Hi-5 by Adam Rubin Review: A Slappin’ Good Time

High Five by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri

Hi-5 by Adam Rubin is an interactive picture book that puts readers at the center of a high-five championship.

Quick Takes

  • Readability – Agent B (6 years old) could read it
  • Reading time – 12 minutes (allow time for the high fives!)… This could be a 20 minute book as well if you had multiple kids all Hi-5’ing
  • Adventure Boyz Rating – 7.5/10 (9/10 fun rating!)
  • Perfect for – a cheerful read without too much of a storyline. Would be a great read with a bunch of kids.

What Makes It A Favourite?

Confession first: we tossed up whether this made the cut of a favourite. It scraped through. It’s a hard act to follow Tabby McTat. To be fair, we have read this book at least four times now and tend to grab it anytime we see it sitting on the library shelf. It remains a fun, interactive book about for you, the protagonist, on a mission to win the Hi-5 championships.

You know what? I’m listening to Agent B re-reading it again whilst we write this review, and now convinced it actually belongs on this blog (as favourite)! It’s probably one of the best interactive books we have kept coming back to.

Spoiler alert – the last character is a octopus!

The final boss on Hi-5. The dreaded Octopus!

Dad’s View

Like Tabby McTat, this is rhythmically fun book to read, and it is an original story. The kids enjoy the heck out of slapping the pages. This would be a great book to read to bunch of kids around the ages of 6-7. It is bound to capture their attention, and in combination of a bunch of Hi-5’s, it would make for a compelling time.

The Kids’ Take

Agent C liked the hand-drawn, coloured penciled drawings and really, really enjoyed the opportunity to slap (or Hi-5) the book.

Agent B is liked being the winner and getting a trophy at the end. Being the protagonist, he was very pleased to be at the centre of attention.

Buy or Borrow It?

It’s a borrow for us, but a repeat borrow. I would happily buy this book as a gift.

Have you read Hi-5? Tell us what you thought in the comments!

Tabby McTat by Julia Donaldson Review: A Busker Cat’s Adventure

Quick Takes

  • Readability – Agent B (6 years old) could read most of it
  • Reading time – 5-7 minutes
  • Adventure Boyz Rating – 8/10
  • Perfect for – a whimsical bedtime story (and for those who like cats!)

What Makes It A Favourite?

Tabby McTat is an all-time favourite in our household that we’ve read over ten times – more so since we’ve gotten a cat of our own (named Kit Cat). Tabby McTat is a hardy busker’s (Fred) cat whose life takes a turn when his owner is hospitalised, leaving McTat to fend for himself. McTat ends up finding a partner and living a very different, very domesticated life. He loves his new life and new family, but can’t help but wonder where his owner has gone (and the life he once lead).

And often he said, “What’s happened to Fred?”
And his paws took him back to the square.
But a conjuror stood where the pair once sat,
And he pulled out this…
And he pulled out that…
And people threw coins in the tall black hat,
But he busker was never there.

Dad’s View

This phonetically fun book to read. Like all great kids books, on one hand it is a simple story about a cat living a rather romanticised life as a busker, who then becomes accustomed to more ‘boring’ life as living a a house with a cat and human family of his own. Sound familiar?

There’s a part in this tale where McTat makes the hard decision to temporarily leave his family to find Fred. That had a bit of feels. I guess we are all like McTat?

The Kids’ Take

Agent C likes the storyline of McTat’s life, which starts off as a busker’s cat, getting ‘married’ and then parenthood. He also likes the reference to Fred eating bacon and bread, which sparked a semi-regular breakfast for the kids of, well, bacon and bread!

Agent B is likes that it is about a cat (I know, I know, it’s because we have a beloved cat of our own), and that it tells a story about a father and his son.

Buy or Borrow It?

We’ve bought this one! It is having a second (and third) wind in our household since the arrival of our own cat!