10 Goofy Geckos (with CD) product reviews

What I enjoyed about this book was that it was identifiably kiwi from the very first page. The van that is taking the geckos on their trip is emblazoned with the logo "Goofy Gecko Aotearoa Tours". That spells it out loud and clear: this is a book that is set in New Zealand! The story is based on the traditional song "Ten Green Bottles". The tune and countdown from ten to nothing is done in the same way, but the resemblance ends right there as the lyrics are quite different.

The ten geckos are off on a hike, complete with backpacks, iPods, trail mix, energy bars, water bottles, and maps. They are modern hikers that children can relate to: many families go on tramps just like this, and there are the usual scraped knees, tumbles, heat rash, and other things that can go wrong. Every child will identify with those!

The accompanying CD follows the text of the book exactly, so instead of reading it to my audience, I sang along and we looked at the pictures at the same time. Mr Six is becoming quite fluent in Te Reo so he was able to join in both the English and the Maori versions. Miss Four was a little more hesitant, but she gave it a go even if some of the words were a bit strangled. Because the tune was so simple, and they were already reasonably familiar with the book and the CD, they were able to concentrate on the words as they sang along with me.

After the CD had finished both versions complete with words, it went on to play just the backing track so the children and I could do it karaoke style. We did it in front of a mirror so it looked as though we were really doing karaoke on a proper screen. All in all, it was a fun experience and one no doubt that we will do many times more.

In conclusion, it is wonderful to see bilingual books coming on to the market so that children can be exposed to Te Reo. Many people who are not fluent speakers might hesitate to buy a children's book that is completely in Maori as they might think that their pronunciation is not good enough, or the children might not understand it. Having the book in both languages means that the adult reading the book (or, as in this case, singing it) to the children can "cheat" if he or she meets a new word. It is a confidence builder for both adults and their children.

I am an early childhood teacher and as part of our Scholastic rewards we were able to get the 10 Kooky Kiwis book. The children at centre love it so when we had more rewards to spend and saw this book - 10 Goofy Geckos - we just had to buy it for the children. The children and staff were anticipating the arrival of this book - waiting eagerly for the courier driver to bring us a parcel! When it arrived we had to open it straight away.

They say first impressions last - and the first impression of this book is nice, bright, colourful and fun. The style of writing and all the different colours definitely make it appealing! The fact that it is sung by Pio is great - always keen to support NZ talent! The next step was to pop the CD in the stereo and give it a listen. The first time we listened the children didn't say a word! Listening very carefully to all of the antics the geckos were getting up to. It was very similar to 10 Kooky Kiwi, but different at the same time. If I was honest - 10 Kooky Kiwi is my favourite, but this one is just as loved by the children.

These books are great - teaching counting backwards from 10 to 0 and showcasing lots of fun things we can do in New Zealand. I will recommend this book to anyone with young children. It won't be long until it is going around and around in your head after hearing it playing on repeat!

This book only arrived this morning and is already a family favorite! It is fun, bright and engaging. I love that is educational as well as fun, not only counting but Te Reo which is important to me for my youngest son who is part Maori. The fact that this helps children learn while being fun makes it a great tool for parents, I have since ordered 10 Kooky Kiwi as I feel this will just as good!

The CD was extra helpful me as my Maori pronunciation is not as good as it should be for someone trying to teach small people to use the language. The kids loved it and had a great time singing along in both Maori and English as they were getting ready for Kindy and School. The voice on the disc is loud, clear and fun to listen too.

The 10 goofy gecko have fun personalities and are very well illustrated throughout the story. Each illustration is fun, bright and features things kids can relate to especially as kiwi kids. There was no problem keeping the children engaged, 10 Goofy Geckos did that all on its own. I would recommend this for any kiwi families library and as a great gift to kiwi family living abroad!

The other day I was walking past my local Paper Plus only to see a sign up at the door saying "buy 1 book, get another for 50% off". Obviously this meant I had to go in to buy my 2 year old a few new books, there's only so many times you can read Peppa Pig and Brown Bear, Brown Bear each night as a bedtime story right? As I was looking at the children's books I came across '10 Goofy Geckos' it was written by the same author as '10 Kooky Kiwis' which is a favourite amongst my daycare children and Miss 2 so I decided to grab it as one of my purchases.

As I was on my way to work at the time Miss 2 requested that the CD be put on to play in the car while she sat in her car seat flicking through the pages. The tune was very catchy and was a fantastic counting based book counting down from 10 goofy geckos down to 1 goofy gecko. It didn't take us long at all to pick up on the catchy tune, by the time we got to daycare Miss 2 had learnt the words and was singing along, the rhythm and the rhyme were very fun and well paced and the song was sung in both English and Te Reo which Miss 2 seemed to enjoy.

The pictures were bright and colorful with each Gecko having its own special personality shining through throughout the book. There are lots of hidden little objects hidden along the way that are familiar to Kiwi children, my daughters favourite thing to find just so happened to be the marshmallows which are understandably her favourite food! The Cd was sung by Pio Terei who is a well-known New Zealand entertainer, he also sung the story on the book 10 Kooky Kiwi which has to be our favourite. His voice is always so clear and fun to listen to and easy to follow along with, these Cd books are perfect for when Miss 2 wants a story and I am to busy to read to her she can pop the CD on and away she goes!

I definitely would recommend this book, and look forwards to sharing it with my children at the daycare which I work at. I can't wait to see what other sing along books Scholastic brings out next, I love all that we have come across so far!

What a fun book! My children and I thoroughly enjoyed sharing it together. In fact, we have had it for less than a week and have read the book and listened to the CD over and over again! The words were very easy to sing along to with the tune of the well known song 'Ten Green Bottles'. The rhythm and rhyme work well and have good flow.

The storyline is very much Kiwi. It is nice to see so many books with a Kiwi flavour coming through from Scholastic recently. I like the fact that the book is in English and also in Māori. My children both love hearing the Māori language and insist on hearing both versions each time we read the book. I found that I needed to practice the Māori lyrics a bit with the CD, as it was a bit faster than I was able to keep up with naturally. After a few runs through, I got the hang of it and enjoyed singing along.

The illustrations are gorgeous and each gecko has its own personality showing through. The colours are bold and striking. The pictures are interesting for children to look at as they sing along to the CD, even if they are not yet capable to read along with the words. The children noticed the illustration with the marshmallows in it and began to talk about our summer holidays when we toast marshmallows over a fire. There are plenty of ideas in the book which are very familiar Kiwi families.

Miss Three's favourite part was when the Geckos snuggled into bed. I have used it as she is just about to go to sleep and she snuggles down into her bed as I get to that part. She liked acting like one of the geckos. We found that it was a lovely book to sing just before sleep time. It is entertaining, but also calming.

Pio Terei is a well-known entertainer in New Zealand and it is nice to hear his familiar voice on the CD accompanying this book. We have also read and reviewed 10 Kooky Kiwis and loved hearing his voice on that CD as well. His voice is clear and easy to sing along with.

This is a fabulous book and I would highly recommend it. It would be a great present for kids in New Zealand and also for children overseas.