While there are lots of fabulous kids picture books out there, I have not had too much luck finding fun chapter books for kids, especially ones with lots of pictures.  Anya is at that age (6 years) where picture books are still of interest to her but she could do with longer stories and more text to develop her reading.  Recently I stumbled across The Beast in My Belly and it was just the kind of book I had been looking for.  It’s a short chapter book for kids with most chapters no longer than a page or two but it also has lots of fun pictures on every page.  At 6, kids still really engage with pictures and like to look at them alongside reading the text and this book has plenty of both.  Besides which it is a great little story too.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!  It’s that noisy tummy rumbling feeling we all get when we’re hungry.  We’ve all experienced it but what happens when you’re a small child and don’t know why it’s happening?  What could it possibly be?  The Beast in my Belly is a funny chapter book about how far a child’s imagination can go when they’re trying to figure out something they’ve never experienced before.  The little girl in the book imagines all sorts of things that could be happening inside her belly each time it rumbles.  She is convinced there is something sinister inside her belly and tries to tell the adults in her life but of course none of them believe her.  The illustrations are quirky and unusual and really bring the book to life.  The colours they’ve used in the drawings are stunning too.

The Beast in My Belly is a great short chapter book for kids around 5-7 years old to read to themselves.  But it’s also a fun book to read out loud to younger kids.  It’s great for plenty of giggles with lots of cute drawings and it’s just a sweet little book which we have thoroughly enjoyed.