The teeny weeny genie by Julia Donaldson

Illus. by Anna Currey. Macmillan, 2020. ISBN: 9781509843602.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. When Old MacDonald on his farm finds a genie in his teapot, things happen. He wishes for a new tractor and it appears, then a wife to help with the farm, and she comes along. She wishes for tools and wood to make a cupboard to store her clothes, then has some left over to make a cradle and wishes for a baby. But he is crying so a rattle is needed to quell him, then he wants a dog, the dog wants a cat and on and on it goes, getting more and more complicated and very funny as the wishes come along thick and fast.
This beautiful read aloud will be a treat for a young audience as they can call out the noises each of the wishes makes: the noise of the tractor, the howl of the baby, the woof of the dog and so on. Each page is a delight of fun and noise.
And the wonderfully lively and colourful illustrations, will have the readers recognising the animals they see and spotting known things in the farmyard, asking a myriad of questions about what they do not know.
The blue genie gets a little annoyed with the wishes on the farm, and wants it all to go away, but he cannot make his wish come true, only those for other people. He attempts to get back into the teapot, but finds a green genie there instead. The two wish for each other, the teapot grows wings and the two are whisked away to a lonely beach where all they can hear are the waves while they drink their tea. Then they climb into the teapot and rest happily.
Be careful what you wish for is the basis of this funny tale, cautioning readers not to take wishes lightly because the results of this may be more than they bargained for.
This is a wonderfully funny, noisy tale which will have readers jumping with joy.
Themes: Farmyard, Cautionary tale, Humour, Animals, Parody, Read aloud.
Fran Knight