “Catch!” whenever Kiona tries to catch something new. And, if they prefer to move around while they are listening, encourage them to pretend to catch the object every time Kiona tries to catch something new. 

We love that all children will be able relate to Kiona’s disappointment at a burst balloon and a dropped ice-cream and the excitement of trying to catch water and bubbles! Your toddler might be able to tell you about a time when they felt sad or excited while they were playing. 

As you read it you can talk about your own games and experiences; does your toddler think they would have caught the ball? What do they think would be a good thing to catch?  

Maybe you and your toddler could go and see what you can catch! 

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