Nee Naw’s Cracker Christmas   Deano Yipadee  

 

Nee Naw’s Cracker Christmas  
Deano Yipadee
Illustrator: Bruce Potter
Scholastic (2025)
Picture book, paperback, 32 pages
ISBN 978 1 77543 929 5

 

‘Nee Naw! Nee Naw! I’m a little fire engine. Nee Naw! Nee Naw! I’m happy I’m me.’

Deano Yipadee (the pen name of Mosgiel’s Dean O’Brien) writes his Nee Naw stories in verse and sings them as well. This means that young readers may sing along to the choruses in this Christmas tale.

Nee Naw’s Cracker Christmas involves all of the firefighters and both of their regular customers, Granny and Farmer Tom. The entire firefighting team is invited to a grand outdoor Christmas celebration at Granny’s country home. As usual a comic emergency erupts. This time, the culprits are her ill-behaved goats, Plinky and Plonky, who steal a large Christmas cracker. The goats are so surprised by the resultant explosion that they knock over Granny’s full-sized Christmas tree. Nee Naw, the little fire engine, sees that the disaster can be remedied if all the fire crew and their machines cooperate, and so he signals for aid. Soon, Dusty the Digger and Toot the tow truck get the tree securely back into place while Moto Mike strings up the lights.

Ellie Copter is involved too. ‘Nee Naw said, “We need you to fly to the top of the tree and place the star up high.”’

 As always, the rescue operation is followed by a celebration, which finishes with everyone singing the Nee Naw song, just as Santa arrives.

Bruce Potter has succeeded well in the difficult task of illustrating this mayhem. This is the fourth of the Nee Naw series he has illustrated, following on from Paul Beavis. Bruce Potter has maintained the pictorial styling and character personalities created by Paul Beavis. This is a remarkable feat, so skilful that most young readers will not even have noticed the change of artists.

 Deano Yipadee writes and sings, so interested young readers can stream or download the song Nee Naw’s Cracker Christmas available ‘from all good digital sites.’ Deano Yipadee’s website is at www.yipadee.com.

 

Trevor Agnew 
29 Sep 2025 [Review 3803]  

 

Nee Naw and Friends: Toot the Tow Truck 
Deano Yipadee  Bruce Potter

 

Nee Naw and Friends: Toot the Tow Truck      

Deano Yipadee, Ill. Bruce Potter
Scholastic (2025)
Picture book, Paperback, 24 pages
ISBN 978 1 77543 906 6

 

‘HELP! Something’s gone wrong!’

This picture book for young readers is the latest in the Nee Naw and Friends series about a lively band of fire engines whose crews spend much of their time rescuing Grandma and her livestock from various jeopardies. A new support vehicle appears in Toot the Tow Truck. When Granny invites the firecrew over for lunch, their cheerful repast is interrupted by Granny’s cry of alarm.

 

Nee Naw the fire engine races to the rescue. It seems that Plinky and Plonky, the goats, had accidentally driven Farmer Tom’s tractor through Granny’s clothesline, into a tree and then into the lake. It is easy to rescue the goats (and Granny’s nighties) from up the tree but getting the tractor out of the lake is a trickier problem Nee Naw radios Toot the Tow Truck for assistance.

 

Bruce Potter’s colourful illustrations show what happens next, with plenty of lively action from the firefighters, their vehicles and the goats.

Deano Yipadee’s rhyming text is, of course, a song. Performed by Deano Yipadee, it is available to readers as a download, available ‘from all good digital sites.’ This means that, as well as reading this book to sharing groups, it is also possible to sing it.

‘I go Toot, Toot Toot! I’m Toot the Tow Truck,

Towing friends when they get stuck,

Broken down or stuck in the muck.

 

Trevor Agnew 
2 Mar 2025     [Review 3745]